Collection Spotlight: Chouinard Reverse Lockers
The Chouinard Reverse Locking carabiners are an awesome piece of climbing history.
Important links:
SuperTopo Chouinard Carabiner Identification Thread | Black Diamond Company History | Chouinard Clean Climbing Catalog | Chouinard Equipment Display - Karabin Collection
Carabiners, as we know them today, started being produced in the early 1920s, so when Yvon Chouinard, who went on to redesign almost every tool used by climbers, started selling the reverse lockers in the early '80s, the main innovations were that they were lighter, simpler and more functional.
The offset D's in my collection don't look like any of the carabiners in service today, but they worked well- well enough that that were the only product that remained on the catalog when Chouinard/Great Pacific Iron Works became Black Diamond Equipment.
The Chouinard Locking Carabiners are made of the same aluminum and zinc alloy (7075-T6) that most carabiners today are still made from.
Is lighter and less bulky than other locking systems (The Light-D's are 53 grams, only 3 more than the Nitron Screwgates or the new Hotforge)
The smooth, knurled surface of the locking sleeve provides little purchase for a rope or harness to catch on
The sleeve is designed to be tightened down at the last turn, resisting being opened by vibration without getting stuck
In addition, they're able to be locked open, for easy clipping of fixed gear that's just out of reach.
The design may not be recognizable, but it withstood the test of time. Introduced in the early 80s, the Light D was the only product that remained in the equipment catalogue when Chouinard Equipment became Black Diamond Equipment a decade later.
Some have even withstood the test of time to this day, the Chouinard Featherweight Ovals, introduced in the late 70s, are virtually unchanged, and can be found today as Black Diamond Ovals.
Reverse lockers aren't on the shelves today for a simple reason- they're just too different. Despite working extremely well, they were simply too easy for the casual user to mistake for a defective, or worse, an already locked carabiner when open, as this 1998 Department of the Interior memo attests to.
