It does seem odd. Did you have tape marking it as yours? Sometimes in our gym people will set gear down and accidentally be picked up by others who have confused it as theirs since they have identical gear. This may not be what happened to yours but You should mark your gear as yours just in case of an accidental pickup. If it is stealing on purpose then there is no excuse.

Why they took your 'biner alone isn't the point. You left property there and someone STOLE it. That's bullshit and that asshole is a fucking dick.

With that said, someone left a bucket of chalk in the gym this morning and, since I was low, I dumped some into my chalkbag. So fuck me.

No, I didn't have tape on the biner, that's a good idea. It was a Black Diamond screwgate carabiner, so anyone might have thought it was theirs--except for the fact that it was attached to my purple, somewhat scratched ATC :)

Why they took your 'biner alone isn't the point. You left property there and someone STOLE it. That's bullshit and that asshole is a fucking dick.

With that said, someone left a bucket of chalk in the gym this morning and, since I was low, I dumped some into my chalkbag. So fuck me.

Since they didn't take the belay device too it seems clear that they weren't out to actually "steal" stuff. I imagine they were short a biner and decided to "borrow" one from the lost and found (most of us have done it). Then - just like you - they forgot about it. In your case you forgot to take it and in their case they forgot to leave it. Probably hanging on a harness gear loop and will get discovered - maybe tomorrow - maybe next year.

If you want to educate your self about all the conflicting views about what's up for grabs with left behind gear do a search on "booty ethics" - maybe better make it "climbing booty ethics" if you want to avoid the XXX hits.

Paint is a more effective solution. I use paint markers for ease of application. Many people use nail polish. Some use spray paint. Tape is a pain in the ass.

Really? I disagree...recently switched from model paint to paint marker to just plain old PVC tape. With tape there's nothing to dry. Though with paint you have the advantage of getting it into some recessed areas where its not going to wear off...

I doubt that possibility. Most likely they stole the carabiner because they considered it useful, but didn't need the ATC, so they turned it in to a lost-and-found. Or maybe it were two different people -- one stole the 'biner, and one returned the ATC.

In a hypothetical situation (outside, not in the gym), if I were to find an unmarked ATC-guide on a 'biner, and nobody responded to a post about lost gear (or inquiries at the crag), my reaction would be "oh, cool, an extra locker, useful!" and "here, anyone wants and ATC guide? No? O.K., let me throw that ATC-guide in a box of gear I never use".

While it is possible that someone returned the belay device+'biner to the lost-and-found and then someone (same person or a different one), "borrowed" a 'biner from lost-and-found, there are very few situations in a GYM where someone is short a 'biner and needs to borrow one. Pretty much the only time you need a 'biner in a gym is to attach your belay device. Everyone I know always keeps a belay device+'biner as a single unit, so if you forget it, you forget both.


I don't think this is applicable in a gym situation. There is no booty in a gym.This was stealing.

But booty threads make an interesting read, LOL

Is there a rule somewhere that carabiners are fair game to claim as your own, whereas ATC's are not?

As far as the gym being an applicable venue for booty ethics to come into play - well it's no different then the lost/abandoned/dropped $20 on the supermarket. It's always the right thing to try and return misplaced property yo its owner regardless of the venue. Some cases are more practical then others. But actually the OP said:


They were looking for a threshold. No mention of the gym in the question. Later on they gave an example involving a gym but the original question stands on its own.