Carabiners for Camping

The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) say that 'a real climbing fall has a maximum force of 5kn' and the standard for climbing carabiners demand a static strength of 20kn, which holds a mass of around 2 tons (considered to cope with the worst conceivable fall). For use in WildCamping this is of course unnecessary for most anticipated uses e.g. holding up a hammock, tarp, or latching your water bottle to your bergen.

Another consideration is weight. A climbing carabiner typically weighs between 80g and 160g and while this seems small, for a WildCamping experience weight is everything. If you choose to have 6-8 carabiners in your rucksack then 1kg could be as heavy as your sleeping bag.

At Disce Pati we'd recommend lightweight keyring carabiners for attaching your bottles and other essentials to your backpack and for your camp setup (like hooking your hammock to your tree huggers) we'd recommend a minimum of 5kn, or preferably 12kn if you can get the best aluminium alloy designs that offer lightweight options.

There are many types of caribiners and here are the one's most commonly used:

Twist Lock: While great for climbing, try to avoid this dependable twist and lock mechanism, which does hold items secure, but has limited practical use for quick release and is a little overkill for most excursions. This is a common option for climbers, casual hikers and family site camping, but for WildCamping we feel the design is tricky and offers no real-world added security for your setup. The designs often look better, but this comes with a heavier weight (typically 60g each) and quickly becomes an annoyance when needing to unhook or adjust your setup.

Snap Hooks: Our second favorite carabiner for WildCamping. It's smooth snap and lock mechanism is quick to hook on paracord and limits that nasty skin catching on your fingers when the rope is tight and you're a little too eager to set up quickly. The weight isn't ideal (typically 23g for 5kn or 44g for 12kn, depending on design) but after several field test this is sure to stand up to heavy loads and any task you throw at it.

Clip Hooks: Otherwise known as D-Ring Wire Gate hooks, this carabiner style is our Disce Pati, field-tested, preferred carabiner, by a country-mile. At a jaw-dropping 21g for 12kn, this slender design can hold 1.2 tonnes of weight (that's 2654lbs or almost 189 stone!) and perfectly balances high-load capacity, quick clip and release, as well as a lightweight kitbag footprint. This innovative design gives you the best of every world, including a zero-risk finger-snagger wire clip design!

If you're looking for a lightweight, snag-free, heavy-load carabiner for WildCamping, whether its to hang your hammock, hook your tarp or clip your valuables to your rucksack, then we'd recommend Carabiner Wire Gate Clip Hooks.