Whenever I travel, I am always on the lookout for any piece of travel gear that is small, lightweight and adds a lot of value to my travels. On one of my most recent trips, I needed a way to easily attach my GoPro to my personal effects bag so I didn’t have to worry about it coming off while also giving me quick and easy access to my cameras. I was excited when I found the Nite Ize G clip because I think it might be a piece of gear that I have been looking for a long time.
G Clip Carabiner Features
Over the years, I’ve tried all sorts of different carabiners from just about every company I can find. Everything from actual carabiners that are used for rock climbing to all sorts of gear retention clips that are NOT suitable for rock climbing. I have noticed one problem across all of them. They ALL come undone in one circumstance or another and I can’t rely on them. When I need to be able to rely on my gear to not fail, all of the carabiner devices I’ve used have let me down in one instance or another. Either in my pocket, or in my pack, or somewhere randomly when I reach for it only to find that it already came undone when I sat down on it wrong. No matter how it came undone, I can’t have my gear accidentally coming undone no matter where I am in the world. I need gear that works 100% of the time.
When I found the Nite Ize G clip carabiner, I decided to see if it would work better than any of the other clips I’ve used in the past. Would this G clip be more secure than all of the single gate carabiners that I have used but more accessible than a key ring?
After field testing it on multiple trips across dozens of cities in multiple countries, I think I have concluded that the G clip is the best carabiner for securing my travel gear. After a solid field test, here is my honest review of the Nite Ize G-Series Dual Chamber Carabiner.
2-Gate Design
The single most important feature of the G clip carabiner is the 2 chamber design. I can use it as just a single clip carabiner if I need to but when I need something to really stay secure, I use the second chamber to ensure that it doesn’t accidentally come off when I unhook my keys from my belt loop or backpack.
This dual chamber design gives me the ability to attach it to my gear for a more permanent attachment and orientation so not only does it not come off but it also doesn’t spin around 180 degrees which can make it a bit of a challenge to attach to with just one hand.
If I need to secure something with an extra layer of security, I can use both gates to make it even more difficult to come undone. For example, sometimes I like to attach my bag to my chair when I am eating at a cafe or lounging on a beach chair to prevent pickpockets and snatch-and-grab theft.
The double gate design has been an incredibly useful to secure gear to my gear as well as to other objects.
4 Different Sizes
The G clip carabiner comes in 4 different sizes and 2 different finishes. I prefer the black finish but I bought a couple in the silver finish to see how I like it and that’s all that was available in the smallest size.
The 4 different sizes are useful for for different types of gear like as a keychain or to attach 2 zippers together to ensure that my bag stays closed.
– I use the smallest size #1 for my every day keychain and on small items like my Victorinox Jetsetter Knife.
– I use the #2 size to secure my cameras and to put on zippers to add a simple mechanism to keep a bag closed. I also use this size on my laundry bag so i can attach it to things like a ladder rung or a clothesline.
– I use the #3 size to attach larger objects like a dog leash to my dog’s harness for going to the park and on walks. I also use this to attach a backpack to my baby stroller for everyday use.
– I use the largest #4 size to just keep on my gear in case I need to attach anything to it or just to hang my bag on a ladder rung on a hostel dorm bunk or something.
I just like to have them easily accessible on a number of pieces of gear because I have found myself looking for ways to secure gear at a moments notice and I think the G clip is the long-term solution that I have been searching for.
Best Carabiner Design For Everyday Carry
The G clip is the best design for a carabiner that I have ever used to do small things every day like secure my gear or clip small items to each other or my pack.
I use the G clip for all of my various keychains (both at home and when I travel), to secure my GoPros and other camera gear, my laundry bag, to secure our baby bag to our stroller/push-chair, as an added layer of security with the zipper stays on my Cotopaxi Alpa pack, and just about any other application that I need to temporarily attach one piece of gear to another.
I also have the largest size that I keep permanently attached to my day bag to attach to things but I don’t use that nearly as often as all of the other sizes. It’s possible that I will find a use for it every day but the smaller ones are a bit more functional for my personal gear.
