Customer Reviews

Nite Ize SB1-2PK-01 Size-1 S-Biner, Black, 2-Pack

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I am feeling pretty good right now. Why? Because I am about to save hundreds of people the misery of losing their keys, favorite pocket knife, flashlight, thumb drive, etc... I have owned and used both the size 1 and 2 "S-biner"s on my keychain and they consistently (I was going to be ironic and say 'reliably') release/drop whatever is attached to them. I carry my keys in my pocket and have repeatedly found, on the ground, my $50 LED flashlight, 8GB USB drive, house keys, etc. I kept switching what I used the S-biner to hold thinking that it must be good for something because it is so cool. I even switched from size 1 to size 2. Finally after having that sick feeling of finding something I needed or that has value or was brand new on the floor about to be left and lost forever I gave up on this product. I give two stars because these actually are very nice, just not useful outside the safety of your home.

Overall I like them and find them very useful. It's just right for keychain/pocket use. I am constantly adding and removing things from my keychain so I find a standard o-ring slightly cumbersome to use. It's quick and easy to snap open the s-biner and add or remove things. It will hold roughly the same amount of stuff as a standard o-ring and is fairly durable. Some of the black color is starting to wear off, but otherwise it's in good shape after 5 months of use.

The one glaring problem is that it's way too easy for it to accidentally pop open. There have been several instances where I've realized a key was missing. Luckily each time the key was in my pocket or right there on the floor. There is unfortunately no lock to keep it from opening accidentally. Either that or a stiffer spring would have made this a 5-star product. If you use the s-biner carefully it is a useful product. But if you have something of particular value, I would not recommend using it because you have a higher-than-average chance of something accidentally falling off.

I didn't scan the page hard enough to know they are only 1.5 inches long. In fact the size (in non-Nite-Ize units) is not there, maybe I would have to click tech specs? I'm disappointed they are so small, maybe the price help me assume they're bigger. Also it's pretty difficult to open one clasp without also opening the other clasp at the same time. Seems to defeat the purpose of this "S" design.

Once in awhile you run into a small item that may seem unworthy of reviewing, but it's so handy that you come back for more. The Nite Ize Size-1 S-Biner is such a product.

First discovered these in a camera store in New Jersey one weekend after paying for my purchases, and they looked interesting enough to make me go back for a second look. I'm glad that I did, as they were my first ones. Since then I've purchased a number of them for various purposes, including here on Amazon.com, as I'll explain.

First some general observations on this interesting product. Had seen a small write-up in Backpacker Magazine in a doctor's office a couple of years ago where they gave it an Editor's Choice Award, and said: "Don't ask yourself if you need this useful little widget. The question is: How many?" I thought that is was an interesting comment and made a mental note to look for them... then promptly forgot about them until they were encountered in that camera store.

Since then I've bought a number of them, and have used these gadgets for attaching items to a rack on the back of my mountain bike, as a replacement for the junky carabiner on water bottle lids, as a handy belt-loop clip for temporary devices, and to attach a tripod to my photo backpack for quick release. The uses for these are only limited to your imagination.

The S-Biner is a small, handy thing that is a sort of double-ended carabiner, constructed from "2Cr13 Stainless steel for the body and 202 Stainless steel for the wire gates" according to the manufacturer. The hooks are slim and handy enough to use to attach to a variety of items, as you can see from the photos here, and they're available in black, stainless or "spectrum" (multicolored) finish.

It's hard to figure out what size might meet your needs. I made a mistake while ordering a couple of these, so I went to the manufacturer's site and pulled down what is available. Will try to summarize here:

* Size #1 - dimensions: 1.56" x .56" weight rating: 5 lb.
* Size #2 - dimensions: 2" x .88" weight rating: 10 lb.
* Size #3 - dimensions: 2.63" x 1.13" weight rating: 25 lb.
* Size #4 - dimensions: 3.5" x 1.5" weight rating: 75 lb.
* Size #5 - dimensions: 4.38" x 1.94" weight rating: 100 lb.

