New Edelrid locking carabiners - any thoughts?

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 PPP 20 May 2014
Edelrid released a new type of "auto locking" carabiners: vimeo.com/95803969

Personally, I'm not really convinced by the overall design and I can't realize why someone would like the carabiner to rotate in small eyelets, like belay device (it looks like it increases cross-loading probability that way!). The locking design is also quite mysterious. Wouldn't it unlock if you hit the carabiner with a piece of rock? Since UK climbing walls do not allow clipping in to the rope with the carabiner (am I wrong here?), carabiners aren't useful for beginners. DMM Belay Master or Black Diamond Gridlock (the one I own) looks better for belaying single pitches. However, such carabiners might be useful for via ferrata if one motion unlocking is okay.

Or... is it just a try to show customers another type of auto locking carabiners? Grivel released a new twin gate carabiner this year and BD already has magnetrons.
In reply to PPP: Personally, I thought the design was a superb idea when I saw it.

My immediate thoughts are that the Edelrid 'slider' design (and for that matter the new Grivel one) could be great for when belaying with an Italian hitch or for when clove-hitching to anchors. Both of these are scenarios where it is hard to do so quickly or one-handed with standard autolock designs. Also, depending on the risk of rope abrasion against the slider mechanism, the offset D version might be really good as the blocking krab for guideplates.

Anyway, I'm extremely keen to play with one the first time I end up in a shop that stocks them. By coincidence, I was ordering gear online earlier today and I thought seriously about buying one but in the end the price and the fact I've not handled one put me off.
 Mr Lopez 20 May 2014
In reply to PPP:

I really like the 'small' version for quickdraws.
 TobyA 20 May 2014
In reply to Mr Lopez:

Yep, DMM tried some years back to do similar - the "Shadow Safe" I think it was called - it was in the catalogues for a couple of years but they never got it to work properly so it never went into production. Plenty of sport climbs around here with two or three bolts so you're often doing hard stuff right by the first one - knowing there is no way it can unclip is nice.

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