Edelrid Bulletproof Quickdraw Review

Though the Edelrid Bulletproof Quickdraw weighs 4.2 ounces, it certainly stood apart from the competition due to its offerings when it comes to overall durability. The design features a 22mm wide sling that comes in 12 and 18 cm lengths. Note that only the bottom carabiner has the stainless steel insert while the upper biner is a standard carabiner, and both have keylocking gates. It's true that the top carabiners will see some wear from the bolts, especially if you find yourself weighting the rope a lot. However, those small gouges rarely amount to much, and we've never had to retire our quickdraws because the top carabiner was worn out — it's always the bottom one that goes first.

Are we going to rush out and buy 12 of these and never have to buy a quickdraw again? Probably not. They're heavy, and they're very expensive, two big minuses for most climbers. But, they are an excellent option for specific times when you want a durable carabiner like on the first bolt of a climb you're working (which sees more wear due to drastically increased friction), as well as top-rope anchors. This additional strength and durability allowed the Bulletproof quickdraw to stand apart from its competitors as it provides something no other aluminum draw on the market can.

Performance Comparison

Ease of Clipping

The carabiners on this model are slightly on the small side (likely to reduce the overall weight so that they are still functional even with the steel insert). That makes both clipping and unclipping them slightly more challenging than with the larger carabiners found on the majority of sport specific draws.

Our testers with smaller hands or who clip with their thumb and forefinger didn't mind the slightly smaller size, and we all liked the snappy gate action. That said, it has the second smallest gate opening in this review (only 20mm), which in certain circumstances certainly makes clipping more difficult, and also makes unclipping a bit more challenging as well (see below).

Ease of Unclipping

The carabiners on this quickdraw gave us mixed results for this category. They are both keylocking solid gates, which is nice, but the small gate opening gave us less room for removing it from the bolt, not to mention sliding the rope out while top-roping. We had to be really precise with our unclipping movement, which isn't always easy to do when you're tramming in on a steep sport route and trying to clean your route quickly and efficiently. As a result, we awarded it the “lowest” unclipping score for a keylocking carabiner, but it was still better than most of the wiregates with their unprotected notches.

We're not sure why Edelrid designed the Bulletproof with such a comparatively small gate opening, as they seemed to have nailed everything else right on this carabiner. Perhaps they had to keep the dimensions a little smaller on this one to keep the overall weight within reason.

Portability

At 4.2 ounces per draw, this is the heaviest draw in our review, and it received the lowest score for this metric. In fact, if it wasn't so heavy, it would have scored much higher overall, so keep that in mind when looking at the total score for this product.

While it's impressive that Edelrid managed to include steel in this carabiner (which is typically 2.5 times denser than aluminum) and still keep the overall weight of the quickdraw close to other sport-specific models, it's still heavy. Some climbers who aren't afraid of a few extra ounces won't hesitate to use these on their entire rack if they're looking for the most durable quickdraw out there. Instead, we'd recommend carrying three on our harness: two for the top of a route in order to setup a top rope, and one for the first bolt of a route we planned to project. (The first quickdraw will typically receive a lot more wear than others in that scenario.)

Handling

Overall we felt that this quickdraw handled well and it received a good score for this metric. Our testers with smaller hands liked it slightly better than our bigger-mitted fellas, hence the slightly lower score than the other bigger options.

The Bulletproof has external rubber positioners to keep the bottom carabiner in its proper position. We tend to prefer this method, as it's replaceable if the rubber tears. It also protects the sling in that spot, which can see some wear if left on a route to blow around in the wind. Are you going to leave the Bulletproofs up on your project? Probably not, unless it's a secret crag. The exterior positioners are a little bulky though, so if you prefer something more streamlined, look to Black Diamond's lineup of draws, which all have interior “Straightjacket” keepers.

Ease of Grabbing

The sling on this quickdraw is 22mm wide, making it one of the better options for grabbing. It's still a bit thinner than the comparably priced high end draws, but it does have some shaping to it, which we liked.

Edelrid could have easily paired this with a thinner dogbone to keep the weight down, but we appreciated the wider sling in those moments when we did go to grab it. The sewn-in material with the logo and specs on it was a bit annoying. We understand that companies need to mark their products, but don't appreciate it when it interferes with performance.

Should You Buy the Edelrid Bulletproof Quickdraw?

This quickdraw retails for one of the highest dollar amounts in this review. However, if it lasts even twice as long as a standard quickdraw, that would still make for an exceptional value. While we can't really tell what the longevity of this draw will be from our testing period, our personal experience with steel carabiners vs. aluminum makes us very excited about the Bulletproof. This might be the first quickdraw we've ever owned where the sling wears out before the carabiners. If you're interested in one of the most durable quickdraws on the market, the Bulletproof doesn't disappoint.

What Other Quickdraws Should You Consider?