An assisted-braking device (ABD) is a belay device with a mechanism — usually a camming lever — that helps pinch and lock the rope when it's loaded suddenly, adding a margin of safety in a fall. The GriGri is the best-known example. Crucially, ABDs still require a hand on the brake at all times; they are not hands-free.
An offset nut is a wedge-shaped passive protection piece with one face larger than the other, designed to fit flaring or piton-scarred cracks where parallel-sided nuts won't seat. Their asymmetric taper makes them especially useful on aid routes and old trade routes pocked with pin scars.
A micro cam is a very small spring-loaded camming device built to protect thin cracks too narrow for standard cams. Their tiny lobes hold in finger-width and smaller cracks, but they have a narrower holding range and lower strength than larger cams, so placement precision and good rock are critical.
A Tricam is a piece of climbing protection that can be placed passively, like a nut, or set in a camming mode where it pivots on a point and grips when loaded. This versatility lets Tricams protect pockets and shallow placements where other gear struggles, making them a niche but valued addition to a trad rack.
An oval carabiner is a symmetrical, oval-shaped carabiner whose even curves let gear and slings sit centred and reduce shifting. Slightly weaker and heavier than D-shaped carabiners, ovals are favoured for aid climbing, racking gear, and use with pulleys, where smooth, balanced loading matters more than peak strength.
A screwgate carabiner is a locking carabiner secured by a threaded sleeve you screw closed by hand over the gate. Simple, light, and easy to inspect at a glance, screwgates are a popular locker for belaying, anchors, and tethers — with the one caveat that you must remember to do the gate up.
An HMS carabiner is a large, pear-shaped locking carabiner designed for belaying and rappelling. Its wide, symmetrical top accommodates a Munter hitch and lets a belay device move freely, while the locking gate keeps it secure. HMS stands for the German Halbmastwurfsicherung, meaning Munter-hitch belay.
A wiregate carabiner uses a loop of stainless wire as its gate instead of a solid bar. This makes it lighter, less prone to freezing or icing shut, and resistant to 'gate flutter' — the gate momentarily vibrating open during a fall. Wiregates are popular on quickdraws, slings, and alpine racks.
Climbing chalk is magnesium carbonate powder that climbers rub on their hands to absorb sweat and improve grip on holds. Carried in a chalk bag and reapplied throughout a climb, it comes as loose powder, pressed blocks, refillable balls, or liquid chalk, and is near-universal in modern climbing.
A nut tool is a thin, flat metal pick used to remove stuck protection — nuts, hexes, and sometimes cams — that have wedged tight after being weighted. The following climber uses it to free the gear by poking and prying it loose, and it doubles for cleaning dirt and moss from cracks.