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I’ve seen aluminum carabiners develop a sharp edge after only a few days on a project, especially in areas with highly abrasive rock or lots of grit, and the fact that the Bulletproof draw has yet to show any wear is amazing.įrom my experience, the Bulletproof draw seems to provide the same level of durability as a full steel carabiner (like those found on many perma-draws) at a significantly lower price and a fraction of the weight. Even when compared to burliest aluminum carabiners I’ve used, there’s no question that the Bulletproof’s steel insert withstands rope wear significantly better. Matt Zia climbing with the Edelrid Bulletproof Quickdraw, Bozeman Pass, MT.Īfter a full season of climbing on the Bulletproof draws, I cannot discern any wear to the steel rope-bearing surface of the carabiner. So does the steel insert provide enough of an increase in durability to justify the increase in price? The Bulletproof quickdraws are anywhere from $10-$15 more expensive per quickdraw than “normal” aluminum quickdraws. All except the two Edelrid draws use fully aluminum carabiners.ġ00 g Petzl Spirit Express Quickdraw, 17 cmġ08 g DMM Alpha VW Sport Quickdraw, 18 cmġ10 g Black Diamond Positron Quickdraw, 18 cmġ22 g Edelrid Bulletproof Quickdraw, 18 cmģ02 g Edelrid Jim Steel Wire Quickdraw, 18 cm For reference, below are some stated weights for a few notable solid-gate quickdraws. The Bulletproof quickdraw is a bit heavier than most regular aluminum solid-gate draws, but it’s still far lighter than full steel draws. I think the Bulletproof carabiners have more tension than the CAMP Photon carabiner, but less than the Black Diamond Hotwire. The gate action on the Bulletproof carabiners is comparable to the Spirits though - nice and snappy with what I’d call a “medium” amount of tension. Edelrid Bulletproof Quickdraw (green) and Petzl Sprit Express Quickdraw (orange) I personally prefer the slightly wider and rounder Spirit carabiners more as I find them easier to clip, but these differences are subtle and certainly up to personal preference. When compared to the Petzl Spirit draws (my current favorite sport draws), the carabiners on the Bulletproof draw are slightly more elongated and have slightly less curve to the gate on the rope-end carabiner. Different carabiners often have subtle differences in the shape of the spine and gate, whether they use a solid or wire gate, and how snappy or smooth the gate closure is. The shape and “action” of quickdraws / carabiners are often where user preference often comes into play. The Bulletproof is available in both a 12cm and 18cm version, and the dogbone can be swapped out to user preference. Both the bolt- and the rope-end carabiners on the Bulletproof are solid-gate, keylock nose, non-locking carabiners. And apart from the steel insert, the Bulletproof draw looks just like most other quickdraws on the market. So how’d they do?Ĭarabiner and quickdraw technology is at a point where the differences between options on the market are often small and preferential, not groundbreaking. After seeing aluminum carabiners wear out in single seasons or less, I was interested to see just how much of a difference the steel insert made in the lifespan of the Bulletproof quickdraw.
QUICKDRAW SHOW SERIES
To extend the life of gear while still maintaining a reasonable weight and cost, Edelrid developed the Bulletproof series of carabiners, which feature a steel insert on the basket of an aluminum carabiner to increase the longevity of the loaded surface. This is particularly true for quickdraws due to the repeated cycles of running a weighted rope across the relatively small radius of a single carabiner. While sport climbing isn’t very gear intensive compared to pursuits like alpine climbing, projecting, repeated falls, and multiple laps on climbs still tend to wear out specific pieces of gear at a very high rate. Rope Carabiner: aluminum w/ steel insert.