Found a replacement for BD Oz Carabiner!??!?!?

Haven't seen these mentioned anywhere and would be curious to hear if anyone has em and how they compare to the BD Oz. 

I was looking through a climbing technology pdf and they mentioned these: https://www.climbingtechnology.com/en/outdoor-en/carabiners/berry2/berry-w

They look IDENTICAL to the BD Oz with the hoodwire and come in a rackpack: https://www.climbingtechnology.com/en/outdoor-en/carabiners/berry2/berry-w-pack

Anyone used em? 

Looks closer to the hoodwire than the oz. The oz was smaller 

Hmmmm, I wonder if that is why BD just dropped the HoodW and OZ? Lawyers do take a bite. : - ) 

They dropped the hooded wiregates when retooling their carabiner lineup due to manufacturing costs for the hoods IICRC. I think there was a thread here in 2019ish talking about it

38g is not OZ

CAMP Dyon is the best you can get at 33g and non hook nose. 

I still have enough Oz’s, but if I was looking for a replacement, I’d probably try the Petzl Ange S.

Same weight, similar strength and size, PLUS both the gate and nose might be better. More expensive, though.

Have any of you used them?

https://m.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Carabiners-and-quickdraws/ANGE-S

I have used the Ange L, but not the Ange S. From what I've heard it's a bit small to handle well. The ball on the end of the rod gate can occasionally catch on hangers or slings (also true with the Dyon), but is small enough it's not much of an issue with ropes.

I'll second the Dyon as a excellent biner, but Helium 2s (hard to come by), handle a bit better and are a touch safer (gate is better protected from being pushed open by rock), at 34 grams. The Dyon does have a much narrower nose.

I have not used the DMM Chimera, but it weighs 30 grams, and it's DMM... I have no doubt it's excellent, probably better than the original Oz.

https://dmmwales.com/climbing-products/carabiners/chimera

ETA: I believe BD sold the hoodwire patent to CT.

Jason, nice summary of the current situation with lightweight, snag-free wire gates.  I use the Chimera for racking and draws where its smaller size is not an issue, and the Helium 2 for general purpose biners.

I have one Dyon for racking nuts, but like the protected head on the other two for actual pro.

I used both Ange biners for a while, but never got fully used to the handling with the single wired gate (and the S is just too small).

The chimera is probably your closest bet to go with. They are my 2nd favorite biner on the market.

 3rd recommendation to check out the Dyons. Love my dyons. 

Like Achrophobe, I use the heliums generally and the chimera for racking. Though after a couple years I have bought more helium to replace the chimeras. My XL hand just gets annoyed with the chimera. Though off topic and not snag free/keylock, I thought the new photon handled super well for my large hand. Photon

Levi Goldmanwrote:

Like Achrophobe, I use the heliums generally and the chimera for racking. Though after a couple years I have bought more helium to replace the chimeras. My XL hand just gets annoyed with the chimera. Though off topic and not snag free/keylock, I thought the new photon handled super well for my large hand. Photon

Sounds like you need to join the dyon cult. It’s just an upgraded photon biner =D

Erik Strandwrote:

Sounds like you need to join the dyon cult. It’s just an upgraded photon biner =D

The dyon and photon are different bodies right? I handled a dyon once and wasn’t into it, maybe I should try it again. 

Levi Goldmanwrote:

The dyon and photon are different bodies right? I handled a dyon once and wasn’t into it, maybe I should try it again. 

It has a curved spine, yeah

Jason Zevenbergenwrote:

I have used the Ange L, but not the Ange S. From what I've heard it's a bit small to handle well. The ball on the end of the rod gate can occasionally catch on hangers or slings (also true with the Dyon), but is small enough it's not much of an issue with ropes.

I'll second the Dyon as a excellent biner, but Helium 2s (hard to come by), handle a bit better and are a touch safer (gate is better protected from being pushed open by rock), at 34 grams. The Dyon does have a much narrower nose.

I have not used the DMM Chimera, but it weighs 30 grams, and it's DMM... I have no doubt it's excellent, probably better than the original Oz.

https://dmmwales.com/climbing-products/carabiners/chimera

ETA: I believe BD sold the hoodwire patent to CT.

I moved to the Ange S after being unable to get OZs. The Ange S handles a lot worse, kind of no comparison in that regard to me. I found that the Ange L handles better than the S, but not nearly as nice as the OZ. The minor upside of the Ange is that the slim nose can clip small holes.

Overall I’m not happy with my move to the Ange S/L. I’ve wanted to switch to the Chimera, but I’m already a few hundred bucks deep in Anges…lol 

Chris Cwrote:

I moved to the Ange S after being unable to get OZs. The Ange S handles a lot worse, kind of no comparison in that regard to me. I found that the Ange L handles better than the S, but not nearly as nice as the OZ. The minor upside of the Ange is that the slim nose can clip small holes.

Overall I’m not happy with my move to the Ange S/L. I’ve wanted to switch to the Chimera, but I’m already a few hundred bucks deep in Anges…lol 

Buy the chimera (on sale) and sell the Anges! Btw I never liked the way the action of the oz gate, but I had some early ones and I think they were a little stiffer than the ones that came later. 

