Retrosaurus Posted March 22, 2003 Posted March 22, 2003 Coopah said: ...Since I am over 200 lbs, cam holding power means everything to me! ... ...Right up there with breakfast. And second breakfast. And what about elevensies? Quote
Smoker Posted March 22, 2003 Posted March 22, 2003 Fear of falling is natural. 3 cam 4 cam alien BD it dont matter. A well placed cam in solid rock will hold your fall. The key is living long enough to know what a well placed cam is. If your new to climbing it is best to lead below your climbing limits. Doing some aid will help you with your placements. My partner has demonstrated a willingness to whip on Metolious,Alien and BD cams. All of which has been proven to be bomber placements and sure to rattle his head If I had to pick 4 cams for general climbing/cragging it would be .5,.75,1,2 in BD. Double axles and stops go a long ways towards peace of mind for me. That was phunny Mitch. Quote
Greg_W Posted March 22, 2003 Posted March 22, 2003 Coopah said: I have read a review of the camalots that said they may have a tendancy to pull out more than the Tech friends? Any truth to this? Since I am over 200 lbs, cam holding power means everything to me! I read that the cam angle of the BD is 14 degrees compared to 13.75 for most other brands incl WC. Is the difference of .25 degrees make a big difference? Since I am new to climbing I am trying to get all the info I can...thanks Coopah, my brotha - I took a 20' fall onto a less-than-optimal .75 Camalot placed in basalt at Smith. It held just fine; I weigh about 197# with clothes and gear. Greg W Quote
JoshK Posted March 22, 2003 Posted March 22, 2003 catbirdseat said: I have a set of Clog cams. I've never taken a fall on one, however. Anyone have any experience with these? I'm sure lack of experience or knowledge won't stop anyone from commenting. I have some clog cams as well. I've never taken a leader fall on them, but I trust them, for what that is worth. Quote
allthumbs Posted March 22, 2003 Posted March 22, 2003 Hey Catturd, your tone around here is almost condescending - like your shit don't stink. You're no better than anyone else. Quote
Dru Posted March 22, 2003 Posted March 22, 2003 Uncle_Tricky said: Hey, don't knock it. This piece has saved my butt twice! If you're climbing a wide crack or OW, they work just as well as a #4 camalot and are 1/3 the weight. You can also use the #6 and #7 Tricams as a belay/rappel device if you drop yours - this helpful tip courtesy of Marc Twight. Quote
Marko Posted March 22, 2003 Posted March 22, 2003 Here's a spartan yet comprehensive alpine rack: 2 KBs 1 LA (optional. Well, I guess it's all optional.) 6-8 nuts pink tricam red tricam green camalot yellow camalot orange tricam Not all sizes overlap, but it's pretty rare when you can't move the piece around a little until it works. -Mark Quote
Coopah Posted March 22, 2003 Posted March 22, 2003 Thanks Greg...that is the kind of info I was looking for. Thanks for taking the time to write!! That definately helps my level of comfort!! Coopah Quote
ScottP Posted March 22, 2003 Posted March 22, 2003 trask said: Hey Catturd, your tone around here is almost condescending - like your shit don't stink. You're no better than anyone else. Now there's a case of the pot calling the kettle black... On another more on-topic note, I've fallen on a few cam placements without them ripping. That I can remember, these falls were on granite or basalt only. YMMV on limestone, sandstone, tuff, etc. Quote
salbrecher Posted March 23, 2003 Posted March 23, 2003 Coopah, why don't you set up a toprope, climb on a different rope on lead and take some intentional falls on your cams to build confidance that they will hold. Quote
Coopah Posted March 23, 2003 Posted March 23, 2003 I was just thinking that earlier today and will do so soon! Thanks for the feedback! Quote
catbirdseat Posted March 23, 2003 Posted March 23, 2003 trask said: Hey Catturd, your tone around here is almost condescending - like your shit don't stink. You're no better than anyone else. It was a troll. I don't think too many people have these cams. They are inexpensive and if anybody thinks they are substandard, I want to know about it. The only cam in my rack that I have actually fallen on is a 1" Empire Rock. I fell on it 3 times trying to get past a difficult move. When I went to lower, it popped. I don't blame the piece, though. I blame myself for not checking and repositioning the piece after falling on it the first three times. Doubtless it walked. Probably the cams became unequal. Quote
Peter_Puget Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 Clog cams (at least the version currently sold at REI Outlet) are the same as Technical Friends circa early 90's. (Clog is a related entity to WC) I am sure they are fine cams. They do not have cam stops and do not have the plastic stem reinforcements of the modern day version but the sizing is the same as Wild Country Friends. Wild Country PP Quote
Billygoat Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 hey, what ever happened to splitter gear? Quote
fleblebleb Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 What's going to happen to a company that sells one product of which a few of us might like, but not need, to get at most two pieces - but only for aid climbing? Quote
Billygoat Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 I thought they'd be a solid piece of trad gear. What is wrong with them besides the limited size range? Quote
jon Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 Billygoat said: hey, what ever happened to splitter gear? They are still around I guess. I have a couple they sent me, I haven't used them because that hobag erik has them. Quote
Dru Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 they send you free gear cause you run a website? i predict soon the little gremlin will be eating a splitter two cam instead of horsecock Quote
Matt_Anderson Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 My rack of cams consists of trango, camalot, aliens, metolius, and one of those splitter gear two cams. With the exception of the splitter gear unit, I've taken multiple falls on all of them. The only ones I remember pulling are the aliens. When they did, they were inevitably less than optimal placements. Any cam in a good placement will hold. What someone said earlier is true, its learning how to make a good placement. Taking the time to go take whippers on them also helps confidence. For what its worth, I'm generally between 170 and 180 pounds if that is your primary concern. For all those gear heads/techy people out there. How much does body weight really matter for you average fall (< fall factor of .25). My guess is that the increase in force on the cam still leaves it so far within the average gripping power of the cam that it rarely makes a difference anywhere other than your head. Matt Quote
ivan Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 catbirdseat said: I have a set of Clog cams. I've never taken a fall on one, however. Anyone have any experience with these? I'm sure lack of experience or knowledge won't stop anyone from commenting. i'm a poor bastard so these are the only cams i have...i fallen on several of them and so far had no bad experiences. the stems have been bent a bit from the falls, but still look good and are only slightly more funky to place. i think they're fine cams, but still try to find richer chumps than myself to climb w/ so we can use their racks.... Quote
Retrosaurus Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 When compared skill involved in making a good placement and the quality of the rock, the brand of a cam don't mean shit. Get over it and go climbing. Quote
catbirdseat Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 Peter_Puget said: Clog cams (at least the version currently sold at REI Outlet) are the same as Technical Friends circa early 90's. (Clog is a related entity to WC) I am sure they are fine cams. They do not have cam stops and do not have the plastic stem reinforcements of the modern day version but the sizing is the same as Wild Country Friends. Wild Country PP The Clog cams have stops, but they are not load bearing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but load bearing cam stops would only come into play if the cam were completely tipped out or if it were slotted like a chock? I suppose one scenario where this might happen would be where the cam walked into a wider rear section of the crack. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.