Cam shopping

[MountaingirlBC]

Time to bite the bullet and buy some cams. I've been waiting around to have $500 that I don't know what to do with so I can buy a full set but that never seems to happen so I'm going to just start picking away at it. What sizes should I get first? I'm primarily doing alpine stuff in the South Coast/North Cascades area. I know that's very general but if you could recommend 3-5 useful sizes that would be great. Also, what is your preference in terms of brands? Thx much! God I'm so bored this weekend. Nothing to do but sit around and gear whore.

[sprocket]

The advice I was given, and so far has worked is start with something the size of a #1 Camalot (1.2-2" or 30-52mm if you prefer) and then work your way up and down from there. The first 5 cams I got were a #1 & #2 Camalot and #2-4 Metolius TCU's. That covers 15.5 - 65mm. That along with a set of stoppers and hexes got me through a lot of easier alpine and multi-pitch climbs (5.6 range). As you start to get into harder more sustained stuff you'll want more. I've added a #3 & #4 Camalot, a #1 TCU and have gotten a second set of #1-3 Camalots. Next I want to double up the TCU size range. Not sure if I'll stick to the TCU's or try some other cam. Everyone seems to have an opinion on brands. I like the Camalots and TCU's, especially the new C4 Camalots but I have friends that climb with DMM's and WC Friends. I like both of these too, except the smaller DMM's, I think they are a little harder to fiddle with than TCU's. There are a lot of folks that love Aliens too. I personally would stay away from some of the cheaper brands, look for sales or closeouts if you want to save money. Not sure what the tax laws are in BC for mail order but I get a lot of my gear from gearexpress.com. No sales tax and they give you 10% if you order more than 3 cams of any make. If you use them, I suggest calling them rather than placing order online. They are very friendly and helpful and you can find out right away if something is in stock or not plus they have given me sale prices that weren't on the website yet. A couple of other things to remember is that unless you are taking a newbie out your partner will probably have some cams too so you may not need to own as many as a route requires. Also routes will often dictate what you need. I climbed a route yesterday in Leavenworth that requires a big piece, 4" cam seems to be the choice, to protect the final short pitch. The climbing is easy, 5.4 range but would almost be a free solo without one big piece. That route, the Tree Route, is popular with the Mountaineers as an intro to multi-pitch climbs so a lot of climbers with that group buy their first big cam specificaly for that route. Hope this helps.

[willstrickland]

Camalots: 0.5, 0.75, 1,2,3 cost you about $275 US / $330 CA and covers most of the range you'd normally use.

 

Use nuts for smaller stuff in the mean time.

[G-spotter]

if you only buy one cam, you will find that you can place it on every route you do. no matter what size it is.

 

brandwise, they're all good. I don't think Camalots are any better than Friends or vice versa.

[goatboy]

 

 

if you only buy one cam, you will find that you can place it on every route you do. no matter what size it is.

 

 

This is non-sensical.

[G-spotter]

It might seem non-sensical, but it is easily experimentally verified. Try it and see!

[JayB]

Camalots: 0.5, 0.75, 1,2,3 cost you about $275 US / $330 CA and covers most of the range you'd normally use.

 

Use nuts for smaller stuff in the mean time.

 

I'll second Will's recs. If you want to double up on the hand-size pieces you could go with hexes and/or Tricams and still stay within the $500 budget. I've found hexes and tricams pretty useful in alpine settings. They're lightweight, and great for icy cracks or other weird placements, and I'd much rather use a hex or a tricam for a leaver/rap anchor in the event of a retreat.

[catbirdseat]

It might seem non-sensical, but it is easily experimentally verified. Try it and see!

If you had one of the old style Camalot #5 cams you would place it at the first opportunity, just to be rid of it.

[larrythellama]

wild country tech friends and tcus.

[catbirdseat]

wild country tech friends and tcus.

TCU's Blue, Yellow, Orange. Friends 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3.

[Toast]

The new C3's look pretty shweet

[catbirdseat]

The new C3's look pretty shweet

Yes, Toast, but we are talking "entry level" here. They wouldn't be the first cams you would buy starting out.

[RuMR]

why not start high end so you don't replace?

 

I'd suggest using other people's stuff for a while and figure out what you like and what pisses you off...then save a little bit more and buy EXACTLY what you like...

 

no reason to mutter to yourself, "goddammit, i shoulda spent $10 more...this thing sux"

 

Oh, and find some one to hook you up with a prodeal!

[G-spotter]

The new C3's look pretty shweet

 

Funny I thought they looked like crap.

[Gary_Yngve]

why not start high end so you don't replace?

 

I agree.

 

Oh, and find some one to hook you up with a prodeal!

 

That's unethical.

[RuMR]

Oh...gee thanks...

 

don't listen to ding dong...find someone willing to split a prodeal with you and USE them...

 

Also, check ebay for "quitter racks"...cams, particularly the bigger sizes, are pretty bomber...often, people wanna start trad climbing...buy a huge rack, try it, don't like it and sell the stuff...

 

Also, you can find a lot of BD camalots, not C4's now...

[Gary_Yngve]

Pro deal terms are very explicit. The gear is for you and you only. Sharing a pro deal with others is grounds for you to get your pro deal revoked, and possibly the pro deals of others too.

 

I'm sure some amount of pro-deal abuse happens, but it needs to be discreet. A post suggesting that someone abuse a pro deal is not a good thing.

[willstrickland]

.

[zaugg]

matching baby blue hoodie/windpant/penis hat bouldering outfits are prohibitively expensive at retail price.

[Gary_Yngve]

I won the hoodie and hat at a raffle at Feathered Friends.

I bought the windpants as a closeout item from Sierra Trading Post.

[Peter_Puget]

Pro deal terms are very explicit. The gear is for you and you only. Sharing a pro deal with others is grounds for you to get your pro deal revoked, and possibly the pro deals of others too.

 

I'm sure some amount of pro-deal abuse happens, but it needs to be discreet. A post suggesting that someone abuse a pro deal is not a good thing.

 

So does that mean you can't get that rope for me?

[Peter_Puget]

why not start high end so you don't replace?

 

I'd suggest using other people's stuff for a while and figure out what you like and what pisses you off...then save a little bit more and buy EXACTLY what you like...

 

no reason to mutter to yourself, "goddammit, i shoulda spent $10 more...this thing sux"

 

Oh, and find some one to hook you up with a prodeal!

 

On a serious note, I agree with RumR here.

[RuMR]

Pro deal terms are very explicit. The gear is for you and you only. Sharing a pro deal with others is grounds for you to get your pro deal revoked, and possibly the pro deals of others too.

 

I'm sure some amount of pro-deal abuse happens, but it needs to be discreet. A post suggesting that someone abuse a pro deal is not a good thing.

 

hey gary, go fuck off...last time i checked this morning i didn't need a lecture, punk

[willstrickland]

It's like carpentry...measure twice, cut once. Try out different brands, then buy what you like regardless of price. You won't regret the extra 5 or 10 bucks.

[RuMR]

and the corollary is that you'll totally be pissed off with something you consider "inferior" and wind up buying/upgrading to the thing you shoulda bought first...