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Kong Ovalone DNA Twistlock Carabiner

Inglesport

Inglesport

Well-known member
KONG-ovalone-dna-twistlock-ig.jpg


Quick heads-up - we've recently taken delivery of some interesting kit that might pique your interest: the KONG Ovalone DNA Twistlock carabiner.

The body's got a helical twist that lets whatever you've attached rotate 90° to find its sweet spot. Really useful for those pitch-heads where everything wants to sit at awkward angles. Carbon steel construction, so it's properly robust (40kN main axis), and the twist actually helps prevent cross-loading issues.

For anyone rigging regular routes or dealing with complex setups, it's worth a look. We've got them in stock at £36. Drop by the shop if you're passing through Ingleton and want to see one in action. Or order online.

Cheers from the Inglesport team 👍
 
They look interesting, but £36 and 235g is a little much for me, given that the Grivel Alpha's are ~£11 and 56g!

(They aren't really comparable, of course, but they're both rigging crabs)
 
Where this might be useful is for folks using a petzl stop or simple on a climbing harness with a belay loop. With a D on a caving harness or a centre type harness the descender carabiner lets the stop lie flat for loading it and the handle is the right alignment. If someone is using their usual climbing harness (e.g on a novice abseil in, ladder out type affair) then this carabiner would rotate the stop to the usual caver orientation.

Having said that the carabiner costs the majority of the price of a brand new petzl centre harness so it would be better to just buy the right harness for the job.

Interesting innovation though, can't be easy to make the tooling for it.
 
A carabiner used for rigging?

I appreciate that people rig differently, some with maillons, some with snapgates, some with screwgates, some with dyneema, but from my experience the UK standard is to rig with screwgates.

Personally I think a steel screwgate is unnecessary for recreational caving, but that's what the post was implying that they would be useful for, so I was including them in the rigging crab category for comparison.
 
aricooperdavis said:
Personally I think a steel screwgate is unnecessary for recreational caving
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I assumed that these are steel because of the twist. When subjected to a high load, they may tend to straighten out, and the ductility of steel will permit that without failure.
 
aricooperdavis said:
A carabiner used for rigging?

I appreciate that people rig differently, some with maillons, some with snapgates, some with screwgates, some with dyneema, but from my experience the UK standard is to rig with screwgates.

Personally I think a steel screwgate is unnecessary for recreational caving, but that's what the post was implying that they would be useful for, so I was including them in the rigging crab category for comparison.
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I mean are they marketed as such, is there something special about them, or is it just what you choose?
 
hannahb said:
I mean are they marketed as such, is there something special about them, or is it just what you choose?
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Oh I see! I mentioned the Grivel Alphas because they're cheap, light, and available D shaped screwgates.

I also have a lot of DMM Aeros because they were cheap and light, and I don't love the I-beam construction of many modern lighter crabs, but they're no longer manufactured.
 
These can be somewhat helpful with rappel racks too, as the 90* twist can re-orient the rack from a "straight" to "sideways" orientation just by swapping a regular carabiner, for this one.
 
JAshley73 said:
These can be somewhat helpful with rappel racks too, as the 90* twist can re-orient the rack from a "straight" to "sideways" orientation just by swapping a regular carabiner, for this one.
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There are twisted maillons/quick links for that purpose (https://www.inglesport.com/product/maillon-rapide/), which would be much lighter and cheaper. Think this product is specialist item for the top of climbing walls or rescues uses.
 
(I tried to add this to the above message, but ran out of time to edit the post.)

A screenshot from the previously shared video. His rack is setup so that in it's normal orientation, the open end is facing away from the caver. But in this screenshot, his rack has been rotated 180* from normal, so that the open end is now facing his stomach. Just like the scenarios posted above, it's only possible to break the carabiner when the rack has been rotated 180* from normal.

Screenshot_20250113-214248~2.png


 
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