Tiny S-Biners

They’re pretty awesome. I prefer the metal ones. Handy for bear bagging. The tiny #0 size seems to be strong enough. They come in handy everywhere, from tethering my bear spray on it’s shockcord leash, to ultralight ski tethers in the winter.

They had metal ones for $10 but I thought “What would I ever need to put a real load on these for?” I was thinking bug net and hanging small items but you mentioned several uses that might break plastic. Great ideas.

I have a tiny D metal ‘biner for bear bagging but the metal version of these is even smaller. These are #0?

I’ll be heading back to that store tomorrow. Having both types lets me choose the right ‘biner for the job.

On their website I only see size #1 in stainless (4g) and size #2 in aluminum (also 4g), but I’m pretty sure I have some #0 in stainless than are 2-3g.

Minor complaint but the plastic ones have a sharp hook where the gate nests into the biner. This can be a pain when unclipping. I prefer the smallest metal size. I’ll take the hit of a gram or two so that I don’t get frustrated unclipping the tether on my InReach Mini, for example.

I found those key ring biners at Home Depot.  They’re great for light duty.  They weigh about 1.5 g each on my scale.  And the black thing in the middle rotates to lock them.  I use them to attach my DIY Tyvek footprint to my Dan Durston X-Mid 1p, and as clothes pins, etc.

Nice – I like the locking feature.

@Bob – Do you have photos of your MYOG Tyvek groundsheet for the X-Mid 1P?  I have a piece of polycro that I’m planning to use, but I’d love to see another option – especially if it stays in place as the tent is adjusted.

Kevin, pics are at the link.  Corner lines and mini biners keep it in place.

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/massdrop-announces-a-dan-durston-tent-2-people-2-hiking-poles-29-oz-199/page/16/#post-3600382

I like the locking ones for my keys and wallet (which get attached to each other). After hikes I had trouble with the standard type, I would lose my tiny light. One time I somehow bumped it and off went a key, outside a restaurant (in the dark, in gravel, of course). The locking ones work well to prevent that. I found that the twist lock worked better than the slide lock. (Twist lock example: https://www.niteize.com/product/S-Biner-MicroLock-Aluminum.asp. Slide Lock: https://www.niteize.com/product/S-Biner-SlideLock-Aluminum.asp).

Somebody, somewhere, hopefully makes the tiny locking S biners in titanium or carbon fiber?

David, 2g at dutchwaregear 

I find them to be so small that are a bit fiddly.

Bob, FYI there will be factory made groundsheets that clip in to the X-Mid in a few months. Working on these now.

Matthew- not sure those are Ti. Nice if they are.

Sorry. No, I don’t think they are titanium. I was just trying to share an option for a small biner.

@Bob – Thanks for the photos of your groundsheets.  They look great!  I bought my X-Mid 1P in the Drop holiday sale last November/December and have only put it up once.

I used a medium steel S-biner for my bear bag (PCT Method) once.  Somehow my stick twisted and got jammed in the upper part of the S and my food and the S-Biner were stuck about 12 feet above me and, it seemed, that no amount of tugging would free it.  I finally freed it, but it was a frustrating and concerning 10-15 minutes.  I went back to a regular biner after that.

Anyone use these things?

I found s-biners of all sizes on AliExpress (i.e. direct from China) that look exactly the same as the ones from US suppliers, but are much cheaper.  Downside is the long delivery time.

Sometimes Chinese sellers list on eBay as well.  I’ve generally been happy purchasing direct from China, where they all likely are made, a few disappointments.  Note that you get your money back if an item doesn’t arrive, but postage for returns is ridiculous.

I use them for “leashing” items in my bags and tethering items in outside pockets that may want to wander off while walking. I’ve made a tether for my wide brimmed hat too.

Tom Bihn uses a system of webbing tethers and pouches and those s-biners and a bit of cord are a poor mans approach to using that technique. It keeps small pouches from diving to the bottom of your pack or falling out.

The locking ones are good for pilfer-proofing outside zippered pockets for urban travel. They aren’t a lock, but it takes two hands and some effort to open one, slowing down a thief trying to access your backpack pockets in crowded conditions. I’ve gone from zipper pull to loops or straps or tieing two pulls together.

These 4 for $1.51 Ti mini-biners are 5 gm each

I have some of those plastic ones. I did not know that the black thing in the middle unlocks it and would force them to open just enough to use them. Finally I figured it out. They’re light and work well. I used them to hook my homemade bug chaps to my belt loops.

Some years ago, a BPL thread alerted me to J.S. Burly’s titanium McGizmo spring clips.  You say “tiny,” but these can go down to only about one half inch in length, and are truly tiny.  Purchased only a couple because they were expensive compared to the slightly heavier stainless steel ones.  Probably they are too ‘tiny’ for key rings and the like.  But they are really light and strong, much moreso than, for example, the plastic mitten hooks that Tarptent uses

Eventually, toyed with the idea of using them to clip an inner to an outer tent or tent pole.  That’s when I found that J.S. had closed up, and anything close in titanium was dear, and for a bunch of them, too expensive for MYOG.  Did find a good current source for stainless clips, but wanted Ti, the lightest and strongest.  So it hit me that with some redesign, short lengths of narrow grosgrain or twill tape would be as light and suffice for what I had in mind, so long as I was willing to thread the tent poles through a few loops instead of clipping them on.

Still, the McGizmo Ti’s might have been interesting to try.  Please let me know of any sources.  Thanks.