Recomendations on Cams

[Sphinx]

[catbirdseat]

Some people would have you believe that Costalots are the only cam that can be trusted absolutely. That's a lot of baloney.

[Sphinx]

catbirdseat said:

Some people would have you believe that Costalots are the only cam that can be trusted absolutely. That's a lot of baloney.

True, but what Camalots don't do is get offset. Any other cams on the market can get offset, that is, one side is higher than the other. Since this only happens when the lobes can revolve around the same axle, the Camalots can't get offset. I really like this feature in larger sizes.

[Al_Pine]

catbirdseat said:

Some people would have you believe that Costalots are the only cam that can be trusted absolutely. That's a lot of baloney.

 

Speaking of semantics, this is a textbook example of a "strawman".

[catbirdseat]

My name is Strawman. Please knock me down.

[snoboy]

Tod said:

 

That sounds about right since the last figure I saw, BD has about 95% of the cam market. If less than 95% of your repairs are BD Camalots then that would suggest that Camalots have better than average durability....

 

I would expect the market share to affect my numbers somewhat, and should have mentioned that, as I had thought of it.

 

However... Most people I know here tend to have small Metolius and large BD, making thee racks biased about 6:5 in favour of Metolius. That's a pretty "standard" Squamish rack.

 

By your arguement, I shouldn't see near as many aliens as I do, although the aid crew is a little harder on their gear.

[Billygoat]

execise your brain ( and your nerves a little) Lowe Tri-Cams

[lummox]

Billygoat said:

execise your brain ( and your nerves a little) Lowe Tri-Cams

i do carry tri cams. just a few. purple red and pink. but i just dont have the manual dexterity to place them unless i got a pretty good stance. spring-loaded cams definitely make a better desperation piece which no one can deny.

[Sabertooth]

catbirdseat said:

Some people would have you believe that Costalots are the only cam that can be trusted absolutely. That's a lot of baloney.

 

I prefer the term Weighalots. It's interesting to read that the same people that advocate fast and light are also advocating the heaviest cams.

[lummox]

Sabertooth said:

I prefer the term Weighalots. It's interesting to read that the same people that advocate fast and light are also advocating the heaviest cams.

the idea is to carry fewer cams that cover a wider size range. get it now?

[babnik]

i think about it like this:

if i am really gripped, runout and shittin major bricks. i want a cam that i ahve a better chance of finding the right size for, is more solid in more placements and i can jam it into the crack without using the trigger bar. i take at least 2 with me on every climb.

[lummox]

babnik said:

i think about it like this:

if i am really gripped, runout and shittin major bricks. i want a cam that i ahve a better chance of finding the right size for, is more solid in more placements and i can jam it into the crack without using the trigger bar. i take at least 2 with me on every climb.

you take 2 of what? major shits?

[babnik]

i dont think most people say i am going to take a shit with me. unless you are climbing ranier.

[J_Fisher]

I've got Camalots, flexible friends and rigid friends on my rack(in various quantities and mixes, depending on what I'm doing). To be honest, I often grab the camalots first b/c of the range thing and the nice action, but the friends work just fine, and are much lighter and more durable. For easier alpine stuff I usually take the rigid friends b/c they are much lighter than either the camalots of the flex friends. Even taking into account the fact that the camalots get used slightly more, I have replaced trigger wires on camalots 3 times for every time on the friends. The flip side is that you can replace the BD wires very easily and cheaply yourself, while the WC need to be repaired by someone with a swager.

 

I've talked to BD about the fragility of their wires, and they say it's a conscious choice b/c they think the skinny little wires let the lobes float more for placements in weird irregular cracks. That's all fine and good, but in my experience the wires often break at inopportune times.

[erik]

you know after thinking about all the camalot detractors whom share the fast and lite ethic.

 

isnt fast part of the equation? and if one peice of gear makes you feel more confident then another peice, doesn't that speed you up? and i would say confidence is the most important tool in that little game.

 

plus if that is your style, then you should be in good-excellent physical condition to be able to push yourself to those levels, so 6 oz in weight in the weight vs confidence equation seems quite platry.

 

that said in the end all the cams work to some capacity and i am sure they all can be applied in any situation.

 

 

[Sphinx]

Fuck it, just buy whatever you like and then spray about it online! Sheesh.