Brian, this is a great article and some really good suggestions to stay current over the winter. One comment though -- as a climber, I've always been told never to clip metal to metal, if there will ever be fabric attached to either of those things. For example, on a quickdraw, one carabiner is always the "rope" side, and the other is always the "wall" side (where it is clipped to a piece of metal on the wall). The idea is that the "wall" side carabiner can get worn, get burrs, etc., and you wouldn't want your rope rubbing against that. I think the same concern is at issue here. If you clip carabiners directly to the large ring -- and then swing around in your harness over and over -- you are risking introducing wear to that large ring, putting burrs in it, etc. Your risers will then be rubbing against that wear/burrs/etc. and this could potentially cause a failure of the riser. Perhaps you could use risers properly installed on the rig and clip the carabiner through the top of the risers instead, where the metal-on-metal wear wouldn't be an issue?
Staying Current During Winter
in General
I think the same concern is at issue here. If you clip carabiners directly to the large ring -- and then swing around in your harness over and over -- you are risking introducing wear to that large ring, putting burrs in it, etc. Your risers will then be rubbing against that wear/burrs/etc. and this could potentially cause a failure of the riser. Perhaps you could use risers properly installed on the rig and clip the carabiner through the top of the risers instead, where the metal-on-metal wear wouldn't be an issue?