Choosing quickdraws, carabiners and slings.

Instruction comes first

Quickdraws are on the UIAA's 2018 single-pitch equipment list, and the UIAA says anyone using technical gear needs specific training and must understand its limits. The BMC defines sport climbing as climbing on fixed protection, mainly bolts already in the rock. How a rope is clipped and how a quickdraw sits on a bolt are taught, not explained here. The American Alpine Club's monthly "The Prescription" recorded, in November 2024, three accidents reported in 2023 in which a quickdraw unclipped or snagged on a bolt hanger. Nothing on this page says a product is certified, safe or fit for use.

What a quickdraw is, in standards terms

The European Commission's PPE guidelines (October 2025) list climbing karabiners, which EN 12275 calls connectors, and slings among Category III equipment against falls from a height. The European connector standard is EN 12275:2013, which SATRA, a UIAA-accredited laboratory, summarises; the UIAA's is UIAA 121, at version 4 (2018). The BMC text the UIAA distributes with UIAA 121 describes a type D, or directional, connector as one for loading in one direction with a captive or semi-captive sling, as used in quickdraws.

Slings fall under EN 566:2017, which replaced the 2006 edition; a maker's instructions for connectors and quickdraws (Skylotec), as shown in search results, cite EN 566:2017 for slings, though we could not read the document itself. The UIAA lists UIAA 104 Slings at version 3 (2018). As Edelrid summarises the 2006 edition, a sling must pass a 22 kN static strength test and be marked with the maker's name, breaking strength, EN 566, year of manufacture and the CE mark with the notified body's number. Whether the 2017 edition changed those figures was not confirmed.

Reading the letters and numbers

The UIAA-distributed BMC text explains that types H (HMS), K (via ferrata) and X (oval) carry their letter inside a circle, that types D, A and Q are recognisable by shape, and that an unmarked karabiner is a basic connector. Its strengths are marked in kN along the major axis with the gate closed, across the minor axis, and along the major axis with the gate open. SATRA tabulates the EN 12275:2013 minimums:

These are the lowest figures a new connector may achieve in the certification test, not figures for use, and SATRA notes many connectors claim higher ratings that the maker must show it can achieve. The BMC text calls the gate-open figure the most important one for the climber. It says the 1998 standard raised the minimum gate-open strength from 6 kN to 7 kN to make gate-open failures less likely, that this does not guarantee they never happen, and that nearly all karabiners made before 1990 carry no gate-open marking. The BMC's Equipment Investigation Panel found most karabiner failures reported to it came from loading with the gate open or abnormal loading forcing the gate open (BMC, 2001).

Wire gates and solid gates

Wikipedia (secondary) describes a solid gate as a metal gate with a separate pin and spring, used by most locking karabiners, and a wire gate as a single bent piece of spring-steel wire, which is lighter. The BMC text says a wire gate's lower mass greatly reduces the chance of the gate opening from whiplash, but that some wire gates may open more readily when scraped along rough rock under load, so wire gates solve some problems but not all (2001).

Our picks by category

Lifespan: metal and textile differ

• The BMC text distributed by the UIAA (2001) says a properly looked-after karabiner has no reason not to last at least 20 years, and that karabiners are more often replaced for handling or weight than for strength.
• DMM (undated) gives textile and plastic products a maximum of 10 years from manufacture and metal products no time limit, adding that obsolescence can come sooner.
• Petzl is credited in search snippets with an indefinite lifetime for metal products; unconfirmed.
• A climbing website's summary says DMM and Wild Country recommend a 10-year maximum for metal components, which DMM's own instructions contradict.

So a quickdraw's sling and its carabiners carry different statements. The BMC text adds that quickdraws and other connectors with textile parts should be stored cool, dark, dry and airy, and reports seawater corrosion due to lack of care. Each figure is that maker's or body's statement; the maker's instructions and a competent person decide when gear is retired. See gear lifespan.