flashclimber Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 Well at least the cheap string they glued to it. Anyone else have this happen? This happened last week when I was climbing. I attempted to retrieve the cam and the string broke. I had to stick my finger around the lobes to get it out of the rock. When I bought the cam I knew this was gonna happen. Who uses super glue and string on a cam...Oh Yeah Metolius! Won't find any string on my Aliens! I fixed the cam by pushing the string back through the hole and burning off then end. Then I re-super glued the string... I backed up the string with a small wire. Works ok. Still pissed off tho! Quote
powderhound Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 weed wacker string works pretty well and you can ball it up at the end by lighting it on fire. Quote
markwebster Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 yes, it happened to my partner Christine. She bought one of the first generation mastercams and the string pulled out just like yours. It was a problem that has since been fixed, at least according to rei, or metolius, can't remember who told her that. I think she heard they are using better glue in the new ones? I've refrained from buying any so far because of that. I've got 25 year old metolius 3 cam units that are still working, original trigger wires. Bulletproof design on the tcu's...mastercams...maybe, if they've truly fixed the string problem. Quote
Valhallas Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 Unrelated to the issue at hand, but why are your pictures so out of focus? If you've got a digital cam hold down the button halfway before you snap the shot. Even a phone cam should be able to focus. Quote
catbirdseat Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 Do Master Cams have stops to prevent inversion, or are they like Aliens without stops? Quote
111 Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 Unrelated to the issue at hand, but why are your pictures so out of focus? If you've got a digital cam hold down the button halfway before you snap the shot. Even a phone cam should be able to focus. item was too close. beyond the range of focus. Or, the camera chose the background to focus on Quote
111 Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 Do Master Cams have stops to prevent inversion, or are they like Aliens without stops? yes they do. same setup as u-stems Quote
JosephH Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 With the very first batch of Master Cams they had an issue where machining oil wasn't fully cleaned from some of the cam lobe string holes. They addressed the problem at the time and I hadn't heard of any more incidents of this. You don't mention a date on the cam or when you purchased it. I'm sure Metolius would love to hear about your cam in case the problem's cropped up again. Somewhere there was a thread on this back when they first came out, but I can't find it. Give them a call and I'm sure they'll make it right. From their website: ---------------------------------------------------------- Returns/Repairs Please call our customer service line at (541) 382-7585 to request a Return Authorization Number (RA#). Write the RA# on the outside of the box. Then ship it on to us at Metolius. Metolius Climbing 63189 Nels Anderson Rd. Bend, Oregon 97701 Quote
markwebster Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 I think metolius rocks. I bought my tcu cams way the hell back in the early eighties from the guy who started the company. Met him at the base of el cap. He was selling them out of his backpack. Quote
billcoe Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 I think metolius rocks. I bought my tcu cams way the hell back in the early eighties from the guy who started the company. Met him at the base of el cap. He was selling them out of his backpack. Totally agree. A while ago, I bought one of those hand gripper things as it looked like an efficient way to work the reverse finger strength so I don't get finger tendon imbalances. Lo and behold, the rubber eventually broke and I couldn't find the replacement that came with it. Someone suggested to just call them up, so I did and the kid who answered the phone listened to my short tale of woe and then said: "Sure, fix you right up whats your address". A few days later there shows up 2 or 3 replacements in my mailbox. Just call customer service. Quote
RuMR Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 must have sumpin' to do with the mass of your carabiners... Quote
denalidave Posted June 18, 2009 Posted June 18, 2009 A buddy had the same thing happen at Beacon last summer with his first master cam. The cam is still there today as far as I know. He called Metolius and they had a brand new one on his doorstep the next day. I have a set purchased after the defect was fixed and have not had any problems. In fact, I placed the orange one very poorly and spent a few minutes trying to get it replaced. I was about to pump out and take a whipper so I just went for it knowing full well the placement was shit. I finally peeled off about 8-10 ft above the cam and thought for sure it was not going to hold as I knew it was a shit placement. However, somehow in the fall, both of the outside lobes got spun around 180 degrees and it still held like a passive nut. I turned the lobes around and it is fine now, other than the cable has a permanent squiggle in it. I really like the master cams but they do seem to get stuck easier than my other cams. Quote
