Omega Caranut Review

Name: Omega Caranut
Brand: Omega Pacific

Omega Caranut Review (Omega Pacific Caranut) — Omega Pacific Caranut
Credit: Ian Nicholson

Price: $12 List

Manufacturer: Omega Pacific

By Ian Nicholson ⋅ Review Editor ⋅ Dec 1, 2009

OVERALL
SCORE

Removing nuts - 35% 7.0
Removing cams - 25% 6.0
Comfort - 20% 6.0
Tangle Factor - 10% 7.0
Ease of handling - 10% 8.0

RELATED: Best Nut Tools for Climbing

View at Omega Pacific

Our Verdict

The Caranut is Discontinued as of 2015

REASONS TO BUY

Best deal for a product with a built in carabiner

Best clipping carabiner

REASONS TO AVOID

Uncomfortable to pound on

Doesn't hook cam triggers as well

Omega was the first company to introduce a nut tool with a built-in carabiner, thus saving you the weight of an additional carabiner to clip the tool to your harness. The Caranut is one of the lighter packages on the market. The shape put it slightly below average for hooking cam triggers to help with freeing cams. It cleaned nuts quite well though. Its built-in carabiner is very user-friendly and went on and off our harness better than any we tested.

The Omega Pacific Caranut is for climbers looking for a good price but still wanting to lighten their overall package by having an integrated carabiner. It is as comfortable as the DMM Nutter and slightly better than Black Diamond nut tool, both at $9.95. We thought The Caranut cleaned nuts as well or nearly as well as either of these similarly-priced nut tools and again you get the best clipping built-in carabineer we tested. We also found that the built-in carabiner was one of the easiest to use for getting on and off your harness. The Caranut isn't very comfortable but it is less money than other nut tools with a specific medal pommel to pound on.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Likes

The Omega at 55 grams is slightly heavier than the DMM or BD nut tools on its own, but because it doesn't require another carabiner to clip it in with, the overall package is the second lightest we tested. The built-in carabiner is also one of the biggest and it is key gated, making the Caranut the best for easily taking off your harness. We could torque pretty hard on the end of the Caranut without much fear of bending or breaking it.

Dislikes

The Omega isnt as curved as many others on the market and it didnt grab cam triggers quite as well. This tool was among the least comfortable on your palm while trying remove jammed nuts. A friend wore out the spring in the gate of his built in-carabiner, although this was after many seasons of year-round use and we haven't heard of another case.

Best Application

For Climbers looking for a good price but still wanting to lighten their overall package, this is a great option. Climbers who are particular and who didnt like the built-in carabiners on other nut tools might give this one a try because of its key gating and large size. A good nut tool for single pitch cragging at Seneca to long routes in the Valley.

Value

The Caranut at under $12 is one of the best deals for a nut tool and is the best deal for one with a built-in carabiner. It is only $2 more than the BD and the DMM nut tools, which both lack this feature. It is about as comfy on your palms as the DMM Nutter and the Metolius Extractor, but it is less expensive than the latter and is a lighter overall package than either.

— Ian Nicholson