If a carabiner shows signs of wear or damage, what is the appropriate action?

• A. Retire it from service
• B. Use it for non-load-bearing tasks
• C. Clean it and reuse
• D. Ignore it if it still looks fine

Answer: (A)

When gear shows wear or damage, the safe action is to retire it from service. Carabiners are load-bearing hardware; fatigue, deformation, cracks, or corrosion can weaken them in ways that aren’t visible from the outside. In a rope course, trusting a compromised carabiner can lead to sudden failure under load, putting participants at serious risk. Removing the item from use and replacing it with a known-good one avoids unpredictable breakage and maintains safety standards.

Using a worn carabiner for non-load-bearing tasks still won’t guarantee safety, cleaning or reusing cannot fix structural damage, and ignoring the signs of wear is dangerous. The responsible choice is to retire the gear and replace it.