Fifi hook
Encyclopedia
The fifi hook is a piece of equipment used in aid climbing
Aid climbing
Aid climbing is a style of climbing in which standing on or pulling oneself up via devices attached to fixed or placed protection is used to make upward progress....

. It is used quickly to connect oneself to gear and so provide a third hand. The fifi can also be useful for technical climbing, alpinism and mixed climbing
Mixed climbing
Mixed climbing is a combination of ice climbing and rock climbing generally using ice climbing equipment such as crampons and ice tools. Mixed climbing has inspired its own specialized gear such as boots which are similar to climbing shoes but feature built in crampons...

.

The Fifi

A fifi hook is a question mark
Question mark
The question mark , is a punctuation mark that replaces the full stop at the end of an interrogative sentence in English and many other languages. The question mark is not used for indirect questions...

 shaped tool, usually small and generally stamped out of a sheet of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

, or forged out of alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...

. It has a large hole at the bottom for connecting to one's harness
Harness
A harness is a looped restraint or support. It can also be referred to as an "hitcharness", especially by the Jordanian Armed Forces. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types:* Bondage harness* Child harness* Climbing harness...

 and a smaller hole at the top for connecting a retrieval cord. Its basic function is to hook into gear and take one's weight. It offers very little strength, and due to its open shape, requires a great deal of care when used.
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