Carabiner Clip
Learn what a carabiner clip is and how to choose the right one!
This image shows the spring-loaded gate on a heavy-duty carabiner clip.
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Carabiner Clip: What It Is & How It’s Used
A carabiner clip is a tool with a curved metal body and a spring-loaded gate. Rated, heavy-duty carabiner clips have devices to secure the gate shut, which serve as a part of the rating system for the tool.
Carabiner clips, or devices that look like them, are very popular - but how strong are they? Heavy-duty carabiner clips are designed to keep you safe and can potentially serve as a life-saving device. However, not all carabiner clips are created equal, so it’s important to choose the right one for your needs.
Visit almost any home-improvement store or major retailer, and you’ll likely find a display of carabiner clips in the hardware or sporting goods section. These devices are extremely handy for many light-duty attachment purposes, ranging from keychain carabiners, accessories on a backpack, water bottle carabiner clips, as well as organizing cordage and rope in the garage.
But, BEWARE! What you see in most general retail settings looks like what is used by search and rescue teams and for climbing and repelling gear - but they are not. In this article, you’ll learn how to know if you’ve selected a “real” carabiner clip, how to decipher load ratings, and how these great devices can be used when it comes to securing loads.
Feel free to check out our video at the end of this article, where Dirt Farmer Jay will share more of the real deal about carabiner clips with you. If you have questions or comments, you can also drop us a message in the comments section.
Read on to get more carabiner clip information!
What the Most Common Carabiner Clip Uses Are
While there are robust lists online of uses for keychain carabiners and other light-duty clips, the emphasis of this article is on heavy-duty carabiner clips. These devices are a lot more common in industrial, military, and first-responder settings than most people know.
These are some of the most common uses of heavy-duty carabiner clips:
First responders use them in a variety of settings for search and rescue gear and lifting of supplies, people, and platforms. SWAT teams use them for rappelling and climbing gear, and firefighters employ them for many uses.
Industry uses them as well for fall protection, rigging and harnesses, and for securing loads. Those who service bridges, lighting, and communication towers heavily depend on carabiner clips to keep them safe and secure.
Military use of carabiner clips is quite common as well. Carabiners are used to secure netted loads during aerial, land, or naval transport and to provide dependable lifting points. Plus, military personnel use them for personal safety and securement while on a craft.
Rated carabiner clips are even used in hot air balloons! The basket is ultimately attached to the balloon (the hot air envelope) with carabiners. Who knew?
How to Decipher Carabiner Clip Load Ratings
If you are looking at a light-duty carabiner clip, it will be embossed on the device itself. Medium-sized (about 2-½”/6-7 cm) spring-loaded gate “organizer” and “convenience” carabiner clips show about a 150#/68 kg maximum load and clearly state that they are not to be used for climbing.
Heavy-duty carabiner clips are rated clearly on the spine. In fact, if the carabiner clip you have doesn’t have ratings on the spine, it’s NOT the “real” thing! The ratings themselves take a bit of deciphering, as rating numbers express kN (kilonewtons). So what is a kilonewton? It’s about 225 lbs (102 kilograms) -- but that is only part of the story. This is not a static or stationary weight. Rather, it’s really a measurement of the force of gravity. Huh?
It’s possible to tie a hefty piece of string to a heavy weight and lift it slowly without the string breaking. But, when the weight is dropped, and it reaches the end of the length of the string, the string will snap. That’s the effect of the force of gravity. So, kN ratings are used to express the force of gravity being applied to a falling object or person.
All the elements used by rescue technicians, entertainment rigs, high-rise window washers, and high-altitude fall prevention harnesses are designed to absorb and/or redistribute the force generated by a fall. The kN rating shows how much force the carabiner clip is designed to withstand.
It's not unusual for the carabiner spine to display three kN ratings. An example is a carabiner clip rated as kN 25, 8, and 7 (we’ve provided an image to show you this example, below). This means that loading along the direction of the spine, with the gate secured properly, is rated at 25 kN. If loaded side-to-side, the rating is 8 kN. Lastly, if the gate is not secured, the rating is 7 kN. To get an approximate force rating expressed in kilos, multiply the kN number by 102. To get the answer in pounds, take the kN number and multiply it by 225.
This image shows a carabiner clip that’s rated as kN 25, 8, and 7.
How to Choose the Right Carabiner Clip
There are several variables in choosing the right carabiner clip, including rating and shape. For convenience clips, little more consideration needs to be taken beyond the size needed to secure or organize items. As the value, size, and weight of the objects being secured increases, so does what needs to be factored into the equation.
To simplify things, carabiner clip suppliers offer them in typical ratings expressed in kN (kilonewtons), a force of gravity rating. This holds true for only heavier-duty devices designed and rated to take heavier loads and NOT for convenience clips, which are typically marked “NOT FOR CLIMBING,” or display a low weigh rating in the low 100s of pounds. In contrast, working carabiner kN ratings typically translate into 1000s of pounds in terms of working limits!
