Black Diamond Magnetron Karabiner - Useful Gear or a Safety Risk?

The Black Diamond Magnetron karabiner comes in three different sizes and styles, these being the:

RockLock - RRP £22.00

Weight: 87 g

L-R: RockLock, GridLock & VapourLock

Gate Opening: 21mm

Open/Closed Gate Strength: 7/24 kN

GridLock - RRP £27.00

Weight: 78 g

Gate Opening: 21mm

Closed Gate Strength: 8/22 kN

VapourLock - RRP £24.00

Weight: 56 g

Gate Opening: 20mm

Open/Closed Gate Strength: 8/21 kN

I received RockLock as a present after completing my first lead climb and I can honestly say it's one of the most innovative and useful pieces of gear that I own. I've read a lot of mixed reviews on the subject of magnet locking karabiners so thought I'd write my own after clearing up a few questions that I've seen asked.

Q) I dropped my magnetron in a box of iron filings which has rendered it useless (genuine post!) 
A) What are you doing keeping a box of iron filings with your gear? That's like keeping ice cubes next to the fire

Q) Will the magnets wear out?
A) No... It's a magnet

Q) What if I get sand or grit in the locking arms?
A) Wipe them? getting sand or grit in the locking mechanism of a screwgate will probably cause you more problems

What is clear to me from these questions is that there is a lack of common sense, and also there are a lot of 'what ifs'. I could pose the question 'what if I cross loaded the karabiner whilst wrapping the rope around the two locking arms and pulled it tight in such a way the karabiner came open and I became unclipped?' Well there is 2 possible answers to that 1) I'm really unlucky, also I need to find a new climbing partner as they aren't keeping me tight on the rope while they are belaying, 2) I'm on the floor (probably at home on my settee) trying to make this situation happen, not really putting myself at any risk at all.




How does it work?
It is pretty simple to open, all you require is one thumb and one index finger, pinch together and pull towards your hand in one swift motion. Locking it is even more simple, you just have to let go, and there is a magnet in an indent that attracts the protruding magnet on the arm that completely locks it shut.

Footage showing how the karabiner opens

Useful piece of gear?
I love my magnetron. Yes you can probably buy two other karabiners for the price of one of these, but for me the personal advantages are completely justified in the pricing. As I've mentioned on an earlier post, I really struggle with circulation and numb fingers in the winter months and this karabiner is perfect for these situations. It means I don't have to worry about getting to the top of a climb with painful fingers and have to fiddle with a load of screw gates to open them and rig my belay. All i have to do is pinch, pull and let go, my karabiner is now placed onto the belay loop of my harness ready to get to action. Also the locking arms are pretty easy to open whilst wearing gloves as well so if I was belaying a group of children on a bottom rope on a cold day I could keep my gloves on whilst setting up. Everything about this karabiner is smooth, there are no sharp bits that catch on the rope, the actual locking arms are pretty low profile so don't get stuck on anything unlike the screw on a screwgate. The locking arms are pretty substantial and require a fair bit of force to open them, not a lot, but just enough that you don't have to worry about them being flimsy and easy to knock open. The pinch point on the locking arms are also ribbed so that it is easily grippable.

Magnetron Clipped onto my belay loop

Safety risk?
The only real problem I could possibly see occurring using a magnetron is if you used it to clip children or beginners onto the rope. If they got half way up a climb or half way down an abseil panicked and grabbed onto the karabiner. There is one way to prevent this though, don't use a magnetron in this situation. I believe when introducing children or beginners to climbing you should introduce them to traditional practices and use traditional gear, such as a screw gate karabiner. For example, you wouldn't buy a child a macbook as their first laptop. Also, you might use gucci high tech gear, then they may go to somewhere else at a later date who don't have gear as high spec, and then they wll have no idea what they are doing or how to use it. However, if they were taught how to use a screwgate karabiner, they'd have the extra safety of not being able to accidentally undo it while they were flapping, and they would have a rough idea how to use most other karabiners then.

Rating?
In conclusion I feel it's an extremely useful piece of kit, I'm yet to experience any problems with it, and until such time as I do it will remain my favorite karabiner. I feel it is worth the money and would definitely recommend at least trying one out to everyone.   

First Lead Climb

Back in January I set out to Birchen Edge with Chris (ElectronicMountainLeader) and Atko with the intention of doing my first lead climb on a smaller crag. We’d sat down the night before and decided my first lead was going to be on a climb called Stoker’s Wall graded Diff, to break me in gently. Upon arrival I spent a few minutes with them both practising gear placements, and waiting for some remote control car people who decided to carry out repairs right at the bottom of the crag to move.

 First gear placement

20 minutes later and off I went. I spent a few minutes at the bottom of the climb faffing with my first gear placement, not because I wasn’t happy with it, I was just trying to calm my nerves. Without realising, after the first move, I strayed left of the climb and straight onto Stoked which is graded at Severe 4a, which is the level I need to be climbing at for my SPA assessment.  I climbed pretty well up until the crux at the top of the climb; I just couldn’t get any grip with my right foot and was struggling to find a handhold to help me push up. At this point I was getting really frustrated with myself as I thought I was still on Stoker’s wall, and I didn’t like the idea of being defeated by a Diff as I knew id climbed much harder grades on Top Rope before. If I was struggling to finish a Diff how was I ever going to be able to complete my SPA? I didn’t really have much choice other than to top out or fall. I managed it, in the end I just had to trust my foot placement and maul my way over the top.

The crux

At the top of the climb

At the top I didn’t really feel a sense of pride, I just wanted to get away from the crag, as I was stood shivering and was starting to question my ability. The main problem I have with climbing is that I have poor circulation in my hands and feet which makes it really hard to grip sometimes, especially in the cold and windy weather. It was only on the way back in the car when we realised I’d actually climbed across onto Stoked that I felt an overwhelming sense of relief, and felt happy that I’d successfully completed my first lead climb. 

Packing up with numb hands

Video of my first lead climb