Triact Lock for PAS (personal anchor system)?

Hey there, aside from potentially needing two-hands to use is there any reason using a Petzl sm’d Triact lock or any other triple-action locking biner for a PAS would be a bad idea?

After seeing videos of the twistlocks coming undone against friction, thinking of grabbing one…

What are the chances of a PAS biner being treated to such an event?  It seems like an unlikely and specialized concatenation of circumstances is required to open a twistlock accidentally; is it really worth worrying about with a PAS?

I prefer the smallest oval locker I can find for a PAS, so that it fits in small places and through small openings. 

When I switched to a Petzl Connect, I decided I would be ultra safe and paired it with the Petzl AM'D Triple lock.  It's fine, it works, it's safe, but I find it cumbersome.  Not as much when connecting or disconnecting from an anchor, but more when racking/unracking from harness gear loop.  It's just at an odd angle, and difficult at times.  Whenever I order some new gear next, I am going to switch to the SM'D twistlock.  Smaller size, and easier to manipulate.   

I use a magnetron. It’s also a good place for an Edelrid slider. The locker on your PAS will always be near you when you are using it. It’s not subject to strange rope movements because the rope shouldn’t be running through it. In this case ease of use is important; a triple action locker is unnecessary. 

The Petzl Ball Locks work well and they are much easier to operate with just one hand. 

I tried a triact Am'd on my PAS and hated it. Such a pain to unclip off the harness one handed.  I relegated it to other uses. 

I also decided that if it was clipped into a bolt in from of me, I could easily monitor the state of the carabiner gate/screwlock.

I use a bd hotforge carabiner but for what it's worth I find rock exotica's triple action to be easier to open one handed. Originally got it to mess with my friends because they twist the opposite direction of most carabiners but I think it's actually a more natural motion.

If triple action will really give you the warm fuzzies, then as mentioned above, magnetron or ball-lock are going to be the least cumbersome. But a 2x action locker or a screwgate are absolutely secure enough. In fact, the nice thing about a screwgate is that locking it at all is optional; if for example you are just using a PAS to go in direct while hangdogging, or to clean the anchor at the top of a sport route, you’re never coming off belay anyway. 

I think a screw lock is the best option, after trying twist locks and slide locks and twin gate as well. I use the Smd screw but any will do. I use mine ice climbing often and find any type of auto lock to be annoying to unrack with gloves, especially when pumped. I have seen people PAS into the anchor with a sling and non-locker for the same reasons Rachel V2 mentions above; always under supervision, no rope movement. Open screwgate lets me quickly clip in and out if I am simply using it as a back up, like when setting up a TR anchor, or screw it shut to give me the warm fuzzies if I am at a hanging belay and it's my only attchment point. 

Nothing is faster to unclip from your harness and attach than an open screwgate, and since I am secure I can take my time to screw it shut if I want to.

As a bonus, other than twin gates, it deals the best with ice and snow and dirt out of the locker types.

The smallest screwgate you can find.

A tether does not secure you until it is clipped in. So I would not pick a carabiner that makes it hard to clip in one-handed. For me, the slide-then-twist Triact lock is too hard. 

Twist locks are the best in my opinion for this.

All the more reason we should continue to bully Grivel into making the K9G sym Oval Twingate again...

J Ashley73 wrote:

All the more reason we should continue to bully Grivel into making the K9G sym Oval Twingate again...

I’d get it in a heart beat if they used a wire gate or had a similar gate to the sadly discontinued Tau. I think the low profile gates in the early gen twin gate stuff was too finicky.

Use an edelrid oval slider.

Jim Titt wrote:

The smallest screwgate you can find.

Grivel Plume

DMM kwiklock is really smooth. BD magnetron

I like to be able to get my PAS locker open.  I use a screwgate.  For context, I am often setting a top-rope anchor in some sketchy terrain and clipping the PAS as soon as I'm close enough to the anchor.  I don't want to fight an auto-locker to get the thing clipped.  Obviously, an autolocker is superior at not being left open, but that's not what I'm optimizing for.  If your typical use is leading to an anchor and then clipping your PAS, you may have time and available fingers to mess with an autolocker.

Rachael v2 wrote:

I use a magnetron. It’s also a good place for an Edelrid slider. The locker on your PAS will always be near you when you are using it. It’s not subject to strange rope movements because the rope shouldn’t be running through it. In this case ease of use is important; a triple action locker is unnecessary. 

Maggie all the way.
The only gripe I've ever had the gate is so small it can somtimes slide through the connect widget, many ways to mitigate this though, and even without, its rare to have happen.
Not sure if this is still true with the newest iteration of the connect.

My preferred 'PAL' system (refer to photo).

I think of these things as Personal Adjustable Lanyards (PAL) - because obviously, its a lanyard not an anchor!

Obviously, you need to locate a suitably strong and reliable anchor point - to which you attach your 'PAL'.

I've never seen an adjustable lanyard that also includes a portable anchor point :) 

In terms of the connectors - optimal choices are the type that are inherently resistant to misalignment and roll-out.

The 'enemy' of all carabiners is cyclic loading, slack shaking, and vibration.

One notable USA manufacturer offers triple-action carabiners that have a swivel, and also have the first opening action pulling the gate into your palm (this makes one-handed manipulation much easier). Other manufacturers have the first opening action pushing the gate away from your palm.