oldtimer wrote:
Many urban area trees benefit from a properly done removal of deadwood!

No doubt! I'm talking about trimming without permission. It's guaranteed to make tree owners angry. Lessons learned
-moss

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Can anybody tell me if any of these carabiners from this company can be used for anything else besides storing my keys? http://www.liangdianup.com/carabiners_1.htm

Some of them are pretty big but what are the requirements for a beener so that it can be used for rope work / climbing?

How can I learn about the history of carabiners? And if I am searching to buy some wholesale carabiners does anyone know of any other words that would be used for carabiner? I have heard of the word crab ring or something like that but not sure if it fits. Help?

Oh yeah, if that _link_ above does not work then here is the home page for the site www.lducompany.com I think they have them under camping or tools or something like that.

NO.
Those are toys and key chains not designed for anything other than key chains and ornaments.

For a history and examples of climbing gear thru the ages look at this site.
Search for Carabiners and you get more than you asked for.
Dr Storrick Collection of Vertical Devices:
http://storrick.cnchost.com/VerticalDevicesPage/VerticalHome.shtml

Tibets wrote:
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...what are the requirements for a beener so that it can be used for rope work / climbing?

For recreational tree climbing any carabiner used for a life support attachment should have a locking gate, either screw gate or automatic locking gate. There a different standards around the world for the minimum strength rating for work cimbers. There are no standards for recreational climbing. Rec climbers generally follow work climbing guidelines for carabiners. In Europe and most of the world 22kn is the minimum strength rating, in the U.S. it is 23kn. For rec climbing in the U.S. it is accepted to follow the European standard of 22kn, the 1kn difference is considered irrelevant.

Assuming that you're considering a carabiner with a locking gate for tree climbing, it should have a strength rating of at least 22kn and the rating information should be on the carabiner.
-moss

True story:

A while back, I was shopping in a local Home Depot, wearing a rock climbing t-shirt, when this kid (20ish) came up to me carrying a couple of key chain carabiners and a larger red one like are pictured in Tibets' post's website. He asked me if they would be good for climbing. I, of course, told him "NO!" and Showed him the NOT FOR CLIMBING warning stamped on the side of each one. The kid looked me straight in the eye, and as serious as a heart attack said, "Oh I'm not going to climb with them. I'm going to rappel."