I’m a gadget guy for sure, so when Mike Bond (of Ti2Design) comes up with a new toy, well, I just need to get one! Of course some are more useful than others but in the case of the Para-Biner – true usability is granted! I wanted to give it a quick review in July, but instead I decided to carry it for a solid three months before writing this.

I’ve carried and used both the PB-4 and the PB-6 for a quarter, actually carried it every single day as I bound bronze PB-4 to my car keys and the Ti PB-6 to my house keys. For some time I even attached both of my keyrings (car & house) to the smaller PB-4 and it performed flawlessly, even with such a big bunch of keys attached.

Let’s start with some obvious functionalities – it’s a carabiner, so it makes an easy attachment point and works on backpack straps, MOLLE, loop keepers, rope and all kinds of stuff. Each of the Para-Biners have a couple of hex-tools built in and both metric and inch versions are available.

When I was talking with Mike during the Blade Show in June, I was too excited when I notice that and that’s why all my PB’s are SAE versions, with inch-sized wrenches – so be aware when ordering. For detailed wrench sizes just check the reference card.

As expected one of the wrench holes is actually a 1/4″ bit holder. It gives quite a substantial leverage and its smart design prevents a bit from going all the way through the socket. It’s actually one of the most used features on my PB’s and it also works great with a bit extender.

Another easy application is as a pry-bar / scraper / screwdriver / box opener etc. – yeah, 4+ tools in one. I’ve opened countless boxes with it, opened paint cans, used it a lot as a big screwdriver and more, it’s all self-explanatory. And it’s not sharpened, so it shouldn’t be a problem to take it onboard when flying – I actually did couple of times and never had an issue, but of course I cannot guarantee that since the rules changes over time, plus every airline and country has it’s own security measures.

Now for something less obvious, and also the reason why I left Mike’s table with two PB-6 tools instead of just one, it makes an awesome improvised pulley, which multiplies the pulling power four times! So with a piece of Type-III paracord (550 lbs strength) you can move a considerable weight just by using your own hands.

Add to that the specially designed paracord keepers (called para-cinch) and you can easily block paracord on your pulley system at any moment. Isn’t that just cool? Sure it is! Useful? It depends, but I can certainly see some use when camping or canoeing in the wild. You can get a boat out of water, move a heavy log, brace a string, etc. so yeah, I can see some uses. Since the PB-6 can be used for so many other things, and I always have a decent length of 550 cord with me, it’s not a bad thing to be able to build a simple pulley, is it?

Last but not least, the para-cinch also works as a cap lifter. In many other carabiners you use the actual opening as a bottle opener (the BP’s work like that as well) but it’s much easier and more convenient to open your beer with the para-cinch tool.

Since the PB-4 and PB-6 are available in many different materials the question is – which one is the best? Well, if you’re looking foremost for a tool I’d say Titanium is the best choice. It’s lightweight, strong and doesn’t corrode.

But I’ve found that bronze is seriously tough as well and it gets an awesome patina over time! So it’s not as easy a choice as you may think. At the end of the day, I decided that my #1 pick is bronze! After 3 months of daily use it’s got a nice vintage patina and I really enjoy the heft of it and the warmth of the metal. Sure, it’s not as strong as Ti, but for EDC tasks bronze is more than enough.

Oh, and if you decide to get one be prepared for questions and also compliments as this carabiner really turn heads 😉