A visit to online retailers or an outdoors recreational store will reveal that it’s not uncommon to find 12 kN carabiners. These are for moderate duty, including hammock suspension, securing tents, tarps, moderate loads, securing kayaks and boats, and the like. They are NOT recommended for climbing or for “life-loads.” To put this in perspective, 12 kN carabiners can hold about 2,700 lbs of static weight.
Another class of carabiner clip that is common to see are those with 25 or 30 kN ratings. These heavy-duty carabiner clips are significantly harder-working devices, holding well over two tons (metric or U.S.!) of static weight.
If you want to learn more, we’ve included links to two of the best educational resources and tools we’ve found online to determine what you need for your particular application. The first article will help you choose a carabiner clip. The second resource provides a complete guide to carabiners. We hope you enjoy these resources as much as we did!
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve done our best to answer some of the most common questions about carabiner clips here. If you have other carabiner clip questions, please leave them in the comments at the end of the article. We love hearing from you and responding to your feedback!
Now, let’s get to our list of some of the most frequently asked questions about carabiner clips!
What Is a Carabiner Clip Used For?
Carabiner clips can be used for a variety of purposes. Light-to-moderate duty carabiner clips are usually used in homes or for recreational purposes. In contrast, heavy-duty carabiner clips are often used as life-saving and preserving devices, such as in extreme sports (think rock climbing) and by search and rescue teams.
As noted, light-to-moderate duty carabiner clips (and devices that are variations on them) are in wide use in the home, yard, and recreational purposes. This includes keychain carabiners and water bottle carabiner clips. The purpose of this type of carabiner clip is to affix items to a backpack, to organize a set of tools or wrenches, for use on pet leashes, and to organize extension cords and rope.
Heavy-duty carabiner clips are used for rock-climbing and rappelling, search and rescue work, set rigging for entertainment sets, circus and trapeze shows, high rise window washing platforms and harnesses, and as fall protection harnesses for tradespeople accessing rooftops, high-rise building faces, and towers. These devices are also used in military settings in aviation and naval settings.
How Much Weight Can a Carabiner Clip Hold?
Carabiner keychains and other light-duty clips hold only small loads and can’t take any significant stress that dropped items might induce. They certainly can’t be used for “life loads” (e.g., rock climbing). You can’t even use them for large tarp attachments or to suspend a hammock! These are for only holding small objects or attaching them to a hook or bag.
As for rated heavy-duty carabiner clips, the amount of static weight the device can hold or safely take a shock load from a falling object (these are two different things - see the weight on a string illustration above) depends on its kN (kilonewton) rating. Each kN is equivalent to about 225 pounds or 102 kilos.
So, a 12 kN clip is rated along its long axis at about 2,700 lbs/1,225 kilos, and a 25 kN clip is rated along its long axis at about 5,600 pounds or 2,540 kilos.
Remember, these are the “force of gravity” ratings, meaning the maximum amount of force applied to the carabiner clip when a fall or sudden temporary load of some kind occurs.
How Much Weight Can a 30 kN Carabiner Hold?
A 30 kN carabiner can withstand about 6,750 lbs./3,060 kilos in STATIC (stationary) weight suspended through its long axis. If the object suspended from it drops for any significant distance before being caught by the rigging system that includes the carabiner, significantly more stress is put on the attachment.
This is because as acceleration increases, so does the force of gravity. For a second or two, the falling object acts as though it is heavier than it actually is. Isn’t science cool?
For this reason, carabiners are rated to take several times heavier stresses than the weight of the objects (or people!) suspended from them. To get an idea of this, remember that a U.S. ton is 2,000 pounds, while a metric ton is 1,000 kilograms (2,205 pounds). A 30 kN clip can carry more than three U.S. or metric tons (or a force of gravity of the same amount).
To put that in perspective, a U.S. full-sized extended cab pick-up truck will weigh around 3,000 to 3,500 pounds (1,360 to 1,590 kilos). If that carabiner can hold the static weight of about two pick-up trucks, and if it’s rigged properly, it can hold you - even if you fall. Comforting, huh?
Why Is it Called a Carabiner?
According to those that study where words came from (a discipline called “etymology”), the ancestry of the word carabiner is pretty clear. Carabiner has its roots in the German word karabinerhaken, which means “carbine hook.” A carbine hook is the attachment point on a type of rifle called a carbine. The carrying strap for the weapon was affixed to the rifle using this type of hook. Like many words that are assimilated into other languages, they get shortened. Hence, “karabinerhaken” became “carabiner.”
Now, you can impress your friends at your next card night!
Bottom Line
Carabiner clip use has been adopted in various settings, ranging from simple convenience to outright life-saving operations! The different types and load ratings available allow the correct choice to be made for the application at hand.
A basic understanding of carabiner clip shapes will allow a load to be correctly and securely distributed. In contrast, knowledge of how carabiner clips are load-rated will assure that the right device is used for the job at hand.
If you have any questions about carabiner clips or want to share your knowledge on the topic, feel free to leave a message in the comments. We enjoy conversations with our readers!
