Which retirement factor is listed for aluminum carabiners but not for steel carabiners?

• A. Dropping
• B. Scoring
• C. Chemical exposure
• D. Corrosion

Answer: (A)

Dropping highlights how aluminum carabiners are more vulnerable to impact. Aluminum is softer than steel, so an impact from a drop can cause hidden internal damage or fatigue that isn’t obvious to the eye. Because of this, retirement guidelines often specify replacing aluminum carabiners after a drop to avoid failure during use. Steel carabiners, being harder and tougher, don’t carry the same risk from a simple drop, so dropping isn’t usually listed as a retirement factor for them. The other factors—chemical exposure, corrosion, and surface scoring—can affect both materials or are more about general wear, so they don’t create the same material-specific distinction.