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SLCDs: Which ones and why?

JamieF

6-Dec-2005
6:16:03 PM

I've got a couple of oldish CAMP cams. I don't trust them any more or less than the BD and WC cams on my rack and my climbing partners rack. Their range is good and not much less than the BD in the sizes: about 20-32 and 26-41 mm (as measured by me so maybe a little out) compared to about 20-34 and 24-41 for BD 0.5 and 0.75. The springs are fairly stiff, so they sit nicely. The down side is that they are quite heavy, they require a little more effort than the BDs to retract and they have pin cam stops which I guess is the biggest downside. Not sure who actually made them, but they are branded CAMP and were made in Korea. I don't think you should completely write off the cheaper cams, at least in the smallish (ie bigger than micro) to medium sizes, particularly if your budget is limited. I reckon small (passive) tricams are worthwhile to complement the cams as well, particulary as they are so light, even if you only use them on belays where you have time to get them right.

Jamie

Edited: these cams have pin cam stops rather than none as I wrote earlier.


Eduardo Slabofvic

6-Dec-2005
7:31:29 PM

I also feel compelled to mention that a certain Korean brand ripped in two when i fell onto it a few years ago. so watch out for that sort of stuff.

James

6-Dec-2005
11:00:06 PM

On 6/12/2005 Eduardo Slabofvic wrote:
>I also feel compelled to mention that a certain Korean brand ripped in
>two when i fell onto it a few years ago. so watch out for that sort of
>stuff.

I've seen Wild Country tech friends break (snapped at the join where the wire meets the solid part of the
stem)
in someone's hands!!!


nmonteith

6-Dec-2005
11:30:32 PM

On 6/12/2005 James wrote:
>I've seen Wild Country tech friends break (snapped at the join where the
>wire meets the solid part of the
>stem)
>in someone's hands!!!

Good ole Wild Country Snappies - my favourite cams!


mtnbear

7-Dec-2005
12:29:27 AM

I currently have a set of Rock Empire Robots and they're a great starter set for the price you pay (bought them back home in Canada) The minute I used a few of my partner's cams (Wild Country) I could tell a huge difference in performance.

I could easily compare them as I was doing a route we did often as it was literally a 10 minute walk from our doorstep to our local crag. The placements were routine and memory engrained.

This is pretty much why I want to get a new set... I know theres something better out there

Grief, I'm so materialistic =)


Juffs

7-Dec-2005
8:32:24 AM

On 6/12/2005 nmonteith wrote:
>Good ole Wild Country Snappies - my favourite cams!

Neil ... please elaberate .... (my brain .... tick tick tick) as I have a set of tech friends


nmonteith

7-Dec-2005
8:52:38 AM

I have been involved in two example sof these cams snapping in half. First time was aiding Lord
Gumtree @ Buffalo. Marcel (the leader) took a big fall onto a horizontally placed WC #1 cam - it snapped
clean in half. Many years later (early this year) I was looking at one of my cams whilst on lead. I noticed
a single strand of wire had frayed from the join between the flexi wire and the cam head. I bent it in my
hand to test it and it snapped instantly. These were both of the older design (5years old).


Sabu

7-Dec-2005
10:38:09 AM

have they been taken off the market or fixed? as that sounds like a serious problem!


nmonteith

7-Dec-2005
11:24:56 AM

No idea Sabu. I still have one of these style cams in my rack. Anyone want to buy it?

bradc

7-Dec-2005
1:59:49 PM

I think there is probably a difference in performance between the different types of Rock Empire cams (Pulsar, Robot, Comet and Durango). I have the Durango .25 and .5 (lost the .75 when it walked into a crack) made in Czech and while cheap I found I got what I paid for. The springs are quite weak in comparison to BD and they walk very easily. While I haven't used the Comet, Robot or Pulsar models, they look to be better made.


