sony

If you want to know if this info has any impact for you when you climb, you can check Beal's nicely published tests on the impact force measured on falls: Beal Impact Force The answer is: They generated over 14kN with a GriGri, but only up to 11.5kN with a tube device like ATCs. Also the results are counter intuitive and by no means max values. Also makes you wonder about our 12kN cams, and about our 9kN ropes: Impact forces of ropes are very important on the outcome. Cheers!

It's gonna be a hard one to get A lot of info is here: http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/needles/ Also if you go to the guard house on top of the magician, there is a guide book that can help you out on the details. PM me if you need more info.

Getting an D-SLR vs a high end digital camera has pros and cons. When climbing size matters, and quality of results too. I own an old Sony DSC S70: It makes nice pics in terms of color and sharpness (Sony has warm very saturated colors,which is the modern trend). The zeiss lens is good. However, proprietary sony parts are expensive and add-up. My current camera is a Minolta DHi7, it has nice features but has more neutral colors that don't punch you in the face as much, so i had to cranck saturation up. However controls are great. I have separate focus and opening buttons, so I can adjust the balance easily. For cold weather you want a regular camera w/o any electronics: it risks freezing up. For climbing you want a big zoom, te Hi7 has a 7X zoom which gets some use. For ex. this week end I photographed friends on a wall from another facing wall at the Needles, CA. The downside is it's bulk similar to an SLR. It's heavy and difficult to carry in chimneys, etc. A SLR is ultra bulky and expensive, you'll want a least 2 lenses (the base lens is good but you'll buy a zoom, that'll cost you another $300 if you're going for cheap or $3000 if you want IS and top glass). Also you'll get some filters like polarizers. I personally will try to get a small pocket camera, and will probably move to a full SLR with good glass, to cover both extremes: light packing/hard climbs souvenir and semi-pro quality shots. A good camera lens makes a huge difference. Looking at compact cameras photos (like Elf etc.), the quality sucks even at 5MPix because the lens is too small. It's missing the sharp contrasty punch of bigger cameras. That makes them OK for good quality souvenirs, but not for great shots. Big SLRs allow you to shoot raw pics at a fast rate. That's the best. In SLRs look at Olympus, Nikon, Pentax, Kodak, etc. some bodies have built in IS, or CCD cleaning abilities. If you already own lenses you should stick with the brand. Those sites are good: steve's digicam dpreview

[edit] I added a photo showing the cams side by side: C4 0.4 MC 0.3 TCU #2 FC #1 MC 0.2 MC 0.1 I got the new set of C4's and a #1 flexcam. I also got some micro-camalots. First impression about the flexcam: * 4-splitter head configuration * nice finish and feel * spring slightly softer than C4's. C4 still has the oiled german mechanics feel, vs trango's squeaky yet sturdy trustable feel. * Head is ultra narrow, for same contact surface. Maybe its greatest asset. * stem flexes more than BD, less than Aliens. * The loop is better than the stump end of the old camalots, with a loop and thumb grip. The splitter flexcam heads are shiny while larger offset flexcams have a matte granitty finish. Head width comparison from larger to smaller: - BD micro camalot .3 or C4 .4 - Blue TCU metolius (same width but cams are narrower) - BD micro camalot .2 (but cams take up more width) - Trango flexcam The TCU is larger because the U stem is attached outside the cam heads. otherwise the cam footprint is similar to camalot .2. The camalot is larger than flexcam #1 because cams are offset. Contact surface seems similar on all 3 models, and it holds on granit as proven by the marks on my TCU. I need aliens to compare to later.

Awesome! Thanks to Scott'Teryx, I recieved 30 superfly biners today at a great price. Buy bulk!!! My 22" trad draws lost 32% of their weight (dyneema with petzl spirit and simond biners). I dumped 3 draws on the kitchen balance: 260gr vs 385gr... that's ONE pound per 6 draws! The gate feels good and solid. It needs a little more pressure than a Petzl spirit. The rope and sling supports are nice and wide, the biner making a T shape. There is a groove for the rope at the base of the I beam. The biner is similar in shape to the mammut wiregate, but a different shine to it and 5gr less. Same opening size. It is 1/2 a cm shorter than a petzl spirit, but the gate opens wider because it is wire-thin instead of a solid gate. Note: my petzl spirits are 10 years old models.

