Black Diamond Rocklock Review

Likes
It works great as a belay or rappel carabiner, especially as a first carabiner for new climbers because it is easy to handle and inexpensive. It also works well for anchors as its big size allows it to handle many knots and slings. It tied for top billing with the DMM Boa in our test of how many figure eights on a bite we could clip to it. The key-lock gate minimizes snagging on belay loops and slings. The slightly curved spine maximizes the gate opening and makes it easy to clip to just about anything at the anchor. This is one of the largest pear-shaped carabiners on the market, making it easier to handle with gloves.

Dislikes
This carabiner is on the heavy and bulky side. You don't want to carry a bunch of these around on your harness. It is not ideal as a multi-pitch climbing carabiner because its big size means it swings around a bit on the side of your harness. Also, it has an asymmetrical pear shape so it doesn't keep the rope in the middle of the biner when belaying in auto-block mode off the anchor. This is not a big deal, but biners like the Petzl Attache or Metolius Element are definitely better for multi-pitch climbing.

Best Application
This is a great belay and rappel biner or all-around locker. It comes with two gate designs: screw-lock and twist-lock. The screw-lock gate works well for an anchor or backup carabiner while the twist-lock gate is faster for belay and rappel use.

Value
The twist-lock version was the best deal in carabiners for $10 from Black Diamond. The twist-lock version is almost double the price at $17 and not the best deal unless you really love having a twist-lock biner.

Other Versions
The Black Diamond Rocklock also available in a Twistlock and Screwgate
Black Diamond Vaporlock- the lighter weight version