The Best Daisy Chain For Climbing

Fall Absorption
If you are going to take a lot of daisy falls, the nylon daisy chains absorb more force than the the Dyneema ones. So we gave top scores to the nylon daisy chains, followed by the nylon/Dyneema mixes followed by the Dyneema.

How important is this score and what is the difference in forces between nylon and dyneema daisy chains in real aid climbing situations? It is very debatable. Read our how to buy a daisy chain article to learn more.

Ease of Hooking With a Fifi or Clipping With Carabiner
The Black Diamond Dynex scored the best because it has big perky loops that are thin and easy to clip. All the other Dyneema daisy chains scored well as they had loops that stock out more, even when the daisy chain was twisted. Nylon daisy chains tend to have the loops lie flat more easily and be harder to hook when twisted.

Durability
The most durable daisy chains are the Metolius Monster and Metolius Nylon Daisy chains. They each are the only ones with big beefy reinforcements at the clip-in point. This is something that all daisy chains made for aid climbing should have. Unless you plan to do only a couple of walls, it is great to have this point reinforced.

Weight and Bulk
The Black Diamond Dynex Daisy chain is by far the lightest we tested, the thinnest, and the least bulky. It was less than half the weight and bulk of most nylon daisy chains. We really noticed a difference when pushing ascending ropes with this daisy. Where it is partially psychological or not, it really feels like this daisy weighs next to nothing. All the other Dyneema daisy chains were also fairly light.

The Bottom Line
The Metolius Monster Daisy Chain wins our Editors' Choice award. It has the best combination of being light and durable while maintaining some of the fall absorption properties of nylon. For most aid climbers we recommend this daisy.

The Metolius Nylon Daisy Chain wins our Best Buy award. It is one of the least expensive daisy chains but scored almost as high as the Editors' Choice. It is also 100 percent nylon, which people wanting the absolute most daisy fall force absorption will appreciate.

The Black Diamond Dynex Daisy Chain wins our Recommended award. It is by far the lightest daisy chain available. For speed ascents, alpine climbs or if you are mostly just following, this is a great choice. While in general we recommend an anchor chain for free climbing, this is lighter than the lightest anchor chain. So if you are a free climber obsessed on having the lightest gear, it is worth comparing the pros and cons of this against the BlueWater Titan Loop Chain.

If you are mainly a free climber, check out our anchor chain review and our how to buy an anchor chain article.