DutchWare Ridgeline Biners

Dutchware is a cottage manufacturer providing incredibly well-made equipment primarily used for hammock camping, but with other applications as well. The Dutch Ridgeline Biner is an ultralight titanium biner clip used for tarp lines and pack fasteners. I believe it is the best item on the market, as I have tested several products that fit into the "mini biner" category.

Dutch Ridgeline Biners are the best mini biner I have found on the market. They are exactly what I was looking  for in tarp suspension, after some spectacular failures with well-known, brand named products.

Dutchware lists these titanium biners at 2.2 grams. I could not get my 1/10th ounce postal scale to register a single biner. It took 2 biners to register 0.1 ounces.

Outer Dimensions are 1/2" wide by 1 15/32" long.

Inner Dimensions are 1/4" wide by 1 1/8" long.

The wire gate is 5/16".

Obviously, with these dimensions, the Dutch Biners are designed to be used with narrow diameter cords, such as Zing-It (1.75mm dyneema) or tent cords.

These biners have a very strong gate, and this is both a pro and a con.

As a pro, I know these biners are always going to snap shut and stay shut. I don't have to worry about a flimsy gate breaking loose under tension as I tighten my tarp's ridgeline. When I hang wet gear off my pack, I'm not concerned that it's going push open on a passing branch and lose my gear. 

As a con, they can be tough to use if you only have one free hand or if your finger tips are cold. I was not able to open them with a pair of liner gloves on. The difficulty with opening the biner with cold hands is the only reason I didn't give it a full 5 stars. On a cold March morning (23F), I had a difficult time striking my tarp. Still, that is the "price" of wanting an ultralight mini 'biner. I don't see a solution to this con without cheapening the quality of the product.

Dutchware does not publish a working load limit for these biners, but Dutchware clearly states these are not for hanging your hammock from. So I guess the working load is only a couple hundred pounds.

At a cost of $6.25 each, the Dutch Ridgeline Biner is not pricey, but it is only a couple dollars less than the UL 'biners rated for climbing. What makes it worth the money is the difference in the weight ratio. The four Dutch Biners securing my tarp weigh in at 0.2 ounces. That's a full ounce less than the Wild Country Nitro Techwire Carabiner (1.2oz each). I could use 17 Dutch Biners for the same weight as 1 Techwire.

Of course, we're talking about a different application for climbing carabiners, but in my efforts to lighten my pack load, I've come to realize how often I grab an unnecessary, heavier item because it's handy. I would never climb on a mini biner. So why would I hike with a full size biner securing my trowel to my pack? [The "just in case" argument falls flat, unless you are also carrying a harness, rope, rappel device, and etc.]

I have bought several different items from Dutchware over the last year. Each has been exceptionally well-made and manufactured within the United States.

www.dutchwaregear.com