obwan Posted June 19, 2009 Posted June 19, 2009 I think metolius rocks. I bought my tcu cams way the hell back in the early eighties from the guy who started the company. Met him at the base of el cap. He was selling them out of his backpack. Metolius does Rock! I owe my life to both the TCU #2 and 4cam #5! But the originals are called "smoothies" (no ridges), worse is the lack of the inversion aspect (lock tab); they will tweak out. So, it's time to replace them and give those guys some more business - my old smoothies tag along on some routes for "leaver" cams. God bless those who think it is good booty. Quote
JosephH Posted June 19, 2009 Posted June 19, 2009 Oh, and please report back and let us know how you made out with Metolius on this... Quote
Spiral_Out Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 I believ the word "string" is somewhat misleading. "Kevlar string" is more appropriate. That shit is strong. I own two mastercams that have so far been well abused and up to the task. I got them a few months after their release. Quote
olyclimber Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 This issue has long since been corrected by Metolius (as per a note today from Brooke@Metolius). If you have a cam with the issue just let them know, I'm sure they'll correct it for you. Quote
flashclimber Posted June 23, 2009 Author Posted June 23, 2009 So I tried 2x to download new pics of the cam. Oh Well. The last ones were done with my phone camera. Thats explains the poor quality/blurry photos. I found a stamp on the cam "U 8." I'm guessing it was made in 2008. I fixed the cam well enough to use it, without any issues. I might stop by Metolius on my next visit to Smith Rocks to see if they will fix it for free. If not, Ill leave it as is or re-wire it with better quality materials. Thats my thoughts for now, but we'll see. With all this rain I might just call metolius to see what they say. Quote
JosephH Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 There is no better material than the kevlar - the problem was with the glue job, not the string. And you 'might' call them? They can't help you or talk with you if you don't call them... Quote
flashclimber Posted June 30, 2009 Author Posted June 30, 2009 Ok so here are the photos of my quick fix to my yellow master cam. You can see where I burned off the end and super-glued it for support. The imprint is either D 8 or U 8. Its hard to read. But then I was climbing the other day...and guess what I found? The yellow master cam on the left. BOOTY!!!! I'm thinking both cams may need new trigger strings. It took about 30 minutes to get the cam out of the rock. Quote
layton Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 why didn't you just send it in, they would have fixed it for you Quote
billcoe Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 (edited) why didn't you just send it in, they would have fixed it for you Yup....unbelievable, shakes head in wonderment..... OMG!!!! LOOK WHAT I JUST FOUND ON THE METOLIUS WEB SITE!!!!! THEIR CONTACT INFO OMG!!!! info@metoliusclimbing.com Tel: (541) 382-7585 Mon-Fri 8am - 5pm (Pacific Standard Time) Fax: (541) 382-8531 Metolius Climbing 63189 Nels Anderson Road Bend, Oregon 97701 Web Site Contact Please feel free to send me your input. jason@metoliusclimbing.com Edited June 30, 2009 by billcoe Quote
IceIceBaby Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 (edited) Just re swag it with 1/32 (or similar) SS braided cord…probably u can get it from marine shop it might take u 15 minutes and a crimping tool but it is easy to do…another option is 20 or 18 AWG cord from any hardware store it will be lil stiffer but heck allot stronger than that stuff they use BTW u can always use Gorilla glue, epoxy or weld it (from hardware store) to glue the ss cord Edited June 30, 2009 by IceIceBaby Quote
billcoe Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Just re swag it with 1/32 blah blah blah Why not just pick up the phone and call Metolius!!!! Quote
olyclimber Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Or you could even build your own cams from scratch, using a paperclip and chewing gum. I'm not harshing on the DIY mellow, but these cams are new, or at least new enough to warrant service from the company that made them for free (provided they weren't misused). An added benefit is that the company can correct any issues in future cams. However, in this case as I said above, the horses' mouth is telling me they already squashed that bug. Quote
JosephH Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Why not just pick up the phone and call Metolius!!!! Way too McGyver to call... Quote
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