Die klimtou en karabynhaak is klimtoerusting.

Die means the.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all genders

So unlike languages that have different forms for the, Afrikaans keeps it simple. In this sentence, die covers the whole noun phrase die klimtou en karabynhaak.

Afrikaans often lets one article apply to both nouns when they are joined by en (and).

So:

• die klimtou en karabynhaak = the climbing rope and carabiner
• die klimtou en die karabynhaak is also possible, but it sounds more separate or more emphatic

Using just one die is very normal when both nouns are being grouped together.

Because Afrikaans does not change the present-tense form of to be the way English does.

In English:

• I am
• he is
• they are

In Afrikaans, the present tense is simply:

• is

So even though the subject has two things in it, Afrikaans still says:

• Die klimtou en karabynhaak is ...

That is completely normal.

Here klimtoerusting means climbing equipment in a general, classifying sense.

So the sentence is saying that these items belong to the category of climbing equipment. English does the same thing:

• A rope is equipment
• These are climbing equipment items / This is climbing equipment

In Afrikaans, toerusting is usually treated like a mass noun, similar to equipment in English, so no article is needed here.

Yes. Afrikaans very often forms compound nouns by writing the parts together as one word.

Here is how they break down:

• klimtou = klim

  • tou
    → climbing rope

• karabynhaak = karabyn

  • haak
    → carabiner hook / carabiner-type hook

• klimtoerusting = klim

  • toerusting
    → climbing equipment

This is one of the most common features of Afrikaans spelling: if English might use two words, Afrikaans often prefers one compound word.

The base meaning of klim is to climb, but inside compounds like these it functions as a modifying element, much like climbing in English.

So:

• klimtou = climbing rope
• klimtoerusting = climbing equipment

You do not treat klim as a separate word in this sentence. It is part of the compound noun.

In this context, it refers to the clip/hook used in climbing — basically a carabiner.

The word is transparent if you know the parts:

• karabyn = carabiner/carabine-related form
• haak = hook

Depending on region, register, or speaker, you may also come across other forms in real-life climbing vocabulary, but in this sentence karabynhaak clearly refers to that piece of climbing gear.

The sentence follows a very straightforward pattern:

• Subject: Die klimtou en karabynhaak
• Verb: is
• Predicate noun / complement: klimtoerusting

So it works like:

[subject] + [to be] + [what it is]

That is very similar to English:

• The climbing rope and carabiner are climbing equipment.

For the individual items, the plural usually appears on the last part of the compound:

• klimtou → klimtoue
• karabynhaak → karabynhake

That is a common Afrikaans pattern with compounds.

For klimtoerusting, things are a little different:

• toerusting usually behaves like equipment in English
• so it is normally treated as uncountable

That means you will most often just see klimtoerusting, not a regular plural.

Yes, you could.

That version repeats the article and can sound a bit more explicit, as if you are pointing to each item separately:

• die klimtou en karabynhaak = the rope and carabiner, as one grouped phrase
• die klimtou en die karabynhaak = the rope and the carabiner, with each item individually marked

Both are grammatical. The version with only one die is simply more compact and very natural.