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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

 Page 3 of 3. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 40 | 41 to 49
Author
SLCDs: Which ones and why?
JamieF
8-Dec-2005
10:46:32 AM
Are the central cam lobes a lot closer together on the HBs than the other brands? I looked at one point at getting some Rock Empire robots, but wondered whether the close spacing of the central cams might make them closer to three cam units in their propensity to walk/rotate. Not sure that would really be the case however.

Jamie

skink
8-Dec-2005
10:58:36 AM
my opinion:

Small cams - Aliens to red is what I have and really like them - may get the orange some time as well. Why? - I like the thumb loop cos more positive than trying to get your thumb to sit on the back of the shaft like in my wild country flexis and forged friends. They have good range, the head width is very small which is great for shallow cracks (their major pro for some people - depends on the cracks you frequent), the option of clipping the thumb loop is handy for if the biner is over an edge when on the sling or to adjust for lingth at the belay, they are light, rack compactly and the trigger wires don't get bent when you stuff your rack in your pack.

Mid-size cams (Friend 1 to 4): I have two Trango MaxCams (Size 1 Red and 2 Yellow) which I rate highly - cheap, huge range (their main selling point), thumb loop which I like but some don't, the cams have aggressive teeth on the lobes which seems a good idea for some rock types, double sling which I like but some don't. I find the Size 2 a bit of a finger stretch to operate, but the long stems are nice cos you can shove them further into cracks. Walking doesn't seem an issue as some have complained. BUT they seem impossible to find, the smaller sizes aren't yet available downunder (or anywhere?) - if you have the patience I'd look/wait for them. If not, my second choice is BD C4's - they rock in my opinion, just a tad expensive compared to the trangos and other options.

Big, extra big cams - I have used big BDs, and like 'em, but have read that the big WC Tech Friends walk less and they are lighter. In an offwidth, any big cam becomes your best friend and so if cost is an issue, just buy the cheapest big cams, cos you won't use them much, but when you need one, you really need one (or two, or three...)

mtnbear
8-Dec-2005
11:23:34 AM
On 8/12/2005 JamieF wrote:
>Are the central cam lobes a lot closer together on the HBs than the other
>brands? I looked at one point at getting some Rock Empire robots, but wondered
>whether the close spacing of the central cams might make them closer to
>three cam units in their propensity to walk/rotate. Not sure that would
>really be the case however.
>
>Jamie

Never used 3cu's so can't compare em but the bigger the Robots, the more tendency it has to walk. Apparently it is because of the lack of width (following the axle) and the lobes being to close to one another as a direct result of it..

Sabu
8-Dec-2005
11:36:33 AM
On 8/12/2005 mikepatt wrote:
>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).

yea i got one of those!! fixed stem..it's got one of the biggest design flaws!! when the cam is retracted the stem becomes bigger than the retracted lobes!!! so i can understand why they get stuck!! and no i didn't buy this one!!!
i haven't placed it yet cos i use my friends cams and he's got BD (i think) down to .25 or .5
One Day Hero
8-Dec-2005
11:05:40 PM
I really like metolius blue and purple TCU's. They seem to do better in some spots than aliens, I use them lots on Ozy.

Paulie
11-Dec-2005
6:11:25 PM
On 8/12/2005 andesite wrote:

>Big, extra big cams - I have used big BDs, and like 'em, but have read
>that the big WC Tech Friends walk less and they are lighter. In an offwidth,
>any big cam becomes your best friend and so if cost is an issue, just buy
>the cheapest big cams, cos you won't use them much, but when you need one,
>you really need one (or two, or three...)

Just don't buy the HB Quadcams in size 5 as they're a nightmare to place. They have a single trigger and the cables bend crazily forcing the lobes downwards.
M
12-Dec-2005
1:54:46 PM
On 7/12/2005 maxdacat wrote:
>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.

I have the #2 and #3 DMM cams. they are pretty good but I prefer (slightly) tech friends or camalots. I
have found that they jam up with dirt and grit a bit more rapidly than camalots of tech friends.
i dont find the extendable sling that much of an advantage because i nearly always add a quickdraw or
longer sling. unless you can get them at a good price I would get camalots.
I have spoken to others who rave about the DMM cams so my opinion may not reflect the consensus

My rack is mostly tech friends, a couple of old style camalots, a couple of DMM cams and a small alien.
in the middle to larger sizes I prefer camalots to techfriends (approx 3 camalot v 3.5 or 4 friend.) they
seem more stable and place more cleanly.

generally they are all really good cams and my main consideration in buying more would be price.
camalots seem to be cheaper at the moment and with the weight and range of the new cams they seem
pretty hard to beat.
Lee
12-Dec-2005
10:50:14 PM
I have loved my years with the tech friend's, its only because the right price?for some new camalots
came along that I'm parting ways( see gear sales my tech friends + some aliens).
Something worth mentioning about the 'weight to range' thing over a set of cams(which may have already
been mentioned) is that although a range of cams may be lighter by offering more range per cam and
hence not needing as many cams is your down one peice of gear for the same weight.

One thing I find frustrating about all but the BD( and to a lesser extent the larger aliens that have the
swaging on all 4 trigger cables) cams is there ablity in a placement that opens to the back to have 1 set/
side's of lobes flip over leaving the trigger useless and the use of a nut tool inevitable, almost imposible
with camalots.
Ahh DMM(/Wild contry) they buy there lobes from WC so still the best? cam angle 13.75 degree's,
basically a dual stem version not my preffered set up for most oz conditions ie not so many vertical
splitters and more pockets and weird flakes that really are better with the flexibility of a single stem cam,
have seen so many dual stem cams (HB metolius, old BD etc) placed in pockets and never come out
quite the same, guess that depends how you climb though and whether you often fall or aid on your gear
or it is
there more as 'protection' in case you fall in which case they seem to operate really well for ever.
#1 Camalot C4+C3's
tech friends Best of the Rest
Lee
12-Dec-2005
11:18:07 PM
On 7/12/2005 Sabu wrote:
>have they been taken off the market or fixed? as that sounds like a serious
>problem!
I am pretty sure they changed the design/manufacturing, was it one with an old plain nylon sling?
The old ones had there cables silver soldered into the head on the edge of the head, on the new ones the
silver soldering is all deep within the head, maybe it is less fatigueing on that one point.

 Page 3 of 3. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 40 | 41 to 49
There are 49 messages in this topic.

 

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