You Favorite Cams?

[Zenolith]

Mine are Metolius in all sizes. The reason? Smooth action and easy to grab, very durable, made locally. I do own some Rock Empire cams as well and like them too. They are 4 cams as well but the cams are closer together than most and don't seem to walk as much as wider cams.

[Offwidthmeister]

I prefer the DMM they are really light and nice. Initially I liked the Black Diamond but as my experience grew doubling up on these heavy guys was a real weight problem...

[highclimb]

i too like the metolius 4cams. the are light, durable, and hold really well! i also have camalots which of course are heavy but nothing feels stronger! also i have two wild country tech friends and i dont care for them much. the dont sit well in cracks and dont seem to hold as well (just the cam design) but hey cams are cams.

Aidan

[Lambone]

Alien Offsets. Like gold when your staring down a flare or pin scar. They're Dope.

[Cpt.Caveman]

I agree that Aliens are the kind when it comes to small stuff. I just got my first one recently and used it last night. I was screaming about how cool it was at the top of my lungs as the sun was going down at Little Si You know how it is when you get new gear you just have to use it right away.

[highclimb]

i was watching the news today and they did a report on people in north bend hearing strange howling nosies as the sunset. they think it might be big foot!

 

or just ray

Aidan

[verticalturtle]

ditto on the aliens

Camalots go big

here is a question

Any one else had this

I have talked to several folks who after setting metolieus micros in a vertical orientation shallow cracks (which is common on harder stuff) have had them pull out after a fall or only hold by half of the cams.

My prob with metolieus is they are not really flexable in this orientation. Even though they have a cable, placed this way they act like rigid stems.

Comments?

 

[AJ]

Aliens for small stuff

WC Tech Friends for big stuff

DMM for in-between and to save $$

[willstrickland]

My cam rack:

2 sets of Camalots from 0.5 to 3.5; 1 ea 4.5 and 5.

2 sets Metolius TCUs, 1 set Metolius FCUs #4-10. I set of Metolius fat cams #3-#7. 1 set Alien offsets, many stragglers (Rigid friends, tech friends, wired bliss, trango).

If I were starting over, I'd have two sets of Aliens, one set of offset Aliens, and two or more sets of Camalot from .5-3.5 plus a 4.5 and 5.

There is a big caveat here and that is what type of climbing you do. I bought the Metolius fat cams when I was living and climbing in the Utah desert and had a metolius pro-deal. In the desert they rock, on grantite they suck. I keep-em because I still get to the desert often. People bitch about camalots being heavy, but go to Indian Creek where the typical rack for a route is 6-8 pieces in the same size and you'll see more camalots than anything else. The combination of performance,range, smooth action, and craftsmanship is unbeatable. The triggers do break more often on camalots...be prepared to repair them, but it's a small price to pay (to me).

I love my Metolius TCU's, but they do pale in comparison to aliens in every aspect...especially in shallow placements in vertical rock where "U" shaped stems load funky. Offset aliens are aid and granite specialty pieces, but in shallow aid placements (two cams engaged) or flaring pin scars they rock. With a 2 cam engagement in way shallow stuff you have two sizes on the same piece (effectively giving you doubles in a size since the sizing overlaps on each unit). All aliens have very flexible stems, a boon for eastern climbers (Gunks, southeastern sandstone) where horizontal placements are more common than vertical ones. I have noticed that placements that I wouldn't have even have considered with normal cams are possible with the offsets.

All in all I say aliens for the small stuff and camalots for the bigger stuff. Basically all the TCU's out there are good, and many people swear by the HB's, guess you either love or hate the "trigger ring" on them. If you don't have fat fingers, or won't be using them with gloves give them a look/feel.

BTW, I've got a set of barely used Metolius FCU's for sale...nothing wrong with them, never taken a fall on any of them, just not my preference in cams.

[Drederek]

The first set of cams I bought were Metolius TCU's. Love em. Don't like the FCU's or smaller camalots because they are hard to orient downward in shallow placements. I guess I like cams that fit into round holes !?!?!? Aliens seem to fit that criteria but I haven't used them very often. Have to go with the #3 and up camalots. Most of the stuff in between seems OK. None of these things feel as good as a bomber hex or large stopper. D