We buy all the products we test — no freebies from companies. If you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission, which helps support our testing.
When this biner first came out it was my favorite. I instantly bought a bunch, put them on my rack and was psyched. That was about 10 years ago. Now the Trango SuperFly has more competition from the Black Diamond Oz Carabiner, CAMP Photon Wire Straight Gate and many others. The SuperFly still stands out as one of my favorites, but it is no longer the runaway winner.
If you want the absolute lightest weight biner, go with CAMP Nano 22 Carabiner or absolute smallest biner the Metolius FS Mini. But overall, I prefer the Trango SuperFly because it's fairly light, but still easy to handle.
Our Analysis and Test Results
Likes
The Trango SuperFly is a great mid-weight carabiner. Similar to competitors like the CAMP Photon Wire, it is full-sized and easy to handle, but won't weight you down like a bulkier product. It also has great snappy clipping action and is easy to clip! It comes in non-wiregate models also, but they are much heavier. I am a big fan of the wiregate version ever since I had a non-wiregate biner break on a fall on El Capitan. My suspicion is the biner failed because “gate flutter” caused the gate to open right when the biner was loaded. This is much less likely on wiregate biners because the gate has less mass.
The Trango SuperFly strikes a good balance between pretty lightweight and easy to handle. Amanda uses this carabiner to rack up whether she's trad or aid climbing.
Credit: Skiy DeTray
Dislikes
The gate gets hung up on bolt hangers more than biners with a “hood” or other notch protecting feature. This biner is light, but no longer one of the lightest on the market.
Here, the SuperFly has been used with a skinny dogbone to create lightweight quickdraws. These biners have gone the distance in the four years since this photo was taken.
Credit: Skiy DeTray
Best Application
I have used these biners for everything from sport climbing to big walls, though the nose notch is not ideal for steeper routes. They are basically the only biners on my rack other than the Black Diamond Oz, Metolius FS Mini, and Wild Country Astro. The locking version of the SuperFly is called the Trango SuperFly Screwlock and is also awesome.
Amanda heads off on the Lost Arrow Spire, racked up mostly with the SuperFly, which is light, but still easy to use even with gloves on.
Credit: Skiy DeTray
Value
The Trango SuperFly is not the cheapest biner but, it is relatively affordable. If you want to save a few bucks, be sure to consider our Best Buy award winner, the Mad Rock UltraLight Bent Gate, which weighs the same as the SuperFly, but is $2 cheaper.
