DMM cams: Crap or a good deal?

[Dru]

ya i have a full set of metolius tcu, full set camalots, full set of mix of rigid and old flex friends for aid...now im buying dmms for lightness.

[jon]

I've got some DMMs and like them, and plan on buying a few more. They do tend to walk but what do you expect from something so light. Cam stops and dual length slings are cool features. And they are light as fawk!

 

I think on Jim Nelson's site he explains that 7 Camalots weight the same as 10 DMMs, and while BDs have a wider range you can carry more cams with the DMMs covering your range better.

[erik]

place your camns tighter to prevent walking..

 

one thing to note all the you can bring more cams bit, is space in the backpack...more cams take up more space...therefore possibly creating a cramped ill fitting back pack...

 

i have used them and thought them not too bad....the range on them come close to sucking...they truely only fit the size they are measured for....and walking them i thought to be a bit much

 

either way they work

[E-rock]

Thanks, ya'll been a big help. Weight's not the big issue for me, I just want something that I don't get pissed off at for less than camalot prices. Maybe Friends would work better?

[Dru]

ya

 

see here is my take

 

easy route - set of camalots - fewer pieces overall - widest range with least weight

 

hard route - set of Friends - more pieces, so more placements possible (you dont run out of gear halfway up hard pitch) - same range with more weight but more gear possible to place.

 

new style friends are among the best pieces out there.

[fern]

if the price of the WC Friends is acceptable to you (especially bigger rigid friends) then those would be my recommendation over the DMMs. I have had a few instances of DMMs getting kinda stuck, which I attribute to the aforementioned sucky expansion range. Plus the U cables get a little bent and mess the action. I dunno what you consider 'big' but they don't come bigger than a #4 which is barely bigger than fist sized.

[E-rock]

Yeah, I'm looking for bigger than 4's, Price and weight ain't worth sacrificing performance. I want something that works like a dream in an off-width.

[Dru]

Big Bro's

[erik]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dru:

Big Bro's

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drul try placing those things...pain in da ass

[Peter_Puget]

In that case go for the WC Friends sizes #5 & #6. In the larger sizes they are much more stable than those goofy Camalots.

[fern]

#7 tricam

[Dru]

quote:

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Originally posted by erik:

quote:

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Originally posted by Dru:

Big Bro's

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drul try placing those things...pain in da ass

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yeah but you can take the keeper screw off and turn em into projectile weapons!!!!

[E-rock]

I wanna get some big cams and I noticed some good deals on DMM's. How do they compare to camalots, are they prone to walking, do the triggers get bunged up, etc?

[Dru]

way lighter than camalots. basically they are a slightly lighter Friend. sizes are identical to Friends but they have the two stem design like metolius cams. triggers are a bit funky, but easy to use. they are pretty good! great for alpine cause they are so light.

[Bronco]

I have been doing some shopping for some big ones myself, and I think I settled on the WC Tech friends, they are about 2/3 the price of the

Camalots and almost as good. If price were no object I'd get Camalots, but DAMN - $112.50 for a #5!! WC claims to make the largest (and smallest) cams avaiable right now as well.

 

I haven't used the DMM's but, have heard they are prone to snaggin on stuff with the little horn shape on the end of the cam lobe and they tend to walk and rotate(especially in the larger size) because of the shorter axle.

[Bronco]

here is a link to a cam review (subject to manufacturer sponsorship of course):

 

http://www.climbing.com/Pages/equipment/equipment-212.html

 

(Dru)

[Guest]

For wide cracks on a low budget make some big chocks out of hardware store pipe and sling'em good. You can make any assortment of angles and widths and thicknesses.

I used a five incher this weekend. An added bonus I discovered is that you always climb harder on untested gear.

[Matt]

Nothing beats BD Camalots in the big sizes. They are wide and solid. The single shaft keeps them from walking. The colors make them easy to grab when your stuck in a chimney and you can't see your gear loops.

 

Bronco, unless your going to climb the Kor-Ingels on Castleton Tower (or something like it) you don't need a #5 Camalot. I rarely do climbs when I need anything bigger than my #4.

 

I think the new 3.5 and 4.5 are way cool and if I hadn't just bought myself a set of aliens I'd be covetting them, but as it is I have more cams then my hardest trad lead rating (I have yet to lead a 5.11 crack, but I have more than 11 cams).

 

DMM cams are a waste of money.

[Greg_W]

quote:

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Originally posted by Matt:

Bronco, unless your going to climb the Kor-Ingels on Castleton Tower (or something like it) you don't need a #5 Camalot.

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Bronco buys large gear to compensate for size issues in other areas.

 

Greg W

[Matt]

Is that why he drives the F250?

[Greg_W]

quote:

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Originally posted by Matt:

Is that why he drives the F250?

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Yep. Actually, he has two of them.

 

As far as DMM cams go, the smaller ones are nice; haven't used the big ones.

 

Greg W

[Dru]

quote:

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Originally posted by Matt:

Nothing beats BD Camalots in the big sizes. They are wide and solid. The single shaft keeps them from walking. The colors make them easy to grab when your stuck in a chimney and you can't see your gear loops.

 

Bronco, unless your going to climb the Kor-Ingels on Castleton Tower (or something like it) you don't need a #5 Camalot. I rarely do climbs when I need anything bigger than my #4.

 

I think the new 3.5 and 4.5 are way cool and if I hadn't just bought myself a set of aliens I'd be covetting them, but as it is I have more cams then my hardest trad lead rating (I have yet to lead a 5.11 crack, but I have more than 11 cams).

 

DMM cams are a waste of money.

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Have you ever tried the #5 and #6 Friends??? You might rethink your Camalot passion.

[Matt]

Dru--

 

I'll tell you which big friend I want-- that one in the Patagonia "committed to the core" add where Royal Robins (or some old school Yosemite climber) is hanging out in J-Tree with a cam the size of a small umbrella. That is a cam I want.

[Bronco]

quote:

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Originally posted by Greg W:

quote:

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Originally posted by Matt:

Is that why he drives the F250?

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Yep. Actually, he has two of them.

 

As far as DMM cams go, the smaller ones are nice; haven't used the big ones.

 

Greg W

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Actually the white whale is a 350, and yes I certainly have "little man" issues

 

ARE YOU TALKIN' TO ME!?

 

Matt: I have no plans to climb Castletron Tower in the near future but, the #5 camalot really looks cool hangin on my rack and if I hang a #11 hex next to it, it makes for a good bear bell while bushwacking.

 

Get Friends, E-rock, good friends are always there to buck you up when you need them.

[fern]

quote:

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Originally posted by Matt:

Dru--

 

I'll tell you which big friend I want-- that one in the Patagonia "committed to the core" add where Royal Robins (or some old school Yosemite climber) is hanging out in J-Tree with a cam the size of a small umbrella. That is a cam I want.

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Allen Steck ... those cams look home-made, there's your cheap solution.

 

Climb On Equipment in Squampton has a #6 friend in stock ... it's bigger than my head. I heard they're gonna come out with a #7 too, you could jack your car up with it!