I found the String Carabiner Retainer by Petzl but would like to find the older verison... The one in the picture below, its like a black O ring... Anyone know where i can still get these???

Biner retainer Submitted By: ilclimberken on Oct 13, 2009

Wouldn't a girth hitch do the same thing?

I don't know where you would get them, but they're probably just basic O-rings, of the correct size, of course. So Home Depot would be my first guess.

For what it's worth, I've found that those kind of "biner retainers" break easily; much more easily than the ones that Petzl puts out.

--Marc

I was thinking rubber bands, but I like Marc's O-ring idea.

A girth hitch would lower the overall strength of the sling, so it is probably best to use a retainer. The one from Petzl are good and burly. Just my $0.02.

I think these (http://www.rei.com/product/474073#) are what your looking for.

I guess i could try the O Ring idea... i dont like the new Petzl Retainers, they are too big with Mammut 8mm slings...

http://www.spadout.com/p/petzl-string/

Hey something that works really well for that is the little hair elastics. They are a rubber band with some kind of cloth on them. You want to get the fused kind not the kind with the metal connector. You can pick them up at your grocery store for a couple of bucks for a bunch 20-30 and they are really strong. The Petzl String are good but they are expensive for a little piece of rubber and they break too. They don't fit small mm slings well either. Try out the rubber bands for hair. You won't be out much if you don't like them.

I've used those little rubber bands for braces (dentalwork) before, they work pretty well. These days I just use tape.

Sunny D-Do they make the hair bands that small??

The hair bands work really well. You wrap up the sling 3-4 times, just like putting them in hair, however tight you want them. I have some on screamers that have been there for quite a while and I have some on BD Dynex 12" runners and they are working great... Holds the carabiner right where you want it.

Just throwing this out there. I remember last year there were a few issues with draws like these where the 'biner would flip around and only be connected to the elastic, so when weight was taken or a whipper occurred they would fail. Just something to keep in mind about that set up. There was a video that explained this much better on a UK climbing website but I can't seem to find it.

http://www.petzl.com/us/node/9886

Here is the link to the British safety video:

http://www.outdoored.com/Community/media/p/2886.aspx

Personally, I have never worried about using a retainer, but as with everything in climbing there are multiple opinions. I have seen those particular retainers at a climbing shop out here in Utah, Mountainworks. Perhaps if you give them a call they might offer you a lead. Another option, I have seen people use cut up sections of old bike tubes to make retainers.

I couldn't get the video to work but im gonna give the hair tie and o rings a shot, like i said before the new petzl retainers dont work as well...

Finally got the vid to work, good info but i always check my gear before i rack up...

Ken,
Those are simply just O-rings. You can get them at an auto parts store or possibly at a hardware store. They are a cheaper alternative to the total rip off that Petzl sells....$1.25 for a little piece of rubber!?!?!?

I haven't used them but Fixe makes some carabiner keepers that look good (but pricey).

Thats a great idea...never though to rig something like that up!
Thanks for posting.

Depending on where you live, the local farm store may have castration rings. They're supposedly stretchier than normal o-rings, but to be honest I've never tried it (read about it on a UK site a while back).

Yep, I use O-rings I bought at Home Depot as 'biner keepers on my Screamers for ice climbing. Couple bucks for a bunch (sorry don't remember the numbers exactly). I bought a couple of different sizes and used the ones that fit best. If I was super paranoid, I might worry about the effect of the plasticizers in the o-rings on the nylon of the Screamer, but I'm not that paranoid, at the moment.

What's wrong with a couple of tight wraps of tape around the runner? Costs next to nothing. I have several draws with those fancy Petzl things, but only because they came with the draw. I definitely wouldn't pay $1.25 each for those things when tape works just as well.

Great stuff folks... As for y not use tape, i just would like to find a cleaner look... FIXE looks like they have what im looking for however i will try the o ring idea first, my dad can get them from work for free!! 86 the Girsthitch idea, your gonna die! The retainers by petzl suck, to big, to $$, and dont fit small mm like my 8mm mammut slings...

Although hard to get on, #5 O-ring from home D-pot seems to work well on Mammuts, 10 for $2.

As it's been said, those are just normal o-rings. I use them on my draws and pick them up in the plumbing section of Lowes.

The Petzly Strings are great for the Petzl dogbones, which I use for sport. I wouldn't buy them seperately for use on a runner though. Waste of money for that application for sure.