jared_j Posted June 15, 2007 Posted June 15, 2007 I'm still relatively new to the Washington area (in the sense that I haven't gotten around to climbing all of the classic trad lines yet), but I've noticed that there are a lot of cracks that are not very parallel-sided. My question is: in ya'll's opinion, are offset cams (e.g. TCUs, Aliens) of use for protecting free climbs in this region? I don't have money burning a hole in my pocket for them or anything. Seems sensible to me, but I haven't used offsets so I can't really be sure. Thanks! Quote
Weekend_Climberz Posted June 15, 2007 Posted June 15, 2007 I'm still relatively new to the Washington area (in the sense that I haven't gotten around to climbing all of the classic trad lines yet), but I've noticed that there are a lot of cracks that are not very parallel-sided. My question is: in ya'll's opinion, are offset cams (e.g. TCUs, Aliens) of use for protecting free climbs in this region? I don't have money burning a hole in my pocket for them or anything. Seems sensible to me, but I haven't used offsets so I can't really be sure. Thanks! Do I detect a southern draw there? Lots of areas take this type of gear. Vantage has the wavy, flaring cracks. Index has old pin scars and flaring cracks. They're a permanent fixture to my rack. Quote
luvshaker Posted June 18, 2007 Posted June 18, 2007 Check the Gear Review about offset TCU's that I posted a week ago. I really like them for free climbing in the flares. Be sure to enjoy the related video too. Lee Quote
rob Posted June 18, 2007 Posted June 18, 2007 I really like the offset aliens (Aliens...Oh noes! I'm gonna die!) Quote
catbirdseat Posted June 18, 2007 Posted June 18, 2007 I'm still relatively new to the Washington area (in the sense that I haven't gotten around to climbing all of the classic trad lines yet), but I've noticed that there are a lot of cracks that are not very parallel-sided. My question is: in ya'll's opinion, are offset cams (e.g. TCUs, Aliens) of use for protecting free climbs in this region? I don't have money burning a hole in my pocket for them or anything. Seems sensible to me, but I haven't used offsets so I can't really be sure. Thanks! In many cases hexes can be used in inward flaring cracks such as can be found at Tieton and a few at Vantage. Hexes are dirt cheap. Some of the newer cam designs work better in flares because of their greater range. Examples of these are the Max Cam by Trango, the SuperCam by Metolius and the Link Cam by Omega Pacific. These cams tend to be more expensive, however. Regarding nuts, certain stoppers work better in flares than others. You can buy offset nuts, but they tend to work best only in flares. Alternatively, you can buy Metolius Curved Nuts which seem to work pretty well in both standard and flared crack. Quote
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