Karabiner is the short version of a German word karabinerhaken which translates as karbine or rifle hook and refers to the little hook that attached the rifle sling to the rifle itself.

Legend has it that some members of the Munich Fire Brigade were the first to realise the potential for the hooks to be used for mountaineering and presumably fire rescue.

The Austrian company, Stubai, were one of the first to produce karabiners, specifically for mountaineering, in the 1930s.

The two fine examples we have here in the collection are probably from a little bit later, circa 1950, and were soon to be superseded by the better designed, oval shaped karabiner that we know today (2022).

Two excellent examples of karabiners on the evolutionary scale.