Question on life support carabiners with auto locking bypass feature

[Phil]

I was teaching a tree climbing class earlier this week. Almost all participants brought their own gear. Most of the gear was in great shape but was not familiar to them. It was just what they were given by their employer. Will doing our gear check, one of the participants had a carabiner that would stay locked in an open position. Meaning the gate would close, just not rotate the barrel locked until it was pressed open a 2nd time. I thought something was wrong with the gate but upon closer inspection, it appeared to be intentional to the design. I could clearly see a machined indent on the gate that locked it in a conventional carabiner mode. Brand was Rock Exotica. We took it out of service just to be safe and by my logic, if it has a feature that prevents an "Auto Lock", it is not compliant with our standards. I did some research and the best I can come up with is this thing: https://arbsession.com/rock-exotica-rockd-orca-lock-carabiner.html

I don't recall seeing the ORCA labeling on the gate. I am not that familiar with Rock Exotica carabiners either. I don't use them.

Basically my question is: "Is the carabiner I linked, or one like I described, ok to use, per our ANSI Z133 standards, as life support?" My position is "No".

 

[Brocky]

Sounds like it locks after it has been opened in the non lock mode.

 

[Njdelaney]

I think you can rotate the gate and it will stay in that position in case you need to free your hand for something, then you just push the gate in and it opens. They do close automatically though. I used them on my last lanyard and they were just fine. Didn't know they did that when I bought them(used) but I liked them just fine. I would guess they don't pass strict regulatory muster. Orca Auto-lock I think they were called. Black with a blue gate

 

[Keeth]

My position is "No".

Agreed!

 

[Tuebor]

They do not meet ANSI standards.

 

[Jehinten]

The way they function is you can do a "soft open" without it autolocking by not opening the gate all of the way. Once you open the gate fully and release it, the gate locks.

I assume this would be useful if you were attaching multiple items individually onto the carabiner ‍. I bought one used on a lanyard and moved it to a lanyard adjuster that would get clipped in and left. I didn't like having it on the end of the lanyard and risking it not locking while clipping in.

 

[southsoundtree]

Open Regular Close Automatically

Or something.


I have one.

 

[Reach]

Open Regular Close Automatically

Or something.


I have one.

Something like that. I have one as well, and I actually like it. As a former rock climber, I am accustomed to trusting my life to non-locking carabiners, that is normal in the rock world. Screw locks are also common, so making sure that a carabiner is locked before I use it is simply part of my routine.

I am certain that the ORCA block carabiners are not ANSI approved, they are also stamped with a skull and crossbones and the words "for expert use only", and should only be used by those who understand the risks. I would not have one of those carabiners to a beginner climber, but would not stop someone who is experienced and skilled from using one either.

 

[southsoundtree]

It only stays unlocked if set, I think.

A climber can open the biner to clip something, where it then autolocks.

Useful for a locking quickdraw m