In 2020 Black Diamond is dramatically changing their carabiner line. Most notably, all their snag-free wiregate hood wire carabiners are nixed. This post goes over what’s new, what’s gone, and what carabiners are here to stay.

First up, so there is no beating around the bush: Black Diamond is very open that they’ve moved the majority of their carabiner manufacturing to Taiwan. There are a few exceptions: The Magnetron and Gridlock carabiners will still be made in the Black Diamond headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.

You can see all the new carabiners (and quickdraws) in this video below (and/or scroll down for more details and comparison photos).

New Black Diamond Carabiners for 2020

Most of these carabiners are launching January 1st. BUT the MiniWire, Hotwire, and HotForge series are now available at REI. In fact, they’ll be available exclusively at REI until 2020 hits.

New 2020 Black Diamond Carabiners
Carabiners in order via bullet points below. Not pictured: Hotwire & Rocklock Twistlock

Not pictured above:

Select BD carabiners available exclusively at REI in November and December 2019
Including the MiniWire, Hotwire, and HotForge series

Carabiner Details

All carabiners are now hot-forged, allowing complex shapes, lighter weight, and as good if not better strengths.

MiniWire

23 grams, $5.95, 11 colors (including pink and a light mint green)

5 grams lighter than the Oz. Basically a smaller version of the new Litewire. A good option when weight is your top priority, like for long or remote routes. Great for making alpine slings or racking cams with light carabiners.

Oz versus MiniWire comparison

Oz compared to Miniwire
Oz on left, Miniwire on right

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LiteWire (coming Jan 2020)

32 grams, $6.95, 9 colors 

A step down from a full-size carabiner, but bigger than the Miniwire, it’s most similar in likeness to the Neutrino. Comes in all colors for racking cams. It’s meant to be a work-horse carabiner. Still light, but not extremely light. Although you could technically sport climb with it, it’s really designed for trad – alpine slings and racking.

Neutrino versus LiteWire comparison

Neutrino compared to Litewire
Neutrino on right, LiteWire on left

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HotWire

40 grams, $7.95, 3 colors

The original wiregate, from 1997, adds a few updates. This has always been the do-everything trad or sport carabiner in Black Diamond’s line. It bridges the gap between trad and sport draws. It’s lighter than a solid gate, but still easy to manage with a plentiful basket. Since it’s not intended for racking, it’s not sold in 5+ colors. The HotWire is used on many of Black Diamond’s quickdraws.

Black Diamond HotWire carabiners
These are all Hotwire carabiners (in all the colors they come in)

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HotForge Straight & Bent Gate

45 grams, $8.95, 2 colors

Think of the HotForge as the new Positron. Keylock nose, the gates have a flat area for ease of clipping, and there’s a deep basket for the rope. The HotForge is designed for sport climbing with its heavier solid gate design. It’s used on many of Black Diamond’s draws.

Positron versus HotForge comparison

Positron compared to HotForge
Positron on left, HotForge on right. Note: Carabiners are to scale. This is photo, not a copy paste of images. I deleted the photo background because it was distracting.

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HotForge Screwgate

50 grams, $10.95, 2 colors

Standard full-size screwgate. A very popular locker for making anchors (trad, sport, or top-rope). Not ideal for belaying if you’re using a tube device since it doesn’t have a round rope bearing surface.

Positron screwgate versus HotForge screwgate comparison

Black Diamond 2020 Carabiner Details 1
Positron screw on left, HotForge screw on right

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Liteforge Screwgate (coming Jan 2020)

45 grams, $11.95, 2 colors

Totally new (not a semi-revised Nitron screw), this will be Black Diamond’s lighteset and smallest locker they’ve ever made. It’s best use is for a personal anchor system (PAS). Could also be used for anchors (trad, sport, top-rope). Not ideal for belaying if you’re using a tube device since it doesn’t have a round rope bearing surface. Likely too small for a munter belay.

Black Diamond LiteForge screwgate
These are both LiteForge screwgates (comes in 2 colors)

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Rocklock Screwgate & Twistlock (updated) (coming Jan 2020)

85 grams, $11.95 / 89 grams, $18.95

Slightly updated geometry. The Rocklock was designed as a belay carabiner and is Black Diamond’s #1 selling belay carabiner. You could also top-rope with this carabiner, but there’s no need to take such a beefy model top-roping.

New versus older Rocklock Comparison

 

Rocklock
Cold-forged (previous) Rocklock on left, New Hot-forged Rocklock on right

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Select BD carabiners available exclusively at REI in November and December 2019
Including the MiniWire, Hotwire, and HotForge series

Why no hood wires? (Where is the Oz, Hoodwire, Livewire?)

The biggest bummer is that the hood wire technology is going away from the line. We were told that the hood wires have always been hard to make (all snag-free wiregate solutions are), and that is the main issue. The full story is likely a combination of reasons.

Our guess is that BD has a new snag-free wiregate in the works, and when they transitioned their carabiner manufacturing to Taiwan, they would have lost quite a bit of money transitioning the hood wire designs (since the carabiner wouldn’t be around long to re-coop the costs and it would take awhile to have a new group make it without a lot of mistakes, etc). It’s likely there would have been a bigger outcry if BD tried to raise the price by $2-3 to compensate for the lack of margins (already existing pre-move) plus the transition to a new factory.

If you want to see all the snag-free wiregate options available now, read this post.

Black Diamond Carabiners Retiring in 2020

In 2019, these carabiners have already ceased production. Since stock is limited, if you’re in love, buy now. Many of these models are on sale already and stock is going quickly. If you click the carabiner links below, you’ll go to the WeighMyRack product page that shows all the buying options and current prices. 

Old Black Diamond Carabiners
Carabiners in order via bullet points below. Not pictured: Hoodwire & Livewire

Not pictured above:

Black Diamond Carabiners Staying for 2020

This post has a few affiliate links to REI, but it’s not sponsored by them. REI just happens to be the only company who is selling the new carabiners as of the publish date of this article. If you click one of these links and check out (buying anything, carabiner, helmet, sleeping bag…), we get a commission. These commissions help us afford the time to create more content.