Hey guys. Heading to the NRG next week and only have a few draws that I use trad climbing every now and then. Anyway....May pick up 5 or 6 and been looking at the Ange draws. Am I missing the point of the new petzl biners aside from a weight reduction which is a non issue to me as far as sport climbing is concerned? What are the actual benefits? Anyone use them yet and if so how do they clip? Otherwise I am looking at the BD hoodwire draws as I use some hoodwires on my trad rack and like them. Theres lots of options....just looking for something worth buying. I dont plan on pullin on em, so the dogbone width doesnt concern me, but I could see them slim draws being difficult to clip as they flop around?

Thoughts?

cms829,
I own hoodwire, Ange L, and Ange S biners. Both being keylock style wiregates is what drew me to them. I am a Petzl fanatic when it comes to their caving, canyoneering, and climbing gear. Their Ange S carabiner is way too small to use for anything else other than clipping to a rope. I have big hands and managing such a small carabiner is a pain for me. The Ange L is more along my line and I use 10 of them to rack my cams so they don’t snag when I reach for them on a climb. I only own one hoodwire which I use to clip my camera to my harness. It has a wider profile but works fine and is easy to clip and use. If I was going to buy a set of draws mainly for trad and a little sport then I would lead towards the ange draws because they seem to take up less space than the hoodwires. If I was going to be doing a lot of sport then I would probably lean towards the hoodwires since they are easier to manage with my large hands.
If you plan on using the biners to hold stoppers or multiple items then I would lean towards the hoodwires since the stoppers would slide off smoothly. The ange design has a sphere on the end of the gate which still snags a bit when sliding things off of it. This has mainly happened when I have my camera hooked to it with thin cord.
Both a good designs and I would recommend both. It’s a toss up and personal preference between both of them. Hope my rambling has helped you in some way.
-Randy

I got two of the Ange S draws to see how I would like them, I have had them going on two months and have let a lot of my friends climb on them to see what everyone thought. I haven't climbed with anyone who had a problem with them, most liked them and my long standing partner is going to get some. I got them because I was refreshing my trad rack, but since I mostly sport climb I just added them to the mix of Spirits. I have large hands which I thought might be a problem but so far I really enjoy clipping them, smallness just isn't noticed. I think a lot of R&D went into them, very well made, I'll be getting more. I also have for my trad rack some BD OZ which are OK but the Ange solves the hook nose issue.

I have the Ange S, Ange L, Spirit, and Hoodwire biners. My favorite to clip hands down is the Spirit. The Ange L is probably the easiest to clean. The Ange S is kind of a pain in the ass to me because of its size and small gate opening (to me, other people love them). The Hoodwire is a solid performer in all of the above, but doesn't really excel in any specific area. Another to consider that hasn't been mentioned is the WC Helium. I don't have any, but a buddy does and those things are sweet. They rival the Spirit for ease of clipping, they're light, full size and strong. I think you'd be fine with any of the above except the Ange S; that one you may want to play around with and compare with the others before you commit to buying them. If you're buying online, I'd go with any of the others and you'll be happy.

I bought a couple of the Ange S before I saw the L. I just think they look cool. The S works best for sport. Trad it's ok, but making clips with a bigger rope can be tough. S definately not for ice climbing with twin ropes. Ditto on the spirits. I love anything that's not an oval as that's what I learned to lead with.

I cant decide...so i'll prob just use my friends draws for this trip. I was however at the shop last night and some of the camp draws caught my eye. Not sure of the model but they were dual wire gates