Tricams...?

[spineguy]

OK. I'm a weekend warrior, climb a moderate sport grade, and have started to do more alpine rock. My current rack consists of a set of nuts, a set of hexes, and slings. in looking at expanding my rack, I am debating whether to go with tricams or bite the bullet and get SLCD's. I hear tricams cover a decent range per piece and I can get about three for the price of an SLCD. Do most of you out there find these useful, and if so what sizes should I look at first. Keep in mind on trad I tend to climb low to moderate difficulty routes (make fun if neccesary but thats my deal).

 

thanks

[Dru]

tricams are good but really you should supplement them with SLCDs. the best tricam sizes are the smallest 4 which covers up to thin hands. for flaring fist cracks you don't want to be fucking around trying to get a hex or tricam to wobble in place when you could placea bomber cam in seconds

[JoshK]

I agree with Dru. The larger tricams aren't very useful, but those 4 smallest have come in handy quite a few times. I like the pink one in particular (hardy fucking har...) as it seems to be the perfect size for tons of cracks.

[RocNoggin]

I love Tricams and think they are awesome, particularly for granite...or at least thats where I seem to use them the most...but maybe I am just climbing more on granite...I dunno.

 

and while the littlest ones get the most use I like the big ones too. but that said you will eventually want to get SLCD's too. on certain types of rock/cracks/situations the SLCD's are easier to use.

 

there, is that about clear as mud?! LOL

[cman]

you should just suck it up and start buying some camalots, they are what you are going to want.

 

tricams are usefull for alpine, lightweight, and in some types of cracks but i think they are hard to place and don't use them when i am climbing anything hard.

[curtveld]

I agree you will not regret adding some SLCs, even if you can only do it gradually. They are quick to place - a real plus on mountain routes and are much better than nuts and tri-cams at staying put, regardless of pull direction.

[chirp]

Yup all of the above posts are "the stuff". When I was starting to lead (1985) I grabbed a set of Tri-Cams and without practicing with them I led out on upper Pisces (5.6) at Index. I placed 5 pieces then after fumbling out of a lieback 15' up I fell back to the belay and all the tricams joined me Luckily I didnt pitch over the 10a section.

Learing to Jam AND using SLCD's will make your life alot easier.

 

For me Tricams have come into their best on funky Sandstone pockets and oddness in Red Rocks but they are an indispensable piece once you learn their limits.

 

I posted a series of scans from the first Tri-Cam info brochure in the Photo Gallery. Scan thru my images HERE to read all about them!

[curtveld]

Keep in mind on trad I tend to climb low to moderate difficulty routes (make fun if neccesary but thats my deal).

thanks

FYI: Folks posting here span quite a range of skill and ambition levels, so don’t sweat that. And from my limited experience, you generally won’t get smacked around until you stir the pot a little yourself. Whether you decide to fling mud or not, there is plenty of info and amusement to be had. So welcome to the fray Spineguy

[sweatinoutliquor]

Hey dude, I agree with the above. Dru is right on about the small tricams. But, that being said, if the crack is bigger than an inch, in general I'm ALWAYS reaching for a cam. I will say that tricams are a great when you have the time to make sure they are placed correctly, and they really rock for beefing up a belay anchor. Here is a link to a local company that is selling some really nice cams for cheap. They are on sale in a lot of places cause Metolius is replacing them with superlight ones (which are pretty awesome, but cost a bit more), but for the price I feel like the quality is great! HERE Good luck!

[JoshK]

I played around with one of those "rangefinder" cams at a gear store the other day. What a STUPID idea that is. First off, it seemed to me that some of the placement range within the "green" zone wasn't actually a very good placement as they cams were nearly bottomed out. I think that anybody who needs a feature like that honestly has zero business leading on rock. In any event, yeah, that is a great deal.

[kurthicks]

total thread drift...

I agree that they are a stupid idea...and mislabeled to boot. it should go "red, green, yellow, red"

 

anyways, here's a deal on some decent small size cams. the triggers can be a pain in the ass if you have large fingers or gloves on.

Edited January 22, 2006 by wazzumountaineer

[sweatinoutliquor]

Holy crap that's another good deal... I wish I actually had money for this stuff or I would be all over it. Josh and wazz I totally agree on the rangefinder feature, and I'm glad you mentioned it. Seems like any "green" placement is sure to get your cam stuck. Still a good cam though in my opinion if you ignore that part.

[catbirdseat]

Likewise, it is quite possible to have a completely bomber placement in the yellow range under certain circumstances.

[dbconlin]

buy the red and pink tricams and some slcds (aliens or camalots are what I prefer)

[islandclimber]

I climbed all summer on just nuts, hexes, and tricams. I climbed Culberts Route on Mt. Colonel Foster on Vancouver Island with all passive (5.8 1100m). The rock there is terrible for pro but tricams worked alright in places. I love the small sizes of tricams. They work great. I fell 15 ft onto the pink one when I was in Ireland on a E2 5C (about 5.10d) crack. It held fine. They place alot faster than hexes too. I just got a set of DMM 4cus and found they are quite a bit more convenient, but the tricams are nice as your second set of cams in the small sizes. That way you just have to double up in the bigger sizes.