Quicklinks

Three 5/16" quicklinks, can you tell the difference?

One is an 8mm(5/16") SS quicklink from Bolt-Products($7.65), one is a 5/16" SS quicklink from ebay, marked WLL of 1760lbs($1.98), one is a 5/16" 316 SS quicklink from ebay, listed WLL of 1600lbs($5.98).  Throw in whatever you can find on Amazon and there's all kinds of quicklinks everywhere for less than officially rated ones.  Obviously the difference is gear coming from a climbing related supplier you can trust, but...

What are people's experiences/feelings with these?  Assuming they're accurate and assuming a 5:1 WLL ratio(hell even assume a 2:1), these are all plenty bomber.  Can't say I've ever seen a Metolius branded UIAA certified and marked quick link at an anchor personally.

Also open to discussion on sourcing quicklinks in general.

This post from supertaco has a cheap quicklink failing at 6kn but it's not clear how obviously bad the quicklink was.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1787466/Quick-link-load-tests-and-bad-links

has there ever been a single documented case of a 5/16th quick link failing in a real climbing situation.  tat fails all the time. old buttonheads fail, improperly placed wedge bolts fail but I have never heard of a failed 5/16ths or larger quick link.  you supply the dynamic rope and  I will break it for you with any CE certified screw link  on the market... 

I buy my quicklinks from Climb Tech.

bmdhacks wrote:

This post from supertaco has a cheap quicklink failing at 6kn but it's not clear how obviously bad the quicklink was.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1787466/Quick-link-load-tests-and-bad-links

Wish they had photos, I'm curious how bad it was too.  That being said, 6kn is a lot for what anchor links would be expected to see, the most you can reasonably put on an anchor while rappelling is probably 2.5-3kN, which still gives you a 2:1 safety factor.  At some point they all come from the same factory and there's enough metal in the gear for it to be strong, even if there's no official rating(at least, that's my logic).

CE and UL ratings are fine.  

Those may just be stock photos that aren’t an exact product photo, but I’d be surprised if the first one weren’t zinc plated rather than SS. Plated is what I would expect for any 5/16” or 3/8” quicklink under about $3

I've ordered these and can verify they are non-magnetic and not plated.  a.co/d/iOEPa0M

bmdhacks wrote: I've ordered these and can verify they are non-magnetic and not plated.  a.co/d/iOEPa0M

I’ve actually bought these too. Just looked at the Amazon page and it says “notice not for climbing”. Will I be going out to replace all of them, probably not. Would I buy them again, no.

Alex Morano wrote:

I’ve actually bought these too. Just looked at the Amazon page and it says “notice not for climbing”. Will I be going out to replace all of them, probably not. Would I buy them again, no.

Yeah, I arrived at the same conclusion, but I'm just really hoping someone will change my mind. For anchors that need chains and non captive-pin carabiners like the Climbtech mussy, you need four quicklinks per anchor and the price adds up.

bmdhacks wrote:

Yeah, I arrived at the same conclusion, but I'm just really hoping someone will change my mind. For anchors that need chains and non captive-pin carabiners like the Climbtech mussy, you need four quicklinks per anchor and the price adds up.

That’s why I moved to a vertical offset anchor. Only need one quick link and a captive eye carabiner then. Drives the old guys crazy around me, but I think it’s the best solution.  If you don’t want an open system, https://www.oliunid.com/equipment/bolting-equipment/chains/hangers-and-rings-anchor-systems/raumer-stainless-steel-hanger-wing-o10-ring-o10.html

$5.24 each with some expensive ass shipping but worth it if you buy normal hangers there too. These pretty much need to be vertical offset however.

Alex Morano wrote:

I’ve actually bought these too. Just looked at the Amazon page and it says “notice not for climbing”. Will I be going out to replace all of them, probably not. Would I buy them again, no.

Seems like more of a CYA thing, I don't think they're allowed to say that it's for climbing without certifications?  As long as the listed WLL is correct, it's very much strong enough.