Comparing The G Clip To Other Carabiner Clips
Like I said earlier, I have tried all sorts of carabiner style clips. A number of them are also from Nite Ize like their magnetic double carabiner clip as well as some actual rock climbing carabiners.
Nite Ize Slidelock 360 Clip
When I first found this 360 double magnet clip, I really liked the idea of being able to quickly attach one piece of gear with a strong magnet. While the idea of this clip is great, the actual execution of it leaves something to be desired.
Every time I attached something to this, it always seemed to come undone in one way or another. Even if you screw the 2 halves together, the little plastic carabiner “lock” always seems to come loose and even get in the way of me using the carabiner effectively.
Nite Ize S Clip
The S clip is just 2 single gate carabiners on opposite sides of the the same clip. Again, this is a good idea in theory but terrible in practice. All this clip does is double the chances of your gear unintentionally coming undone. Nite Ize even made one of these with a plastic locking mechanism but with a small plastic slide-lock but it’s not good enough for me. Almost every time I used the S clip, it would come undone in my pocket or gear which completely defeats the point of this clip.
I need something that doesn’t come undone with a little pressure.
Black Diamond Rock Lock Magnetron Carabiner
The whole reason I decided to buy a carabiner to attach to my pack was because I stayed at a number of hostels that didn’t have a way for me to simply hang my small day pack on my hostel bunk bed. A lot of hostel dorm bunk beds don’t have a place to put a small backpack.
After I got pickpocketed in Barcelona AND Lisbon on different trips, I decided that I needed a way to attach my day bag to a chair or table to prevent snatch-and-grab theft. A small loop of paracord and a carabiner seemed like a great way to add a simple layer of security to my travel gear and a robust locking carabiner seemed like an even better option because it’s all too easy to disconnect a standard carabiner.
I found the Magnetron locking carabiner and it seemed like a great solution for my overall gear retention system but it’s massive and weighs a lot so it’s not a good fit for my minimalist travel lifestyle.
On top of that, since it is a single-gate carabiner, it constantly flips around and is never in the same orientation so about 50% of the time it’s more hassle to hang up when my hands are full and I can only use a single hand to attach it to something. To fix the orientation of the carabiner, I found the Black Diamond Gridlock carabiner.
Black Diamond Gridlock Screw-gate Locking Carabiner
The Gridlock Locking Carabiner from Black Diamond is another carabiner that can actually be used for actual rock climbing so it comes at a much higher price point than all of the other products listed in this post.
One advantage that this has over the G clip is that this is an actual climbing carabiner so it can be used for actual rock climbing and could be used in a real-world emergency situation but I think the probability of that actually happening in my own life is almost 0%.
On top of that, this carabiner costs ~$25 which is completely overkill for securing small pieces of travel gear but I will admit that this is probably the best carabiner I have ever used for actual rock climbing because it doesn’t spin around on my harness so I can rely on it a bit more. It’s also nice that it’s a screwgate lock so it can’t unintentionally come undone amidst me messing with my harness or ropes crossing.
HeroClip
The HeroClip is a great piece of gear for attaching to your pack (or other travel gear) to then hang on something like a ladder wrung, the back of a bathroom stall door (if it doesn’t already have a hanger in it) or even something like a tree branch if you’re camping.
While I like to keep a hero clip attached to my travel pack all the time, it’s a bit overkill for something small like a day pack. Using the #4 size G clip is a good option for attaching your pack to a number of things while staying on your pack a bit more “permanently”.
Final Thoughts
I know that it may seem odd to review such a small and seemingly insignificant piece of gear but since it provides so much value for such a small piece of gear and at such a low price, I have found it worth my time to write an in-depth review of it. The G clip carabiner has now become an integral part of my daily life as well as all of my travel gear and camera equipment.
If you’re looking for an easy way to attach small pieces of your gear to one another or maybe you just want a nice addition to your EDC, then the Nite Ize G clip carabiner is absolutely worth considering. You can buy them here on Amazon with my affiliate link (which helps me write more reviews like this) but you can also buy them at outdoor retailers like REI.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this review. I hope you found something useful in here.
