Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information opinion website and e magazine. Lou's passion for the past 45 years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about
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Interesting. Immediate concerns that come to mind are the brittleness of powerful magnets (bang ‘em hard on rock/concrete for a while and see if the magnets start to crack), ice/gunk/ferromagnetic debris inhibiting locking, and the effects of stray magnetic fields on other devices (biners sticking together, remagnetizing compass needles, etc).
Cool to see new ideas out there
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It will certainly be easier to use, but I am skeptical of the security. I can already think of a situation or two where the gate could inadvertently unlock and open. Maybe I’m wrong and I’ll be all over one of these next summer, but the tradeoff in security as compared to a screwgate doesn’t seem worth it.
My biggest concern is that in dusty or sandy environments the magnets would indeed quickly load up with ferrous junk. Easy enough to test. Main thing is that they appear to be a locking biner that’s incredibly user friendly. That is huge, as lockers add a great deal of safety to just about any situation.
I am more concerned with the strength of the carabiner’s nose (?) where the steel insert is. I cannot see that the steel insert in a doughnut of aluminum would be stronger than uninterrupted aluminum. I am sure BD tested the heck out of them though.
Well, since they aren’t released for another year, I imagine that they’ll be tested and certified. But the hype engine starts now!
Magnets can affect avalanche beacons. I once saw how a chest pocket with a magnetic closure could turn on or off a Barryvox seacon.
Not sure this is that big of an improvement over what is already available. I definately won’t rush out an replace the biners I have. Maybe if I were getting some new lockers anyway.