For about a year, the Finsterwalder & Charly development team has been working on a lightweight carabiner that, similar to the Quick-Out, allows the paraglider to be disconnected after a reserve parachute deployment. This project under the name „Paralock" is now so advanced that already a pre-series of 100 pieces has been ordered.
The Paralock has major advantages over conventional paragliding carabiners:
- It is self-locking and allows the opening under load
- Due to the high breaking strength of 30 kN, it is also suitable for tandem and hang glider use
- Since the closure is always under load, it is resistant to dynamic stress as it occurs permanently in paragliding and hang gliding; therefore, its replacement interval of mono 8 or bi 5 years without limitation of operating hours is extra long
- It weighs a mere 70 g and fits both normal and Hike & Fly harnesses
Compared to the Quick-Out, the Paralock scores with weight savings of 130 g and the advantage that no counterpart must be attached to the paraglider risers.
Unfortunately, already at a relatively early stage of development, Tom Grabner raised hopes that the new carbiner could hit the market still this year in the DHV Forum under the topic „Quick-Out Alternativen in Sicht?".
However, the Paralock is as sophisticated in production as the Quick-Out. We want to avoid any risks and aim to meet our demands for the highest quality and safety. Moreover, the Paralock should be a reasonable alternative to conventional paragliding carbiners also with regard to price. To achieve this, hurry is out of place.
The development of the Quick-Out took 3 years. According to the current state, we are confident that the Paralock will make it to market faster, but we must still ask for some patience.
At the „Super Paragliding Testival" in Kössen (30.05. - 02.06.2019), we intend to show the first prototypes of the Paralock. We look forward to seeing you at our joint booth with Kortel!
- Thomas Finsterwalder -
