Safer rather than sorry...

Wild Country produce a sensible range of screwgate karabiners which should cover most situations for a variety of climbers - and for 2010 all of our biners come with a Keylock nose, meaning that their usability is improved and the gate is 'snag-free' on ropes and tapes.

So from our ultralite Neon or the new Ion to the burly and re-assuring new Synergy Twistlock they're easy to handle, strong and reliable.

The screwgate is an essential part of any climbers kit and in a standard leading rack will probably carry around four. Although mainly used for setting belays or safe belaying, the screwgate gives extra re-assurance in all situations where the gate may be forced open, or when the gate opening would be a disaster.

Wild Country 2010 Screwgates

Neon Keylock Screwgate - One of the lightest screwgates in the world at 43 grams and a fantastic choice for your hardest ascents. Click through to see.

Ion Keylock Screwgate - the Neon's big brother and a fantastic full size screwgate at only 50 grams. Click through to see.

Titan Keylock Screwgate - a classic re-worked the Titan's a great biner at a brilliant price. Click through to see.

Oxygen Keylock Screwgate - our strongest offset D screwgate is a workhorse with style. Click through to see.

Synergy Keylock HMS Screwgates - Three great screwgates based on the same shape and a 12mm bar construction that offer a choice of 'HMS' styles including our new Autolock. Click through to see.

Which Screwgate Does What...

Because of the variety of the demands on screwgates, there is a number of styles of screws available and this can sometimes be confusing, especially to the first time buyer.

However, as a brief guide their uses can be best identified by looking at their strengths and their shapes and aligning these to your use.

Size - Interestingly, in general the larger the screwgate the lower the rated strength, this is due to the amount of leverage that can be built up over the length of the ‘arm’ at the widest end. Therefore it is important to always look at the ratings on screwgates as they do vary widely and the strongest looking may not be the strongest however they will fit the most rope inside…As the inverse of this it also important to compare shapes, with the more compact ‘D’ shaped screwgates offering the most strength but not giving as much opportunity for differing uses and different knots.

Screw Vs Twist – . However, whichever gate you choose it is important to note that both gates use 7075 alloy which is the same as the biner body and is super strong. This means unlike many other brands the gate when closed should make the same strength if pushed inwards while closed. This is not a requirement for the CE test but it is something that we have insisted on as there have been a number of notable failures of gates when pushed in, especially in abseiling situations using Figure 8s.

Bar Size – As you can probably guess the numbers next to any screwgate relate to the size of the bar that is used to make the karabiner. There are two things about this to briefly mention. One is that this is the size of the bar before it is shaped, so when you look at the finished product it may not be the exact measurement in all directions. Two is that obviously, the size of the bar generally gives an indication of strength- the thicker the bar the stronger the biner, however, this is only true as long as the biners are made in the same manner and are the same shape.

The Wild Country range includes nearly all types of screwgates so have a look through and see which suits your purpose.

Top News Story