Great to see some feed on the small split cam trangos. I decided to get one myself (#1) to check it out, and I'll revive the thread with my findings too. Since I'm ordering a ton'o gear for me and friends, including trango superflys, Scot'teryx from http://www.questalb.com is cutting me a sweet deal that beats gearexpress or bentgate sales hands down. So far he's been really cool. I'm waiting for the gear Cheers!

- Get a 60m/200ft rope or more. - Get dry, else it'll frey and grab dirt faster, but I think the treatment goes away if you wash the rope (?) - It's better to see the rope and bend it to see if it knots and feels good. - Look at the tech specs if you plan to do > 1X fall, i.e. miss your 2nd clip too often, but if you don't fall much I think the feel is more important IMHO. - Weight per length (gr/meter) is a factor to look at. - bi-pattern is great. Markers don't work well (fade) and also there's a controversy that inks and markers (any chemical in fact like grease, oil, alcools) can weaken the rope by 40%. I think it was published at the UIAA. Else a trick is to use climbing tape on a loaded rope, thin strip small layer... Ex: http://www.gearx.com/mall/more.asp?ProdID=49067 Expensive: Mammut Flash great look and feel (knotability and feed) Cheap: Any sale rope from a good brand should take you to $100 ~ $120 (blue water, beal, edelweis...) Example: http://www.bentgate.net/ax10x60mdryr.html $99! http://www.gearexpress.biz/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=G&Product_Code=5111 http://www.gearx.com/mall/more.asp?ProdID=47958 non-dry cheap: http://www.bentgate.net/pr10x60mstdr.html http://www.gearx.com/mall/more.asp?ProdID=34828

Pretty cool: I got a PM from Trango's Malcom Daly after contacting them by mail. This is of interrest to the large cams, and somewhat to the flexcam too. That thread is pretty interresting: - Offset cams seem trickier to place - Linkcams have 2.5 exp. ratio, vs 1.6 for C4's etc. (fuller list in the thread). He also put a plug for Clyde Sole's cam charts. http://clydesoles.com/ClydeSoles/Front/Information.html

I contacted trango, and got a PM from Malcom, the brand manager (president?). I asked him about the complaints on the OLD Flexcams and how unstable they were and he answered: BTW, the new Flexcams came out in Spring 2005. Still no-one's posted here if the new flexcams work as good as C4's in the crag... BTW, 'floppy' cam lobes are pretty frequent on all brands *but* Camalots, which are fixed because of the double axle. Cheers!

Updated table.

Small edit: A friend of mine noted rightefully the chart shows full open/close (I checked my .5 C4!), so the real usable range is different. As a matter of fact, the usable range is probably estimated differently than for regular cams for those awkward babies... Another field test question! What is the real usable range of those cams? And why is that NOT published clearly somewhere ?!?!

Since you mention old vs new camalots, let me drop some hard figure I just happened to compile too. You're saving about 1lb with C4's and can now probably set in cracks 1cm wider than before (~ 17cm or cracks the size of a fully open old #5)... NEW OLD delta price strentgh range(mm) gr/oz .1 - 65/2.3 - /$59 7kn 8.6-13.7 .2 - 72/2.5 - /$49 8kn 10.4-16.5 .3 - 77/2.7 - /$49 10kn 12.7-21.8 .4 82/2.9 97/3.4 -15 $59/ 10kn/12kn 16-27 .5 97/3.4 116/4.1 -19 $59/ 12kn/12kn 20-34 .75 116/4.1 141/4.9 -25 $59/ 14kn/16kn 24-41 1 134/4.7 151/5.3 -17 $62/ ... 30-52 2 158/7.1 184/6.5 -26 $62/$49 37-65 3 201/7.1 240/8.4 -39 $68/$55 51-88 3.5 307/10.8 -307 4 278/9.8 349/12.3 -71 $78 66-115 4.5 430/15.2 -430 -/$83 -/12kn 5 381/13.4 544/19.2 -163 $98/$95 14kn/12kn 85-149 6 557/20 +557 $109 114-195 -1lb

