rleary Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 Opinions? the friends are cheaper and both seem comparable. Quote
DirtyHarry Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 Personal preference. I personally like camalots because thay have a smoother and less tensioned action and hence are less likely to walk. Quote
G-spotter Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 In the UK everyone prefers Friends and in the US its Camalots. It's like tea vs. coffee. Quote
catbirdseat Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 Personal preference. I personally like camalots because thay have a smoother and less tensioned action and hence are less likely to walk. While it may be true that they walk less, it wouldn't be because of the reasons you cite. Quote
Alpinfox Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 Camalots have dual axle = more range C4 camalots you can clip in short for aid climbing C4s have the smoothest action and best handling of any cam on the market C4s are lighter (I think) than WC friends Price difference is negligible. Â c4 Camalots. Â No, I'm not sponsored by BD, but I wish I wuz. If I could climb M13 like Roger, maybe they'd choose me. Â I would prefer if BD put an extendable sling on the camalots like the DMM cams. Â BTW, this should be in the Gear Critic forum, not Newbies. Quote
mattp Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 Personally, I prefer the camelots in sizes .75 or larger, but for smaller cams I generally prefer a combination of Metolius (TCU's or powercams) and Aliens. The WC's are just fine, but most of my partners seem to prefer these others. Â I haven't had a chance to use the c-3's. Quote
DirtyHarry Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 Personal preference. I personally like camalots because thay have a smoother and less tensioned action and hence are less likely to walk. While it may be true that they walk less, it wouldn't be because of the reasons you cite. Â Bullshit. My emperical experience trumps all your fancy science, lab boy. Quote
catbirdseat Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 Not even the redesigned camalots are lighter than Tech Friends. They are almost, but not quite as light. Quote
G-spotter Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 But the range is wider so you carry fewer of them, therefore the rack is lighter. Quote
powderhound Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 i HAVE THE TECH FRIENDS AND I PREFER THEM OVER THE CAMALOTS. i THINK THEY ARE MADE EXTREMLY WELL i KNOW GUYS THAT HAVE HAD THERE FORGED FRIENDS FOR 20 YEARS. tHE TECH FRIENDS ARE LIGHTER AND CHEAPER$ THAN THE C4'S. I HAVE FOUND THAT I STICK MY BUDDY'S CAMOLTS FAR MORE OFTEN THAN MY OWN FRIENDS BUT THEN AGAIN I USE MY WC FRIENDS MORE OFTEN. Quote
syudla Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 But the range is wider so you carry fewer of them, therefore the rack is lighter. Â Cam junkies never carry fewer cams. Quote
syudla Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 Any doubt run it out. Â Exactly. Carry a few that you might need, may as well be lighter. Quote
dbconlin Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 I prefer Camalots for some of the reasons already mentioned, especially range and smootheness. However, the tech friends are lighter. I only own one of the latter and it is about the same size as BD #4. I have been very pleased with this purchase because for such a huge cam, the weight savings are very noticable. Quote
MCash Posted June 13, 2006 Posted June 13, 2006 Camalots have dual axle = more range C4 camalots you can clip in short for aid climbing C4s have the smoothest action and best handling of any cam on the market C4s are lighter (I think) than WC friends Price difference is negligible. Â c4 Camalots. Â No, I'm not sponsored by BD, but I wish I wuz. If I could climb M13 like Roger, maybe they'd choose me. Â I would prefer if BD put an extendable sling on the camalots like the DMM cams. Â BTW, this should be in the Gear Critic forum, not Newbies. Â 1. Yep, but the difference is slight and you won't be able to carry less cams. 2. And this is unique to the Camalots? How? Irrelevent. 3. Yep 4. Wrong. Camalots are one of the heaviest cams out there. Friends are way lighter than a Camalot and significantly lighter than C4s. 5. A 30% price difference (on some some of them) is negligible? I don't think so. Â I use both and like them both. For medium sizes I like the C4s a little better. For offwidths the #5 and #6 Friends are way better than the big camalots. The large Friends are lighter, wider (and hence more stable), and cheaper than the same sized C4s. Quote
mattp Posted June 14, 2006 Posted June 14, 2006 I haven't tried the giant sized WC tech friends. For off widths, wider, lighter, more stable, and cheaper sounds like an OK combination. Quote
Alpinfox Posted June 14, 2006 Posted June 14, 2006 1. I don't think the increased range is advantageous because it means you can carry less cams (though that may be true in some situations), I think it's advantageous because you are more likely to be able to get the first cam you grab off your rack to fit in the crack when you are pumped and about to peel off. Â 2. You can't clip in short with WC Friends. So yes, that is relevant to the present discussion. Â 3. I guess we agree. Â 4. C4 camalots are significantly lighter than the old camalots and I think they are comparable to other cams on the market now. Â 5. A 24% price difference per cam IS irrelevant over the lifetime of a cam and should NOT be the deciding factor in rock climbing/safety gear equipment selection. Quote
gavastik Posted June 14, 2006 Posted June 14, 2006 I carry WC technical friends, which is mostly a historical accident or several. I like them. Most of my partners have BD camalots, and I like them too. I have a #5 friend that's handy for clubbing baby seals (and occasional offwidth). Quote
catbirdseat Posted June 14, 2006 Posted June 14, 2006 5. A 24% price difference per cam IS irrelevant over the lifetime of a cam and should NOT be the deciding factor in rock climbing/safety gear equipment selection. Mr. Fox, that would make you a price-insensitive cam buyer. Stay out of Club Sensitivioso, if you please. Everyone else, say after me: FEWER CAMS, FEWER CAMS, FEWER CAMS Quote
northvanclimber Posted June 15, 2006 Posted June 15, 2006 i've found that the increased range of the camalots can be really helpful when putting the cam into a crack that is narrow in the front (ie, on the outside), but gets wider in the back. the ability to contract the cam lobes quite a bit lets you get the cam past the narrow outer lip of the crack, but then open up to a reasonable size inside the crack. Quote
catbirdseat Posted June 15, 2006 Posted June 15, 2006 Most of the range is in people's heads. It's a couple of millimeters. However, what you are referring to is the Camalot's ability to really get small when completely retracted. That's where those millimeters pay. The tips don't come around and bump on the other side, the way Metolius do for example. This results from the shorter arc length of the Camalot. Quote
Gary_Yngve Posted June 15, 2006 Posted June 15, 2006 Instead of BD vs WC, BD vs DMM. DMMs are lighter and can be clipped short. Â DMM doesn't make larger than #4, so go with WC for #5 and #6. Quote
DirtyHarry Posted June 15, 2006 Posted June 15, 2006 I never use a cam that is smarter than I am. Quote
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