Submited By: Adam Scott on 19/06/2009
Before I got my Helium QDs almost a year ago, I'd used various other QD sets borrowed from friends, and I can confidently say that these are the best sports draws I've come across.
Full size 'biners make life easier when you're clawing your way up a desperate route, making clipping bolts and rope quicker and less fiddly than compared to using the smaller designs like Xeon Lights or Phantoms. The advantages of these miniature QD's is basically down to weight, but the Heliums are so light anyway I'd much rather have quicker and easier clipping than a marginally ligher rack.
The colour coding ("Red for Rope") makes these pretty fool-proof, and you never have to worry about accidentally clipping your rope into the pro-end krab and ripping it up. All QD sets should have that, and I think it's a great shame that Wild Country's new Astro and Nitro 'biners are only available in one colour.
The gate action is smooth, and as you'd expect with a modern wiregate the tension is firm without being so strong as to make life difficult for you when going for those desperate clips.
By far the biggest advantage of the Heliums is the nose. Although not so much of an issue with your usual Sport route, I've used these for Trad, where some of the more exotic gear placements can do horrible things to your QuickDraw positioning. It's when you've got your 'biners pushing against rock and squeezed into bizarre locations that you really appreciate the added reassurance that the tucked away gate nose gives you. And judging from the scrapes and scratches on my QDs, it's a necessary design element, and definitely not over-kill.
The only other Wiregate that offers that level of safety is the DMM Shield, but I much prefer the Helium, both for its more normal form (I just can't get used to that odd back shape on the Shield) and for its simpler and, in my opinion, safer nose.
The other part of the QD sandwich, squeezed in between the fantastic krabs, are the dogbone. These are... well, pretty standard. It's a length of webbing - there's not much to say. The sewn-in rubber retaining ring is firm and doesn't get in the way, as it can with some designs.
Overall, it's a great QD package, and I doubt you'll find anything better.
 |
|