I'm including a pic comparing ranges of all the cams I've checked out online. From my drawing, I estimated the range gain vs the standard BD C4 ranges: - Metolius Supercams (1.1X C4) - Trango MaxCam (2X C4) - OP LinkCam (3X C4) - did I miss other models? Skepticals of those think: - they'll walk - work only in deep cracks - are too complex to last - may shatter in real world usage So anybody has used those fancy extended range cams yet? Anybody has exploded one on a big fall or a crooked placement? Anybody has been bummed that the cam doesn't fit because the crack is too shallow? All the stuff I read about those cams is at best approximative, so real world user feedback would be great... Well, this is my last of the 3 topics for today

Why not buy Trangos vs BD C4 Camalots? So who has used those redesigned flexcams? Questions: - What do C4 offer that FC don't, besides the fact that every rich climber has BD cams? - Have you used the *NEW* flexcams and do you like their action, stability, design... or hate specific things? - Have the new flexcams 7, 8, 9 heads been wideened to avoid walking that people complain on old versions? - Are any quirks of the old cams still in these new versions? - Does the splitter offer confidence inspirng placements is it any good? I believe these stateemnts are correct, but plz confirm: - Springs are now stiffer than old models to prevent walking - All cams have camstops/work OK as passive pro NOTE: ===== I have attached a picture comparing CAM ranges for the cams I've looked at. ===== My take on the Flexcam is they seem: - Cheaper - Lighter !!! - Equal range per offset cams but offset for ex: FC#8 ~ C4#3, FC#9 ~ C4#4 - Smaller range on the splitter smaller models - The color coding is similar to C4's, though not quite the same (FC#6 ~ C4#2, both yellow etc. but diverges for sizes >= C4#4 and <= C4#.5) - range: covers below C4#.5 up to C4#4 With the extra ca$h, get the new max cams #4 and a C4 #6 boat anchor ...

The new light biners can shave pounds off the hardware a leader carries vs standard biners (40g). Since I'm looking at getting a new trad set, i might as well start right. I'm gonna buy biners to clip those cams and nuts, as well maybe as new biners to put on runners and clip the rope... So here's an attempt to collect a mini review of those from the community before I plunge. Many light biners are smaller than standard biners and include exotic technology. For those who've used these biners I have qustions... Question: - Any usage difficulty? say with single, double ropes, slings, cams, nuts, etc? - Any safety issue? premature wear of ropes or gear from smaller biner contact width or narrower size, etc. Poor gate design opens, or causes frequent biner crossloads... - Any place where the biners can be bought for cheaper than I list, even in bulk if needed? Here's a list of light biners I've found sold around, with specs, and some of the pricing I've seen. Specs might be wrong - so you can correct. If you do or add usefull specs, then please copy the table in your post and update it. Last edit: June 9, 2005 Gram Spec Brand, name, Best price ------------------------------------------------ 28g S NO WI - CAMP nano-wires $6.10/10 30g R NO WI - Trango superfly wire $6.75/10 32g S KL WI - DMM Shield $9.85/6 33g S NO WI - DMM Spectre $9.50/10 33g S NO WI - DMM Spectre colors $9.95/10 33g S KL WI - WildCountry helium $10.10/10 36g R NO WI - DMM prowire anodized $8.50/10 35g R NO WI - Trango lightweigth wire gate $6.50/10 36g S NO WI - BD neutrino $7.50/10 37g R NO wI - OP Doval (oval biner) $7.35 or $6.62/6 37g R NO RE - Kong Helium $10ish ... 49g R KL RE - Petzl Spirit $9ish (for reference) S: Small size biner R: Regular size biner NO: Notch gate (old style, catches on gear) KL: Keylock gate WI: Wire gate SO: Solid gate