Gear Review: Petzl Ange S & L Carabiners

I spent spring break out in Red Rocks, Nevada and brought down some of Petzl’s new Ange S carabiners, Ange L carabiners and Ange Finesse quickdraws to check out. While these debuted last year, they still are fairly new on the market and the innovative design has yet to be replicated by other companies.

The carabiners are very light weight and combine the traditional gate carabiner with the classic wire gate carabiner. This is done by using just a single, straight piece of aluminum as the gate. This both reduces the weight and provides a smooth clip often associated with a traditional gate carabiner.

This quickdraw incorporates an Ange L on the bottom and Ange S on the top

Other notable features include the keylock system which helps eliminate the possibility of the nose getting stuck on a sling or bolt. There is a subtle indent on the bottom of the carabiners that helps keep the rope or sling in place. Also the nose of the carabiner has a hole in it that allows ice, snow or dirt to be cleared out.

At 28 g, the Ange S is the lightest and smallest. The Ange L is 34 g and slightly bigger. The quickdraws come in four different styles, with different lengths and combinations of Ange S and Ange L available. As a comparison, Black Diamond’s Oz is 28 g and their Neutrino is 36 g.

The Ange S is on the left and Ange L is on the right

After using these on a variety of sport climbs and multi-pitch trad climbs, the Ange L has become my favorite. While it takes a bit of getting used to when clipping the rope into the carabiners, I am starting to get really comfortable with them. The Ange L seems to be a little easier for clipping due to its larger size. I haven’t quite gotten used to the smaller sized Ange S and my partners with bigger hands have commented that they have almost dropped them due to their small size. However, the Ange S does work very well when being clipped directly into a bolt. That being said, I think I would tend to prefer a little extra weight in exchange for ease of clipping.

Bottom line: these are super light and I will continue to use the Ange L on runners and slings for long mulit-pitch and alpine climbs when limiting extra weight is essential.