This is the best deal we know of for a quickdraw. It is $3 less than the Mad Rock UltraLight Quickdraw. The Mad Rock is a little lighter but for people not obsessed on weight, the FreeWire gets the job done at a great value. We recommend this quickdraw for anyone just starting climbing or obsessed on value. There are plenty of draws that scored higher in our tests, but often they are almost double the price. We like the big comfy dogbone (sling) that connects the two biners. It is not too bulky or heavy and yet is still fairly comfortable to grab and yard up on if you are sport climbing. While we like the Petzl Express Sling even more, it is much more expensive. Again, it's hard to beat the value in this FreeWire package.
View our complete Quickdraw Review to see how it compared to others.
Hands-on Gear Review |
Compare quickdraw ratings side-by-side >
|
Street Price:
Varies from $10 - $12 | Compare prices at 6 resellers
Pros: Inexpensive, easy to grab when working a route Cons: Gate gets hung up on bolt hangers, not the lightest Best Uses: General sport climbing, building your trad rack
Overview
Compare top rated competitors side-by-side >
OutdoorGearLab Editors' Hands-on Review
LikesThis draw is a nice comfy medium size. It is easy to handle and you are not worried about dropping it or missing a clip. It is especially easy to grab due to its beefy 18mm nylon sling/dogbone. It has a generous 26mm gate opening which makes it easy to get multiple ropes in at the belay. We expect this dogbone to last beyond the life of the biners. It didn't score super high in many categories, but it still gets the job done.
Dislikes Like all wiregate biners, it get hung up on bolt hangers and slings when cleaning. This is not a big deal for most people. But for serious sport climbers, we would recommend a biner with a keylock for the top biner like the Black Diamond Hotwire Quickdraw. Other than that, the only gripes are minor. The gate is not as easy to clip as others. It is not all that light. You know, picky stuff that people obsessed with weight and performance care about. Value This is the best value in quickdraws and gets our Best Buy award. If you are just starting to climb, it's hard to beat. If you buy six or more of these from Black Diamond you get 10 percent off. — Chris McNamara Compare this product side-by-side to top competitors >
OutdoorGearLab Member ReviewsMost recent review: January 17, 2012
|
|
 Black Diamond FreeWire Quickdraw Credit: Black Diamond Equipment.com
Where's the Best Price?
*Help support OutdoorGearLab. If you click on one of the seller links and make a purchase, a portion of the sale helps support this site
Related Best-in-Class Review
Get More OutdoorGearLab
Follow us on Twitter, be a fan on Facebook!
Related Gear Reviews
Other Gear by Black Diamond
Recent Best-in-Class Reviews
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
