Black Diamond Oz or Wild Country Astro

In the market for some new lightweight carabiners and have narrowed it down to these two Black Diamond Oz or Wild Country Astro. What are you guys using? Do you think one will outlast the other or have a better fit and finish?

I prefer the Nitro because it is full size but if you like the small biner then I'd pick the Astro over the Oz every day. I prefer, with little exception, WC biners to BD. My rack is all WC Nitro's, and I could have bought BD for less.

I have some BD Oz's and like them for racking biners. I haven't used a WC Astro so I cant comment, but neither is full size. My draws have WC Nitros though and I love them. Pretty darn light for a full size, and they won't break the bank.
edit: I'd choose the astro though because it has a shrouded nose. yes it matters!

I love my OZs. A bit heavier than spec at 31gr, but still light. They are also just big enough to handle with heavy gloves on - I can't do that with Nano23s or FS Minis.

I have not used the Astro, but I have several of the Neons, which look like the locker equivalent. They are my favorite biners - lockers the weight of a wiregate! Fit and finish are clearly superior to BD, but after banging around on rock that's a moot point for me.

I have both and like both equally, they are the smallest 'biners that I can use without thinking about them. I have a lot more of the Astros because they were quite a bit cheaper. Over a full trad rack you can really cut some weight with these.

another for the nitros .... i use em alot ...

i have used various BDs, and still use netrinos cam side to colour match

but overall i prefer my nitros

Neither. Superflys for the win. I replaced a bunch of neutrinos last year and looked at everything on the market before adding another dozen or two superflys. I thought the OZ or Astro (mostly the Astro) would get the nod, but the OZ is to small and a shade heavier than Superfly.

Surprisingly, I've found those itty bitty Camp nanos easier to clip and handle than I expected. Caughtinside has some as racking biners and they seemed almost easier to pinch-clip than a full sized biner. I'm mostly a middle finger in the basket type clipper, and that's why some smaller biners or certain shapes suck for me. But the nanos were ok in that application and better than a hotwire for pinch style clip.

Think I am leaning toward the Astros. Are the Superflys actually full size like it says on their website? Also forgot about the dmm phantoms and alpha lites they look good too.

Not to diverge, and I know they're a little more expensive, but I LOVE the WC heliums, I think they're the best biners on the market.

"Are the Superflys actually full size like it says on their website? "

They are bigger than an OZ or Neutrino, enough bigger to really notice, but I think of "full sized" as being like a Hotwire or Helium, and no they aren't that big.

check out the mammut moses as an option.

bentgate.com/mowicabyma.html

My rack is mostly Astros and Nanos for racking, and Camp Orbits on extendable draws and Astros on over the shoulder slings. I have a mose, a xenon, a nitro, bunches of other random biners and a couple helium draws, but they are all, in my hands, inferior or too expensive. Also, of course, climbed on OZ a bunch on others racks. My favorite biner, by far, is the Astro. The perfect racking biner and makes a fine alpine draw. When I climb abroad/alpine, I rack up with all my nanos to save the weight and use astros on draws. Back home, rack with astros and use the orbits on draws. Astros all the way - just get them on sale.

Brandon Gottung wrote:My rack is mostly Astros and Nanos for racking, and Camp Orbits on extendable draws and Astros on over the shoulder slings. I have a mose, a xenon, a nitro, bunches of other random biners and a couple helium draws, but they are all, in my hands, inferior or too expensive. Also, of course, climbed on OZ a bunch on others racks. My favorite biner, by far, is the Astro. The perfect racking biner and makes a fine alpine draw. When I climb abroad/alpine, I rack up with all my nanos to save the weight and use astros on draws. Back home, rack with astros and use the orbits on draws. Astros all the way - just get them on sale.

Agreed. Astro's are my favorite biner as well. Nice and light, feels good in my hand and clips nice. I can rack more on my gear loops when using Astro's because they are so thin and they seem to flip around less (hang inverted) than my BD's when I start thrashing about. I use them for racking cams and trad draws. The Nitro's seem a little too big.

After doing some research I'm sold on the WC Astros. They're the lightest biner which both clips well and has a shrouded nose. They're nearly identical in dimension and feel to the discontinued WC Xenon Lites which have always been a favorite of mine. I've had a bunch of Superflys for years, and while I've always liked their light weight, the wire gate is pretty stiff which I suppose helps make up for their lack of a shrouded nose, but which also makes for tougher clipping when you're pumped. The BD Oz may be light, but it's weaker than all others and the spine is so thin that I could see it breaking under the right circumstances. Plus, someone mentioned that they actually weigh 31 g, which is heavier than the Astro, and their "shrouded nose" is barely a bump. Camp Nanos are small enough to be awkward in certain situations and Camp Photons are truely full size, but their gate action is inconsistant and sometimes way too easy to open. Neither one looks well made (poor QC in China), neither has a shrouded nose and both have a sharp spot where the wire gate attaches to the body of the biner (the part that looks like the head of a pin, which in some cases is sharp enough to cut a finger or tear up slings!) The DMM Phantom is a well made ultralight that clips well, but doesn't have a shrouded nose and is pricey. If I could afford it, though, I'd replace all my racking biners with Phantoms.

The Astro is solid, well made, beautiful to look at and hold, clips well and is fairly inexpensive (especially if you get them on sale - $5.50). Plus, the I-beam design of the spine makes it look like it could survive a major load over an edge (although I don't think anyone ever tests for that). I can prodeal biners from Black Diamond, Trango, Petzl and Metolius, but I just replaced all my trad biners with Astros which I bought online.

I made up my mind last week. I choose the astros and got a great deal on backcountry when they had quickdraw 5 packs on sale for $55. Thanks for the opinions.