Black Diamond Climbing Hardware

How to Choose Belay Devices

Learn how to choose a belay device for rock climbing. Includes the pros and cons of tubular, assisted braking and Figure 8 devices.

How to Choose Carabiners

Learn how to choose carabiners for rock climbing, and the benefits of locking, nonlocking, wiregate, bent-gate and straight-gate carabiners.

How to Choose Quickdraws

Learn how to buy quickdraws. This article covers carabiner size, shape and gate, as well as sling length and how many quickdraws to have.

How to Choose Climbing Nuts, Stoppers and Chocks

Getting into leading trad routes? Learn how to choose types of passive protection, such as chocks, nuts and hexes.

How to Rappel

Learn the basics of rappelling, including preparing at the top of a route, setting up the rappel, using a backup and rappelling down.

How to Belay

Learn the basics of top rope belaying, including gear, setup, safety checks and procedures, plus the PBUS method and how to lower a climber.