This tasty, compact pear shaped design just got better with the addition of our key lock nose design. The thick rod stock makes for easy rope handling and works perfectly with our BRD, munter hitch or other plate-style devices.
Features:
- Perfect for our BRD, munter hitch and other belay devices
- Workhorse belay biner for an exceptional price
- CE/UIAA certified
- Individually tested to 1/2 its rated strength
- Individually tested to 11 kN / 2473 lb.
- Hot-forged, key-lock design
- Compact, pear-shaped design for belaying and rappelling
- Snag-free keylock nose
| Carabiner Shape: | Pear |
|---|---|
| Frame Shape: | D |
| Gate Clearance: | 19 mm |
| Gate Closed Strength: | 23 kN |
| Gate Open Strength: | 8 kN |
| Gate Opening: | 0.74" / 19 mm |
| Gate Style: | Straight |
| Gate Type: | Locking |
| Gate-Open Strength: | 8 kN / 1800 lbf |
| Key Lock Gate: | Yes |
| Locking Mechanism: | Screw Lock |
| Major Axis Strength: | 23 kN |
| Major Axis Strength (Closed): | 24 kN |
| Major Axis Strength (Open): | 8 kN |
| Major-Axis Strength: | 24 kN / 5400 lbf |
| Material: | Aluminum |
| Minor Axis Strength: | 8 kN |
| Minor-Axis Strength: | 8 kN / 1800 lbf |
| Rope-Bearing: | 12 mm |
| Strength: | 23 kN (5170 lbf) |
| Surface Width: | 0.47" |
| Type: | Locking |
| Weight: | 2.5 oz. (73 g) |
| Weight (Grams): | 73 g |
Metolius Element Key Lock Carabiner Reviews:
Positive Reviews:
This is my go to belaying biner. It's a little narrow for rappelling off double ropes. With it's smaller size, the biner is easier to manage and less likely to cross load. It's shape lends to super smooth rope handling and the lack of a hook prevents the rope or cord from binding up in the gate. The gate is a bit off center, which causes it to grind a bit when opening and closing. Also, the locking sleeve has to travel a bit further than my other locking biners. These things in mind, this is still my #1 locking biner for belaying. Would I use it for anything besides belaying? Likely not. A+ metolius!
These little carabieners are great for a lot of things but like everything else in the world, not the right choice for everything that you may do. They have been with me through dirty sandstone canyons, climbing sport & Trad routes, high angle rescue work,... , they have never let me down. The round shape reduces friction when hauling & the small size is convenient.
These are always on my tether for quick easy attachment to an anchor. Red & green aids in quick ID'ing whatever it is attached to, wish they had more colors. No need to over-tighten the gate, so never an issue with unscrewing it. Theses are tough, small, light & strong.
Really good belay biner
Because it's a bit smaller than normal belay biners and a bit fatter, it might not be the best biner for some applications. The colour fades really quickly too and it's not really scratch resistant. That said, it's only the surface coating and won't affect the performance or safety.
A little small for my bear paws to use, but work pretty well for simple anchors and other tasks where I don't need to fuss with them too much.
Works really well with a personal anchor system. The unique color makes it unmistakable, though the small size makes setting it when you're tweaked a little more difficult.
Follow-up. It breaks my heart to say but I dropped it at the top of a pitch. I don't know what went wrong, but it's now retired. I'll have to buy a replacement.
This is a great carabiner for belaying. The fact that it has a round stock means it will add friction to the rope and wear less on the rope. Yes it does have a somewhat slow locking action. However if you put a few drops of gun oil between the locking sleeve and the gate all you have to do is flick it and it will spin open and shut on its own.
Metolius Biner
It is really nice right now it is on my grigri. I will say that it is a little small I prefer the Petzl attache. However I do prefer the price of the metolius much more. The action on it is very nice also and all around good product.
Excellent carabiner; I constantly trust my life with this product. Mine have been through rain, shine, ice, and the sands of time and are still my go-tos. My only complaint is that they are a bitch to open if it's cold out.
Like other reviewers have said, the sleeve takes more turns than BD locking biners... but the smooth shape, small size, and light weight mean I'll be keeping this one and using it for belaying.
good but small
Negative Reviews:
My previous review stated my overall dissatisfaction with this biner, but a recent experience has made things worse.
I let a friend borrow my PAS, which had the element attached to it, for cleaning a route. While at the top and in the process of cleaning the top rope anchor the screwlock on the element biner over tightened itself on the rock somehow, and tightened over the threads making it impossible to unscrew. When he tried explaining this to me from the top of the route I thought he was just pumped and couldn't unscrew it, but this wasn't the case. I ended up having to climb up there, cut him out of a loop of my PAS, and he rappeled down.
This wasn't the best way to end a day of climbing. Although this may be a rare case I won't be buying an element again no matter how cheap.
This biner wishes it could be larger, smaller, lighter, and heavier at the same time. The durability and lock are good- maybe too good- but the size is off and for its limited uses the weight is too high for a non-belay locker. With skinny cords it works fine for belaying but who belays only on a 9.2 single? I've also gotten the screw gate stuck to the point of needing vice grips, which isn't so good. I obviously haven't used these in the alpine yet.
The size is nice, but as others have mentioned:
- The screwgate squeaks and feels shoddy.
- The screwgate becomes hard to unscrew after the biner has been weighted.
- It requires about twice as many turns to screw/unscrew compared to other popular screwgate lockers.
- If there's snow around the screw anywhere, you're going to have quite a tough time escaping from the biner's clutches.
Not going to lie... these things are a pain in the *** to screw open and closed. for the price you can get better.
Neutral Reviews:
They work I guess would be the point of this. This is a locking carabiner and so far its worked well enough for making sure a biner doesn't open unexpectedly, but there is nothing special about this model other than it may be a little small for most uses of a locking biner. I tend to find myself locking off gear on anchors to create a fully closed system with these.
It works fine, but the element key lock feels a bit small and cheap as a belay 'biner. I'm sure it's plenty safe, but the screw-gate could do to be a bit smoother and easier to unlock. Given the choice between the Element and other options, the Element usually gets relegated to the second string.
This locker is just too small while belaying or rappelling. Especially while rappelling, it is difficult to clip around the belay loop on any harness. I'd recommend a larger locker for those looking for a new belay locking biner.
