DMM is the latest brand to become available at Facewest. Born out of Moorhouse Engineering from Bethesda, Wales, over 30 years ago the brand has developed into a leading manufacturer of climbing and mountaineering hardware. Now based in Llanberis, the brand with its forging and engineering background goes from strength to strength.
DMM produce a broad range of climbing equipment and it was a challenge to select a range of products that would complement our existing line up as well as to introduce some new and exciting lines. As you look through the range you will see there are four screwgate carabiners, three belay devices as well as the usual quickdraws. Though the screwgates may well have cross over uses they are all unique in their own ways. Most notably being the Revolver with its integrated wheel. This allows a rope to run with vastly reduced resistance working superbly during crevasse rescue, hauling on big walls and on running belays where rope drag is an issue. The two HMS carabiners perform similar functions but the Sentinel is a lot smaller, ideal for rigging belays, but will only take a couple of hitches. On the other hand the Boa is a large carabiner that handles well, even with gloves in winter conditions, this will take several hitches and is a great addition on multi-pitch mountain routes.
Revolver Screwgate Sentinel HMS Screwgate
The two quickdraws at first look very similar but the key difference between the Spectre 2 and the Chimera is weight, with the Chimera being the lighter and ideal for hard trad where every gram counts. The Spectre 2 is a little more beefy with thicker 11mm Dyneema tape and is a better choice as a higher use ‘every day’ quickdraw, as well as being a bit friendlier on the wallet. The Spectre 2 also comes as single carabiners and in a colour coded rack pack.
Spectre 2 Quickdraw Chimera Quickdraw
Wallnuts are DMM’s equivalent of the Wild Country Rock with sizing being very similar however they are a little more flared and have a scoop face. Rocks, Stoppers and Wallnuts will all seat in the same 90% of cracks but with the scoop and flare Wallnuts stand a better chance in those awkward 10% of cracks.
Three different belay devices? Well the Pivot and the Mantis are virtually the same, with the Pivot having an additional ‘pivoting’ attachment loop allowing it to be used for Direct Belaying, often referred to as Guide Mode. Personally I would go for the Mantis, the lighter option, and belay in a more traditional manner from the belay loop or via the rope loop.
Pivot Mantis
DMM do a selection of slings of varying widths in either Nylon or Dyneema. The choice to take only the 8mm Dyneema slings is purely to allow us to offer a really thin and more importantly a light sling, they do however have the same breaking point as 11mm Dyneema. The other advantage is they will go through tighter threads, so if you want weight reducing slings this is the ideal option, one I will not hesitate to take advantage of.
Dyneema 8mm Sling