The manufacturer also offers a handy S-Biner Ahhh Carabiner Clip Bottle Opener (look it up), which is a double-ended gadget list like the regular S-biner gadgets except that it has a built-in bottle opener. There are a number of other innovative versions and styles, including a handy KeyRack Key Holder with S-Biners, with a stainless steel carabiner clip holding six different colored plastic S-Biners, and sized to hold 6 separate keys.

They also offer some light weight but sturdy glass-filled nylon S-Biners with stainless steel wire closures, handy where you might not want to scratch more valuable equipment, such as photo gear. These can be found in the following sizes:

* Size #0, plastic - dimensions: 1.18" x .49" x .14", no weight rating.
* Size #2, plastic - dimensions: 2" x 1" x .3" weight rating: 10 lb.
* Size #4, plastic - dimensions: 3.5" x 1.5" x .3" weight rating: 25 lb.

The package on each warns that none of these, plastic or stainless, should be use for climbing or where "disengagement could result in bodily injury or property damage." Enough on that, but just let common sense prevail. On a personal note, just be sure that the gate spring properly engaged with the hook and you should have no problems.

I cannot fault these products. You could probably just use a garden-variety cheap aluminum carabiner as a substitute for these, but if you value your gear, these are well worth a look. Might suggest that if you're going to use them where they will result in metal-to-metal contact, the plastic versions might be a better choice. Have use both the #2 and #4 sizes with cycling and for photo use as noted above and so far they have held up admirably.

After having bought a number of these both for personal use and as gifts for those who already seem to have everything, can only become one of the handiest gadgets that I've seen this year. Am calling the S-Biner a 5-star Handy Widget of the Year... and I just ordered a few more.

I bought some of these nifty clips from the PX at Fort Lee VA. I found if you put your key ring on the middle part of the S shape, you will not lose anything. It is a little wierd, but this allows you to use either end to clip your keys to a belt loop or a small loop made of 550 cord. I use a small loop of 550 cord around my belt and the keys hang down into my pocket. That keeps the keys handy, off the bottom of my pocket, and the S biner does not ruin the belt loops of my pants.

This is a neat design & idea, but for something like your keys that you grab with your hands often, it's way to easy to accidently open it and disconnect your keys. I was losing half my keys once every two weeks just by grabbing them. I've gone back to the threaded oval chain connector like shown here (solid and won't accidently come off):

threaded oval connector back-leg-chest (force gauge) chain , Item- 12-0446

These are great little clips but I thought they would be larger for some reason. Ther are about as long and wide as a peanut.

I like this clip better than a regular carabiner type clip. It is much smaller in person than the picture on Amazon makes it look. I'd say it's about an inch and a half to two inches long. I was surprised about how small it was, but I actually decided I liked how small it was after I started using it on my keychain. My only complaint is that it seems to fall off and disappear. I had the clip on my keys so I could clip them to my purse or pants or whatever was handy to clip them to. After a few months of use, the clip had disappeared from my keychain. I looked and looked and couldn't find it. I figured it was a fluke, and was glad to have a second clip. I put the second clip on my keys, and within another few months, it disappeared again and I could not find it. Seems like a problem with the clip that they fall off. Other than that, great clip, but too expensive to buy a set of two every six months.

The first guy who wrote "cheap and functional" pretty much summed it up. However, if you have more than say, five keys, or if you carry extra things like a flash drive, electronic entry card, Res-Q-Me, or other extra stuff... then you'll want to go one size larger (I wish I had). But the product itself works fine.

They are small and only rated for 5lbs, so don't expect to much from them. I bought two for a total of 6 (two 3 packs) and so far I have been able to put a couple to use. I actually rigged up a paracord lanyard for my Swiss Army knife and used one of these to attach to my belt loop just in case the knife would slip out of my pocket. So for small functions these can be useful.