Beware of perma-draws!

Thanks gianluca for posting this excellent summary here - a subject which definitely needs more attention. To Anderl: it takes a lot until worn carabiners break, at least as long as the gate is closed and the rope runs through the groove. Carabiners which are worn due to lowering off on that very same carabiner and/or falls are usually less critical, because they tend to have round edges that do not cut the rope - and as mentioned, it takes a lot until they break themselves. The main danger is, as explained above, fixed carabiners that are worn because they are in the first draw(s), are below roofs or out-of-line, i.e. in places where the rope angles slightly, and where nobody lowers off from or falls frequently. Under the "right" conditions (people using dirty ropes and a lot of pressure on the biner), these can develop razor sharp edges very quickly which are not at all easy to spot!!! This means that such dangerous edges can appear a longtime before the carabiner is half worn through, but only a few days after it was installed. As the fatal accident in Switzerland, the other cases and the Black Diamond investigations show, ropes can and do break in such sharp-edged carabiners. Thus inspect in-situ carabiners always with care and only clip them if you are 100% sure that there are NO SHARP EDGES! Also note that I was in the meantime told (in personal communication from specialists) that even lowering from very sharp biners can be critical with respect to rope damage.

8a is peparing a story so any more feedback is welcome. What I personally have hard to understand and i think what will be hard to convince the community is how a carabiner can be so sharp so it cuts the rope. i could undestand this if you turn the quickdraw upside down as I the hanger often makes the carabiner sharp but not the rope. Please explain some more...jens

I still do not understand what you say. Please, explain some more :)

Another alternative is to use industrial steel biners instead of regular climbing biners. They last much longer and are much stronger as well. Also using chains instead of slings is good for shorter ones (long chain draws can be a pain to clip and can add a lot of weight).

This is a terrible accident and one that I unfortunately suspect we'll see more of as fixed draws become more commonplace. The fact that Jens is still having trouble grasping how this happens is an indication that these dangerous carabiners will be overlooked by other climbers. @ Jens. I'll try to explain how this happens. Imagine clipping your rope to a biner, saying "take" and lowering to the ground. Picture how the rope runs up from the belay, through the carabiner and back down to the ground. As the rope eventually wears the biner, it creates a nice round U shape. This is not the kind of wear being discussed. Now imagine clipping the top anchor and lowering to the ground. Try to picture what is happening to the first quickdraw. It's being pulled straight out from the wall and rope is running through the biner almost perpendicular to the spine. It is not wearing a nice rounded U-shaped edge. It's wearing a flat spot, perpendicular to the spine of the biner and creating a horribly sharp edge. Clicking on the third link that Gianluca posted gives a visual. Because people usually don't lower to the ground or fall on the first or second quickdraw, this is a common problem spot. It can also happen at a particularly easy section where people don't usually fall, or a slightly off route bolt. The problem is that when someone does eventually fall there, they're falling on that sharp edge. It might be unpopular to say this but the sharpest biners I see out there are the Petzl Spirits. I know people love them, Petzl sells tons of them, and likely won't stop. Unfortunately, they're often found fixed on routes. Because of the flaring stock they use, it only takes a little bit of time to create a disasterously sharp edge. I know this can happen with any biner design but it happens much faster with the Spirits and the result is much sharper than a worn oval for example. I'm not bashing Petzl, they make great stuff, but I am suggesting that in light of some of these accidents, it might be time for them to rethink the design of their otherwise excellent carabiner.

Thanks Mikey, I can now understand it and I will create an article. This is really bad. Could you explain why it happends faster with petzl Spirit. Once again thank you very much.

Is this article OK and what should we call it, "Perma drawers" We have lately heard about several accidents where the rope has been cut of completely by carabiners which through extensive usage have gotten a very sharp edges. Imagine a fix quickdraw under a roof that is pulled out when the climber is lowered of from the top. <a href=" Black'>http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/journal/climb/knowledge/qc-lab-dangers-of-rope-worn-carabiners"target="_blank">Black Diamond</a> has produced and article with a mind blowing picture for potential death trap carabiners. Some weeks ago, I climber was killed due to a cut rope in Switzerland. It should also been mentioned that this of course also can happen when a carabiner is sideways creating a bad angle for the carabiner. Please spread the news around as there most probably are hundred of death trap old carabiners hanging out there. (You can click on the FB Icon in the header).