Rocket carabiner (each)

THE WORLD'S SAFEST ALUMINUM AUTOMATIC CARABINER

Developed in collaboration with AustriAlpin, the NEO AUSTRIALPIN ROCKET aluminum automatic carabiner was designed to meet the specific safety requirements of paragliding: as a result, we have created the safest automatic carabiner on the market, certified to EN 362. This standard requires that the carabiner be capable of withstanding a load of 1,500 daN when the gate is open and a load of 2,000 daN when the gate is closed. They must be self-closing and feature automatic or manual locking, and must only be able to be unclipped by at least two deliberate and consecutive manual actions:

• Automatic closure
• Self-locking
• 2 directions of stress.

RESISTANCE: 22 kN
CERTIFICATION: EN362
CONCEPT: automatic autolock closure
COLOR: red or blue
SIZE: unique
WEIGHT: 64 g
MATERIAL: aluminum
LIFESPAN: Replace every 5 years or 500 flight hours
MANUFACTURING: AustriAlpin Austria

Sold individually

1. FATIGUE PHENOMENON

There have been several instances of automatic carabiners breaking during flight, involving various  brands. These sudden failures are due to aluminum fatigue in the "climbing-style" carabiners, which are very commonly used in paragliding.  Since 2014, here at NEO, we have identified this problem during a study that we  commissioned from the University of Savoie. The usage conditions are not the  same for paragliding and rock climbing: in paragliding, the tension is constant and variable  (loading and unloading). Based on the results, we developed a carabiner  specifically for paragliding in collaboration with the Austrian brand AustriAlpin, which has  significantly reduced fatigue with its Autolock system: a stainless steel bar that  inside the automatic locking tab fits perfectly and without any play into  the machined body of the carabiner. This exclusive, patented Austrialpin system reduces micro-movements  and thus micro-cracks.

In addition, the original aluminum section of the Rocket is 10 mm, not 8 mm. 

The risk of breakage is reduced.

 

2. AREA OF FOCUS

During the tensile tests, we observed that a  carabiner that is not operating along its axis of operation  may lose 70% of its strength. 

As paraglider canopies and harnesses become lighter, manufacturers are turning to higher-performance materials that allow for smaller riser straps and harness straps. As a result, automatic carabiners with square or rectangular shapes no longer meet the needs of these various developments. 

We therefore used an asymmetrical shape that adapts perfectly to all types of harness geometries and ascender sizes. This asymmetry keeps the carabiner’s load axis aligned with the axis that offers the greatest strength.

 

3. MULTIPLE HOOKS

Carabiners are being used more and more in paragliding due to the wide variety of  additional attachment points that are added to the main attachment points. We have developed the  Rocket to increase the number of attachment options and make them safer:

- by widening the lower part of the carabiner, allowing various straps to be attached to it  harness straps, cockpit straps, cocoon rappel lines, and reserve parachute lines...

- by putting less strain on the closing finger

- by reinforcing the strength of the locking tab (AustriAlpin Autolock System)

- by increasing the load-bearing capacity in both directions (22 kN / 15 kN), thereby ensuring safety, among other things  the opening of the emergency release at the main attachment points.