Cam Doubles

[Braydon]

I have a single set of cams to a #3 camalot and am looking at buying a couple of doubles. I can really only get three though. What do you guys generally enjoy having doubles of the most?

[jshamster]

What size do you like to climb the most?

Any project that need a certain size?

I suppose most folks would go with 1/2/3 camalot sizes,

'cause handcracks are fun.

Sorry to throw this right back attcha, but you can answer

this question better that anyone else.

 

Cheers.

Jimbo

[TrogdortheBurninator]

.75-2 (ideally add on a .5)

[Braydon]

finger cracks are really my thing.

[Braydon]

Are tricams very usefull here? I've never used them here but my uncle who climbs in North Carolina has them and I love using them when I climb with him there.

[ivan]

finger cracks are really my thing.

so that's X2-3 pieces in the .75 inches and less range - assumign you'll be climbing harder and harder (read longer and longer) crap, you'll need more gear - especially if you just give in and go over to the dark-side of aiding

 

having at least 2 of the following makes it such that you can usually make a fine rack when climbing w/ someone else who has some shit:

blue, green, yellow, red aliens (.5, .4, .3 and .2 inch pieces - i like having 2 of each alien, than having 1 each of the same size tcus)

 

fun, hard routes invariably lead to wider cracks though, so eventually having 2 in the .5 to 3" range will be necessary

[SlickWilly]

Yellow Alien (or yellow Metolius or Yellow C3), Red Alien (or purple C4 .5), and green C4 .75

 

 

[RuMR]

you know, finger cracks are *usually* amenable to nuts, where as hand and fist cracks generally aren't unless you are into cowbells...

 

I'd invest in some nuts and drop the big cash on the hand and fist size stuff...

 

YMMV

[billcoe]

I have a single set of cams to a #3 camalot and am looking at buying a couple of doubles. I can really only get three though. What do you guys generally enjoy having doubles of the most?

 

What Rudy says is true, but you don't say if you have either say: doubled wired nuts or Metolius Mastercams from blue or Green through Orange or Aliens Green through Red. The small sizes of itty bitty cams can be real helpful if you have wired stoppers already and no small cams.

 

Furthermore, the passive nutlike Trango/Lowe tricams can either suck real bad or be real awesome DEPENDING on where you like to climb. Asking around at your climbing spot may be the best advice I can give you.

[Dannible]

I'd second the nuts if you don't have em yet. I'd say get even or odd sizes so you have 5 or 6, then you can still aford a pink tricam, a cam in whatever size you want, and have enough left over for a six pack.

[JosephH]

You're doomed whatever size you buy! The very next time you go out you'll need the size you didn't buy! You may epic hard, but you'll become a better climber for it. Just ask Bill, he was once young and poor and he rose up a great climber (even if now he has quadruples of every piece of gear known).

[denalidave]

You're doomed whatever size you buy! The very next time you go out you'll need the size you didn't buy! You may epic hard, but you'll become a better climber for it. Just ask Bill, he was once young and poor and he rose up a great climber (even if now he has quadruples of every piece of gear known).

Same holds true for racking up... It's always the one piece I leave behind that I really wished I'd put on the rack...

[ivan]

Same holds true for racking up... It's always the one piece I leave behind that I really wished I'd put on the rack...

all the more reason for aid climbing - you ain't leaving shit!

[Braydon]

I've got a set of stoppers and use them most of the time. how do tri cams work in index? thats where i climb most of the time.

[jshamster]

I'm sure you can find tricam placements in Index, but probably not the best place to use them. I guess on the old aid lines being freed nowadays there are plenty of pinscars to fiddle in a tricam, and of course tricams can take the place of regular cams, but with a lot more time and proficiency involved.

Index is nice with a few nuts, a healthy selection of cams, and quickdraws.

I tend to favor tricams in the alpine. Mostly for the weight savings, but also it is cheaper to leave a tricam behind than that precious #1 C4 cam.

 

Cheers.

Jimbo

[billcoe]

You're doomed whatever size you buy! The very next time you go out you'll need the size you didn't buy! You may epic hard, but you'll become a better climber for it. Just ask Bill, he was once young and poor and he rose up a great climber (even if now he has quadruples of every piece of gear known).

 

Ha ! You're very kind. But it does bring up an idea, Brayden, you might go find a gear whore for a partner:-) Then you can save your money for important things like beer, condoms, Hostess Cupcakes and pot and use their quadruples of everything and all their stuff.

[Braydon]

haha, i hope my teachers never catch me on cc.com.

 

pm me if you have any for sale cams of the said sizes.

[hafilax]

I started with Camalots #.5->3. I then got TCUs #1->3. I wanted to double up on hand sizes so I got DMMs #2, 2.5 and 3. They span the .75 to 2 Camalot range. C4's hadn't come out yet and they were the lightest and cheapest flexible cam at the time. They're OK but I would prefer C4's.

 

Tricams are good if the climb isn't sustained. You place them at the good rests and save the cams for plug and go situations. They are a good alpine rack piece IMO. There are definitely places in Squamish where tricams work better than anything else. The key to getting them out is to give them a twist.

[tomtom]

What do you guys generally enjoy having doubles of the most?

 

(*)(*)

[Peter_Puget]

At Index I'd say get some RP's or the new version of the small HBs.

 

Try to stay with one brand if you can. The exception is when you make a clean break in sizes. (eg I like Metolius for small (1.5 and below) and Wild Country cams for larger.)

 

For Index I'd double up an the .5" to 2.5" sizes. Probably starting at the 2" and then 3/4" then 1" then 1.5" then 2.5" or .5" Once all my gear was stolen and afterwards I climbed a fair bit at Index without ever buying a 4" cam - I did have one 3.5" and one 3". If I needed more bigger gear my friends had stuff. We never had too many RPs tho. Brass nuts are definately a consumable. In general as you start moving up the grades at Index you'll be relying more and more on smaller gear.

 

Tri-cams = waste of time esp if you are pushing yourself.

[Dannible]

Agree about the RP's, but I think just a couple would be fine to start. I used to use smaller tricams a lot, and still bring them to the mountains, but as you begin to climb harder stuff with fewer rests you will place them less and less. If money is a big issue and you are looking to get into alpine climbing I'd say get a couple. For cams start with doubles in whatever crack size you find really hard and can not protect well with nuts. For me that is .75 camalot size. Look for sales and used stuff.

[Dirtyleaf]

climb more, climb harder, and place less gear.

[mattp]

For Index you may want to double up in the larger gear before the small cams, but for most of the routes I do at places like Leavenworth, Darrington and Erie it is more common that I want doubles in the smaller ranges (I still like my old aliens), and one-each in camelots 1-3.

[kevino]

Braydon,

 

I was in a similar situation last spring. I had blue alien to red alien and 1-3.5 camalots. Backcounty was having a sale and I got yellow orange and red TCU's and #1 and #2 camalot. All that with a set of nuts and I've had more than enough for cragging and alpine climbing.

[hemp22]

since you have a full set of nuts already, i'd agree with the people who are recommending that you get a 0.75, 1, and 2 for your doubles. and don't bother with the tri-cams for now.

 

but also, be sure to shop around, and you might find that you get get more than 3 cams after all. you can always find online sales or coupons to get stuff at 20% off or more