romfrantic

7-Dec-2005
2:12:37 PM

Durango? haven't seen those...I can only talk from experience with the RE Comet and the Pulsar models - the Comet ones are certainly much better (better spring system and lightweight) than the older Flex ones.


nmonteith

7-Dec-2005
3:44:53 PM

On 7/12/2005 romfrantic wrote:
>Durango? haven't seen those...

http://www.rockempire.com/catalog?category=cams#durango


Romfrantic

7-Dec-2005
3:47:48 PM

Funny that, they call them 'Flex' in the czech website - they look the same.

http://www.rockempire.cz/default.asp?nDepartmentID=171&nLanguageID=2

maxdacat

7-Dec-2005
10:27:25 PM

I don't think anyone's mentioned DMM cams yet....I'm looking in to getting some since they have the extendable sling which i like and colour coding and a free (colour coded) crab as well.....plus the ability to use one or two fingers on the trigger.


Andrew_M

7-Dec-2005
10:36:51 PM

I've got the old style camalots and apart from the weight issue they are great. Good expansion, really well built and rugged. They've held a few falls placed both vertically and over edges in horizontal placements without drama and without any real damage. I also picked up some metolius cams from a mate who had bought them cheap in Canada but then didn't like them. Although they don't seem to be really bad or unsafe, they're not great. The trigger bar system is fiddly, particularly in deep placements, and the limited expansion range is a pain. They are a lot lighter than the (old) camalots though: the three metolius cams that I've got cover about the same expansion range as two camalots, but together weigh almost exactly the same as the corresponding 2 BD jobbies. The new trimmed down C4s should get around this problem, though of course at a price...$


nmonteith

8-Dec-2005
9:29:39 AM

On 7/12/2005 maxdacat wrote:
>and a free (colour coded) crab as well.....

I recently climbed with someone who had matching color coded crabs for each of his camalots (i think
BD must make them?). I thought it was a silly novelty at first - but when i used them it was great. At
anytime and any angle I could grab the correct size without having to shuffle through a twisted mess of
cams to find the right biner. Simple but revolutionary!


Super Saiyan

8-Dec-2005
9:39:19 AM

yeah, BD sells them...Racking Neutrino pack i think it is called. 6 Different coloured neutrino wiregates...

mikepatt

8-Dec-2005
9:51:01 AM

After starting out with Wild Country Friends I'm now pretty much a Black Diamond Camalot convert..

One of my main reasons is that the Camalots seem to be easier to extract, even when they're overcammed. I think one of the reasons is if you fully close (over cam) the Camalot it presents a square profile when viewed from the side and as such seems to be less prone to jamming and catching when you're trying to get them out.

Beware the #1 Wild Country Friends (especially the fixed model) as I've heard lots of stories of them getting stuck and they top the list of a booty hunting friend of mine (He's "found" 6 so far).

JamieF

8-Dec-2005
10:27:12 AM

On 6/12/2005 nmonteith wrote:
>Camalots...no over-camming...
>Wild Country...minimum over-cammming...
>HB...always overcams...

Neil, just to clarify, do you mean that you find the HBs always seem to walk into an overcammed position and that this rarely happens with the BDs/WCs?

Jamie


nmonteith

8-Dec-2005
10:37:28 AM

On 8/12/2005 JamieF wrote:
>Neil, just to clarify, do you mean that you find the HBs always seem to
>walk into an overcammed position and that this rarely happens with the
>BDs/WCs?

Yes, HB's either walk or rotate into an overcammed position - or fall out! The only way I feel reliable
climbing above them (especially on parallel cracks) is to massively overcam them so they stay put.
Teh bigger the cam the bigger the problem. (ie by ultra big HB quadcam have never stayed put when i
climb above it! - even with a sling attached to it)

BD Camalots on the other hand seem to stay in the same position I placed them. They don't walk or
rotate like the HBs.

WC are slotted in between the HBs and Camalots. Sometimes they walk or rotate but rarely.

There are 49 messages in this topic.