Yvon Chouinard produced his first karabiners back in 1957 and it seems that since he got the Aluminium Company of America (Alcoa) to make them for him, the next logical step was to christen his karabiners ‘Alcoa’; a name that has become a bit of a ledgend in the American climbing world. An Alcoa karabiner sold for $175 (approx. £130) on the internet in 2013. Production of the Alcoa ceased in 1968 making way for a new generation of Chouinard karabiners, examples of which you will see elsewhere in our collection. Very few of these karabiners made their way across the Atlantic to Europe,the similar French, Pierre Allain versions being more dominant. Our good friend and fellow collector, Art McCarthy sent us these two over from California in 2013, along with several other items as part of a ‘swap’ system him and Mick Tighe have going on – thanks Art, great addition to our collection.