Which way should you face carabiners on quickdraws?
Sport climbers generally agree on a few quickdraw “best practices”:
You always use the same carabiner for the bolt hanger. Reason: Any metal nicks or burrs from the steel bolt hangers never touch the rope.
If you have a bent gate carabiner, it goes on the bottom. Reason: Faster to clip.
The spine of the bottom carabiner should face in the direction you’re climbing. Meaning, if the route heads to the right, the gate on the bottom carabiner should face to the left. Reason: if you fall, the force goes against the strongest part of the carabiner; the spine, not the gate.
Quickdraw slings (aka “dogbones”) almost always have one sewn loop that’s narrow and snug, and one loop that’s larger (or with Petzl draws, a little rubber thingie called the “String”, see image at the top of this page.) The narrow snug loop or rubber String/thingie always goes on the bottom carabiner. Reason: If it were on the top, the carabiner could rotate and be loaded in a weak position. See image below.
image: petzl.com
But, what about this: which way the BOTTOM gate should face?
Should it be the OPPOSITE direction as the top carabiner, or the SAME direction?
Some famous climbers say “opposite” (without really being able to articulate why). Alex Honnold says, “I don't really care”. Adam Ondra says “same direction”.
But consider: every major gear manufacturer (that I've ever seen) has the carabiners facing the SAME way.
Why is this?The clever climbing gnomes at Black Diamond have some answers. They offer two reasons for facing your draws the same way.
There's a chance that the top carabiner could be rotated into a position where it is not properly loaded along the spine, and potentially even unclip; this is like the Petzl warning diagram above.
It helps you clip faster and more efficiently when you're pumped, scared on lead, and your reptile brain has taken over. With gates facing the same direction, you can grab the draw and place it faster with a glance at the top gate, ensuring the bottom gate is facing the correct direction.
Bonus reason: Adam Ondra always rigs his quickdraws with gates facing the same way. That should tell you everything you need to know.
This content and general tip idea first came from the Black Diamond website. You can read the whole article here.