I have a few CT berries. They work well and there is no issue with them.  Comparing the WC Heliums, DMM Alpha Trads, CT Berries, BD Oz, and Camp Dyons, the Dyons are by far my favorite because of the super small nose allowing cleaner clipping and adding one more carabiner to an already tight space. They truly fit where other carabiners simply can't. They also make racking on your harness cleaner too since they take up less room. At this point the only non locker I will actively acquire when I need one is a Dyon. I have had a few of the gates begin to seize so cleaning and lubing is definitely a thing whereas with other brand carabiners this isn't happening. Not sure if this is particular to the Dyons or simply they re getting used more.

I bought a berry on a whim to try it out, definitely hoodwire size. Used it for a while, but it's heavy and I really don't like how much space the giant shovel nose takes up on gear loops (I feel similarly about Oz & Heliums), plus the gate opening is tiny compared to the Dyon. Actually the berry gate opening is basically the same as the Oz, which is weird for a much larger carabiner. Ange S & L both are odd, I'm not a fan of the gate and the opening is tiny, but I guess they have the most protected gate from rubbing on rock. Plus the Ange aren't particularly narrow but the shape is continuous so they don't snag like the Oz/hoodwire/berry/heliums do since those noses flare out at the end. Snag-free is kind of a loosely used term for those carabiners imo, especially removing them from bolt hangers or nuts, they catch on the outside of the bulge.

The berry stays at home, I use it for random workout stuff, I don't climb with it anymore due to weight and odd handling. Dyons are my favorite clean-nose carabiner for the weight and best handling imo. I do agree they have more chance of rubbing open on the rock than protected-gate carabiners like the helium or Oz, but perhaps no more than traditional wiregates or solid gates. Dyons also have a crazy 11kN open gate strength so I have no qualms with the risk of gate open loading, but I guess the other risk is the sling or rope coming unclipped. Check the gate tension when you buy Dyons, you want them stiff, and Camp will replace any that feel sloppy or have sharp rivets or whatever you don't like. 

Dyons on all rope-ends of alpine draws, gear side of my trad quickdraws (long thin nose is fantastic for fishing cam slings out of cracks), for all my wild country cams with extendable slings, and also for racking nuts and stuff. I freaking love the Dyon! Basically the clean nose version of the photon, which are my favorite solid gate carabiner.

All my other carabiners are nano 22s for racking & gear side unless wearing gloves, then Dyons for everything. I greatly prefer thin noses, so I'd take nano 22's over Oz anyday for the bulk of my rack. New BD miniwire are a budget nano 22, they're ok but weaker ratings and a bit worse handling. But if you need black or pink, miniwire is fine.

Oh and some of my most-used camp wiregates need a drop of wax cam lube every year or 2, then they work like new. Definitely just some sand in there, camp mostly seems to have fixed the weak gates that plagued their older nanos and photons.

L > R: Dyon, berry, Oz, miniwire, nano 22

K Gowrote:

I bought a berry on a whim to try it out, definitely hoodwire size. Used it for a while, but it's heavy and I really don't like how much space the giant shovel nose takes up on gear loops (I feel similarly about Oz & Heliums), plus the gate opening is tiny compared to the Dyon. Actually the berry gate opening is basically the same as the Oz, which is weird for a much larger carabiner. Ange S & L both are odd, I'm not a fan of the gate and the opening is tiny, but I guess they have the most protected gate from rubbing on rock. Plus the Ange aren't particularly narrow but the shape is continuous so they don't snag like the Oz/hoodwire/berry/heliums do since those noses flare out at the end. Snag-free is kind of a loosely used term for those carabiners imo, especially removing them from bolt hangers or nuts, they catch on the outside of the bulge.

The berry stays at home, I use it for random workout stuff, I don't climb with it anymore due to weight and odd handling. Dyons are my favorite clean-nose carabiner for the weight and best handling imo. I do agree they have more chance of rubbing open on the rock than protected-gate carabiners like the helium or Oz, but perhaps no more than traditional wiregates or solid gates. Dyons also have a crazy 11kN open gate strength so I have no qualms with the risk of gate open loading, but I guess the other risk is the sling or rope coming unclipped. Check the gate tension when you buy Dyons, you want them stiff, and Camp will replace any that feel sloppy or have sharp rivets or whatever you don't like. 

Dyons on all rope-ends of alpine draws, gear side of my trad quickdraws (long thin nose is fantastic for fishing cam slings out of cracks), for all my wild country cams with extendable slings, and also for racking nuts and stuff. I freaking love the Dyon! Basically the clean nose version of the photon, which are my favorite solid gate carabiner.

All my other carabiners are nano 22s for racking & gear side unless wearing gloves, then Dyons for everything. I greatly prefer thin noses, so I'd take nano 22's over Oz anyday for the bulk of my rack. New BD miniwire are a budget nano 22, they're ok but weaker ratings and a bit worse handling. But if you need black or pink, miniwire is fine.

Oh and some of my most-used camp wiregates need a drop of wax cam lube every year or 2, then they work like new. Definitely just some sand in there, camp mostly seems to have fixed the weak gates that plagued their older nanos and photons.

L > R: Dyon, berry, Oz, miniwire, nano 22

Awesome! Thanks for the detailed comment. This is super helpful. Really appreciate it.