Alex Morano wrote:

That’s why I moved to a vertical offset anchor. Only need one quick link and a captive eye carabiner then. Drives the old guys crazy around me, but I think it’s the best solution.  If you don’t want an open system

Just make sure that you don't have open systems like that with much vertical separation, since it's really easy for the rope to clip into the lower carabiner while people are screwing around on top rope, and then you end up with this:

bmdhacks wrote:

Yeah, I arrived at the same conclusion, but I'm just really hoping someone will change my mind. For anchors that need chains and non captive-pin carabiners like the Climbtech mussy, you need four quicklinks per anchor and the price adds up.

You can use stainless shackles for less $. You can fit a strong shackle in a short link 6mm chain also.     Especially for the connection that requires less maintenance ie chain to hanger. team tough has small strong shackles for very cheap. Go with a single stainless pigtail instead of 2 butt ugly mussies for less money still!

don't buy them if they don't have a CE or UL rating. those construction ratings are plenty strict. 

Josh Z wrote:

Seems like more of a CYA thing, I don't think they're allowed to say that it's for climbing without certifications?  As long as the listed WLL is correct, it's very much strong enough.

That Amazon link doesn't give a WLL it gives a "maximum weight" of 691kg or just under 7kN. I see no reason to assume maximum weight is the same thing as WLL with it's implied safety factor. 7kN is about what I would expect for open gate strength of a quicklink that size which makes me wonder if the gate is manufactured in a way that doesn't actually provide any structural support?

Alex R wrote:

That Amazon link doesn't give a WLL it gives a "maximum weight" of 691kg or just under 7kN. I see no reason to assume maximum weight is the same thing as WLL with it's implied safety factor. 7kN is about what I would expect for open gate strength of a quicklink that size which makes me wonder if the gate is manufactured in a way that doesn't actually provide any structural support?

Idk where they get the 691kg from but I'd take it with a grain of salt.  They're unrated by any reputable source so I just go by quality and functionality inspection.

The only way a quicklink would be designed not to provide any structural support is if there was no thread engagement on the closing end of the quicklink.  If you can tighten it snug without stripping the threads, it's a closed loop and providing structural support.

Actually if the only purpose of the barrel is to keep things in/out there's another way relatively commonly used (I've seen two like this).

The threads are actually sleeves pushed onto the bar and the whole assembly electroplated which holds the whole thing together.

That's for like zinc plating a mild steel quicklink though right? I'm not clear on how you could do that with a solid 304 stainless quicklink.

To answer the OP question, I've ordered some Amazon "HOIGON" 304ss 5/16 quicklinks (and other random Amazon quicklinks in 1/4" to 3/8") and found them to function well: 

https://youtube.com/shorts/xvmjJ28QmMw?feature=share

All of them have smooth and consistent threading and tighten up normally.  I've installed and removed them from various climbs without any thread damage.

I've also used "National Hardware" quicklinks which were not as smooth and could be over tightened past the last thread, which I didn't like.  Removing them and reusing them showed the threads in the barrel to be slightly deformed.

And I've used the US Stainless quicklinks which are very nice but expensive.

Not trying to discourage people from buying quality rated equipment,  but as long as the threads have smooth engagement (and are actually attached to the quicklink and not just sleeves as Jim mentioned) I don't see these quicklinks failing.

Jim Day wrote:

Not trying to discourage people from buying quality rated equipment,  but as long as the threads have smooth engagement (and are actually attached to the quicklink and not just sleeves as Jim mentioned) I don't see these quicklinks failing.

That kinda takes it back to my original thought.  Not to discourage from buying quality rated equipment, but at some point metal is metal.  And at $1.35 for those "Hoigon" links vs an average of $5 for other links...Given the prices of stainless right now, kinda makes me doubt they're really stainless, but also would feel nice on the wallet for equipping anchors.

At the end of the day don't buy gear you wouldn't trust yourself, and I'd definitely plan on bounce testing anything before it would go on anchors when it comes to rando quick links.

A friend had an off brand 1/2" quicklink fail in a hydraulic pull test at around 1000 lbs, probably 1/20th the typical breaking strength of a 1/2"er. They weren't intending to test the quicklink btw, the testing was supposed to be for a glue in bolt but the ql broke first....

On the contrary I don't know of any quicklink failures here with thousands upon thousands of hardware store quicklinks over 30 years.