Carabiner Broke!!!

[rat44]

The Camp Nano I linked to is to my knowledge the lightest climbing rated biner. Yes, it is smaller than "full size" climbing biners, but that's not really an issue in our application. What is, is the load rating for safety, and the weight in your pack.

Rain Man... Yes, you may be a little behind. Wire gate biners are fast replacing solid gate models. Yes, I know there are applications where solid gate biners are prefered, but wire gate models have many advantages.

[Ramblinrev]

AFAIK the the lower weight/mass of the wire gate should diminish the risk of the gate jumping open when the biner hits the wall.
And the wired gate being slimmer could avoid jamming up when clipping onto something
Of course a properly secured locking biner shouldnt have that problem and i cant imagine how a wire gated could have a higher breaking resistance when propely closed than a full gate

I believe those were the issues focused on. But comparing locking biner to any unlocking biner is not an equal camparison in any way. I believe the discussion centered on the two styles of non-locking biners.

[Mustardman]

AFAIK the the lower weight/mass of the wire gate should diminish the risk of the gate jumping open when the biner hits the wall.
And the wired gate being slimmer could avoid jamming up when clipping onto something

The discussion of the mass of the wire gate is dead on - when a climber takes a fall on a carabiner, the rope passing through quickly can cause "gate flutter", which can potentially result in open-gate loading, and a much lower breaking strength. Wire gates almost completely eliminate gate flutter, and so they have the potential to be safer.

Of course a properly secured locking biner shouldnt have that problem and i cant imagine how a wire gated could have a higher breaking resistance when propely closed than a full gate

The breaking resistance has almost nothing to do with the strength of the gate itself. Carabiner geometry is designed so that almost all of the force is on the spine. The purpose of the gate is simply to keep the end away from the spine from deforming and allowing the spine to break. There is MUCH less force applied to the gate than is to the spine.

In both wiregate and solid gate carabiners, the mechanism for breakage is almost always a break at the curve where the spine ends. I've seen quite a bit of carabiners tested to failure, and NEVER saw one break at the gate. It's simply NOT the weak link, due to the clever engineering of the way forces are transferred.

[Mustardman]

To further expand on this - there are two main potential disadvantages to a wiregate biner for climbing applications. Neither of these has much bearing on hammocking.

One - due to the way the wire engages the rest of the biner, in certain orientations it's more likely that a wiregate will snag on a bolt or on the rock and cause an open gate situation.

Two - most decent solid gate biners have a snag-free design, which makes them easier to clip and unclip in desperate situations. Most wiregates don't have this design, and they have a small hook that engages the wire. This hook can snag on gear when clipping or especially unclipping - and when you're on lead and looking at a potentially long fall, stuff like snagging gear can make the difference between a sigh of relief and a scream of terror...