Pierre Allain snaphook Grivel Vlad - carabiner with integrated rigging plate Grivel Tau Petzl Am'D Spinball Black Diamond Rocklock Magnetron Black Diamond The Fin Madrock Gemini - two chambered carabiner Simond Spider Petzl Vertigo Wirelock Black Diamond Supersafe CMC Proseries D Manual Lock DMM Ultima Black Diamond Pearabiner Petzl Freino v1 Royal Robbins Salewa Hollow Oval DMM Ultra O Durolock Lowe / CAMP Snagless D

What's in the Collection?

The site contains over 395 carabiners displayed with photos, with many more in processing.

Click on any of the photos above to visit the pages for some of my favorites, and to get an idea of the collection.

By Category

See links below (or the buttons near the top of the page) to explore the collection directly by category. Or view All Carabiners in a single table.

Virtual Exhibits

For a focused look at parts of the collection Virtual Exhibits.

Gallery View

The more visually inclined, you may prefer to browse and navigate through an all-photo Gallery View.

Rest of the Stuff

I am mostly focused on locking carabiners or interesting design dead-ends. Check out the About page for more on the criteria guiding the collection.

Or see the Recent Updates section for the newest changes to the site.

Visit the Terminology Guide for information on the ways I've classfied carabiner features.

The Other Thoughts contains ramblings based on questions I've gotten when teaching about carabiners.


A young man smiles and relaxes in a hammock, suspended between a reiterated trunk. He is attached to a rope, and his helmet is off. The tree overlooks a forested valley. A man is dressed in a sleeping bag sarape warm hat and fingerless gloves, along with light long sleeve shirt and pants. There is frost on the ground. Amongst the redwood canopy, a bearded man wearing a helmet is attached to a rope. His gaze is directed towards where is rope is attached. In a wide-angle view from the floor of a redwood forest, a man descends on rope A small photo of a figure descending aside a large redwood trunk In a wide-angle view from the floor of a redwood forest, a man is climbing a tall tree on a rope. A figure is suspended on ropes between two trees, they are hanging upside down and silhoutted against the sky.

Why Carabiners?

I am fascinated by mechanical objects, how they are designed, and how those designs reflect the needs of the users. I also love the world of vertical rope disciplines - recreational tree climbing in particular, but I have also spent time professionally on ropes courses and teaching rock climbing.

As a gearhead, one thing I've always enjoyed is sharing gear with others, and seeing them understand an aspect of the rope discipline in a new way through that piece of equipment.

As a reader, I find simple personal websites interesting - something I've become nostalgic for as more content has moved to Web 2.0 and become hidden behind logins.

This site is an expression of my collecting and climbing hobby - a continual work-in-progress representing my personal collection & musings. It is not a how-to guide, or any sort of authority on how to use vertical equipment.

Please seek proper instruction, and consider my remarks on this site with the same level of seriousness as us having a casual discussion about carabiners over a pint.

I welcome any questions/comments/suggestions through this contact form.

-Sam


Donations?

Have some old carabiners you're interested making their way to the collection? Please contact me.

Many of these carabiners are donations from friends and strangers-turned-friends, and the collection wouldn't be what it is without the generous help of others.

I am also interested in old catalogs, magazines or other material that might aid my research.


Disclaimer, Information Quality & Future Plans

Climbing is Inherently Dangerous & Humans are Only Human.

Yup, this is a personal page and project, which I maintain for fun as a hobby. Again, how carabiners are used or misused can cause serious injury or death. The site certainly contains factual errors - please do not rely on information on this site to make choices about personal safety.

Data & Future Plans

Information about photos, cataloging methodology, and future plans can be found on the About page.


Early Stages: the carabiners cataloged as of July 2022...