In reply to beardy mike:
> Yep - sorry - I missed that. Anyway, yes I know these are marginal differences, but the fact remains that Euro's seem to prefer solidgate biners. Don't ask me the whys and wherefores... I just very very rarely see europeans carrying wiregates. I suppose I am wondering from a professional point of view whether such a thing exists and if not why not... I do take the point that it's most likely to do with weight...
No worries, I wasn't having a go, simply trying to confirm things. I climb trad and sport and was wondering if I was missing something.
All of my QDs are wire gate, I started off with them and have simply carried on buying them because they work. It's not about saving weight, if I was that worried about that I'd shed a few kg off me, rather than gear.
I like the simplicity of a wire gate, only one moving part so less likely to f*ck up.
Anyhow, each to his own, interesting to find out about the unclipping bit, something else to look out for.