Petzl Spirit Carabiner

This has been the loveliest functioning carabiner on the market for over 10 years. The keylock system rocks...no snagging on anything. No other company that has a keylock carabiner does it better than the original Spirit. One drawback is their weight (hence the missing star above). They are heavy compared to many of the newer (especially wire gates) carabiners on the market, so if weight is a concern (for your alpine rack or a hard route that you are trying to free), I recommend some of the light wire gates (check out Trango's, DMM's or Mammuts). If you want the Cadillac of carabiners and don't mind a little extra weight along with your amazing handling, this is the one.

The Petzl Spirit is one of my favorite biners, and the best non-wire gate biner I've used. It has really smooth action, and a keylock gate. The keylock gate is good for racking stoppers, since the wire won't caught on the gate when selecting a nut. The spirit is a mid-sized biner, with a good sized gate opening and is fairly light weight.

I use these biners and 8mm runners for my slings, and they work really well. The keylock system is great - it's a real pain when non-keylock biners snag on the chains b/c you're going at it one-handed (your other hand is breaking on your rap device). Plus they do look rad.

Very solid, easy flow opening. This product gives a very high confidence level. I used these along with the Petzl 25cm slings for some awesome slings.

The Petzl Spirit is the best biner on the market and should be on everyone's rack. The keylock close system prevents snags while you're trying to set that vital piece of protection. Super smooth action when clipping your rope in.

The Petzl Spirit is, in my opinion, the slickest ‘biner out there. Keyless gate and very smooth clipping action make unclipping from your harness or gear as hassle-free as possible—no hang-ups! The anodized finish lets you easily distinguish your gear from your partner's gear, plus, the color pattern on the straight gate ‘biners is the opposite of the bent gate ‘biners, making it that much faster for you to decide which one to grab. A+ for Petzl.

Really one of the best ‘biners I've had the pleasure of using. The grooves on the straight gate version really do help on clips!

This carabiner sure has some spirit. There is a reason why all those hard sport climbs you see in the magazines are equipped with Petzl spirit quickdraws. These clean nose carabiners clip like a dream. They also have a huge rope bearing surface, so you don’t beat your rope up while working a route. My only beef with these is there are really only good as sport ‘biners, there are too many lightweight choices out there when it comes to a ‘biner to use on your rack.

Just like every other piece of Petzl equipment, this lives up to the same exacting standards as the rest. All of my quickdraws are capped by Spirits.

Of all the solid gate ‘biners that are the same price, these are quite possibly the most well-thought out. However, they are on the heavy side nowadays, with several full-size wiregate alternatives weighing a good thirty percent less. If you must have solid gates, go ahead, they're great in that respect, but there are many other wiregates that do the same thing for less weight.

Try this...put out several similar biners (including the Spirit) in front of you. Now, pick each one up one at a time and just get the feel of it. If you're anything like me, the Petzl Spirit will just feel ultra-natural and comfortable. The grippy ridges where your forefinger opens the gate are super-smooth. The gate opens smoothly and evenly, and it's really light. If you want the Cadillac of biners without the weight, pick up a few of these.