Gear Review: Petzl Djinn Quickdraw

--Product Information--
Product Name: Djinn Acess Quickdraw and Carabiners
Product Brand: Petzl
Best Use: Sport Climbing
Size / Specs: 17cm, 113 grams
Color: Grey

--Test Information--
Location of Test: Gorge Sport Crags
Duration: 1 month

--Ratings--
Value Rating: 7
Durability Rating: 9
Overall Rating: 8

I’m stoked on the Djinn Axcess quickdraw for one reason: sport climbing. The easily manipulable Djinn carabiners work perfectly with the stiff, durable Axcess dogbone so you’ll feel as comfortable as possible reaching to clip or taking fall after fall on the same bolt. These quickdraws are easy to manipulate on your rack and on the bolts, so when you’re climbing your hardest, clipping can be its easiest.

The core of any quickdraw is the sling, or dogbone. Most dogbones these days are made primarily to conserve weight while providing adequate protection and strength. Every dogbone on the market is strong enough to hold any fall, so trying to save a few grams is an attractive second objective for the companies making quickdraws. With the Axcess sling, Petzl decided to go a different route, adding a few grams and gaining a lot of performance by doing so.

The Axcess sling is stiff, wide, and 100% nylon. The stiff design allows for the quickdraw to be used as a single unit so climbers can hold it out a little further while clipping a bolt. It also has dramatically less play when clipping the rope end. Nylon, when compared to the Dyneema used in many other slings, has a less desirable strength-to-weight ratio, but it is much more resistant to abrasion and UV rays, giving it more durability.

The Petzl Djinn Axcess (left) and Black Diamond Positron (center). Notice Petzl’s rubber STING system on the outside of the sling. In addition to holding the lower carabiner in place, it also protects the sling from abrasion at this common point of contact with the rock. On the right is an alpine sling made using Djinn carabiners.

The Djinn carabiner is used at both ends of this quickdraw with straight gate at the bolt end making those long, reachy clips a wee bit easier, and a bent gate at the rope end, making it a little more compliant when pushing the rope through the gate. The Djinn also uses solid gates (as opposed to wire gate) thus eliminating the hook in the nose where bolts often catch.

The carabiner frame is identical on both ends. It has with a flat contact surface along the spine that helps keep if from slipping or rotating inside the climbers hand. There is also a slight crook half way up the spine so that the gate is more directly opposed to the back of the frame. All together, I found this ergonomic carabiner is easy to open even when pumped. The only issue I had with the carabiner was unnecessarily high resistance from the gate’s spring, which I’m hoping will decrease over time.

This is an amazing sport climbing quickdraw, but I would not recommend it for trad climbing. I tried clipping into traditional protection with the Djinn Access quickdraw, and really disliked it. The stiff dogbone transferred rope drag directly to the nut I’d placed, wiggling it out of position after just a little testing. If you’re looking for a quickdraw that can be used in place of an alpine draw, I would recommend the Black Diamond Positron or another quickdraw with a light, floppy dogbone and a loose connection the bolt-end carabiner.

Trad climbers, do not be dismayed. The Djinn carabiner works great with either the Camp Express Dyneema sling (very light and compact) or the Black Diamond Nylon Runner (abrasion resistant and colorful). Even if you’re not looking for a quickdraw, Djinn carabiners can be purchased separately.

The Good: The Djinn Axcess quickdraw is perfect for sport climbers. It’s stiff, it’s tough, it’s less expensive than anything that compares.

The Not So Good: This isn’t a very good quickdraw for trad climbs.

The Bottom Line: These quickdraws will help you out on the hardest sport climbs.