I have been thinking about this issue some more and realized that I had been mixing up two issues. We are discussing two locking mechanisms that are superficially similar, but yet are quite different. One is the Skylotec Pinchlock and the other is the Black Diamond Magnetron.
The Pinchlock uses springs only to lock the gate, the Magnetron uses a magnet. The Pinchlock has a number of issues, for one the spring-loaded rods that locate into the groove in the nose of the karabiner are round. That means that in a dynamic situation, when something comes into contact with the outside of the gate, the inertia of the rods, combined with the fact that they are round, is sufficient to push them out far enough that the groove then acts as a ramp – and the gate opens. Tapping it on the side of your had is sufficient to do this. This is obviously not good.
The Magnetrons on the other hand are considerably beefier and the locking mechanism is much more positive. The locating rods are square in profile, so the failure mechanism described above is less likely to occur. Also the nose comes down to the level of the dimples where you press the rods to open the gate. On the Pinchlock, in contrast, the nose is way higher up. This means that anything obstructing the locking action and pressing against the gate will be blocked against the nose with the Magnetrons, with the Pinchlock however, it can push open the gate.
Based on these thoughts I would consider a well maintained and functional Magnetron to offer an equivalent level of safety as a lift/ turn/ push-type tripple action gate.
Just my observations...
