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Topic Date User

SLCDs: Which ones and why? 6-Dec-2005 At 12:52:38 AM adski

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For very small cams I think single stem is the way to go, otherwise the stems can really get in the way of a placement.

Perhaps it's easier to say what cams I DON'T recommend: Metolius cams suck for australian conditions as they have too much overlap in sizes. At a crag where the crack width doesn't vary much they might be better, but I have more range in my 7 cams (HB and BD combo) than 10 metolius cams. Usually I climb on mixed routes where I only place a couple (bluies, gramps, araps), so lugging less rack is always nice.

Also, the metolius cams have stiff springs making them awkward to use, and short stems which also makes them awkward to place and retrieve.

On more popular routes in soft sandstone I often see the cam placements getting eroded in the back, and maintaining a narrow face. In this case a cam with a wide range like Camalots can actually perform as designed rather than tipping out. In some cases the cam needs to overcammed to the max to get it past the face, and then rattles when placed. It's an interesting case and I'm sure Tricams would work well here.