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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

 Page 2 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 35
Author
Cam locks at Araps

phillipivan
24-Dec-2015
11:19:08 PM
Two new sizes in the new year, one large, one small.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
24-Dec-2015
11:40:49 PM
On 24/12/2015 cristynick wrote:
>To date we use hexs and nuts for protection.

Luxury!
Why, when I were a lad we usta use pebbles and bushes, till one day we went along a railway line to access a new climb and found some machine nuts lying about...

ajfclark
26-Dec-2015
11:22:34 AM
I find the thumb loop on the C4 easier to use than the thumb stem on the Dragons.
Wendy
26-Dec-2015
4:47:47 PM
Meh, totems, fiddly nonsense. Go basic for you first gear. I might love my link cams but I would never suggest them as a learning set for the same reason.

Dragon cams, more meh, poor copies of camalots and the extendible sling is annoying.

Camalots are great. There is a reason they have become the most popular cams in the last 25 years. They are solid, reliable, as straightforward to place as a cam could be. I like the fatter lobes. I like the thumb loop. I like the action. I like how they sit. I like the fatter, more durable sling. I really like that they resling them for free when they wear out. The camming angle thing is negligible. Someone more enthusiastic about it than me can work out what the chances of one pulling out of a good placement compared with another cam. Given I've never pulled one in 25 years, I'm going with f--- all. For complete light weight obsessives like myself, they now have an ultralight model.

I wouldn't get anything smaller than a 0.5 for starters. Firstly, you are unlikely to be climbing anything that will need them, and secondly, because the small cams have less margin for error, you want to be competent at placing them before you start relying on itty bitty ones. Wires should get you by for a fair while. When you do get some, i'd go for 4 lobe ones. I like my C3s, but I think the x4s or master cams are easier to place. But don't bother with a master cam larger than yellow, the camalots are better. If i actually bought some X4s I might not bother carrying my C3s anymore.

I like green and yellow aliens, but I suspect that is because they were the small cams I started with. If you go aliens, don't bother with blue or black aliens. The other brands are much better in those sizes for a whole variety of reasons. Hybrids are more fiddly nonsense you'll never need unless you do some hard aiding.

And notice noone is suggesting any of the other myriad sorts of cams. You might see them cheap somewhere or get a deal second hand, but basically, they aren't as good, so take heed before you decide to grab that bargain.




IdratherbeclimbingM9
26-Dec-2015
6:32:25 PM
+1 to Wendy's post.




>Hybrids are more fiddly nonsense you'll never need unless you do some hard aiding.

I'm glad you conceded that point ☺, though in the blue/geen and green/yellow sizes, I have found them useful for trad climbing on Mt Buffalo granite, however agree with you that they are not a first-rack item due the specialised nature of them.

Regardless of brand, here is an unsolicited opinion from a climber who has a sprinkling of many slcd brands over many years still in use on his rack...
I find the extendable slings an asset for wandery style (often found on lower grades) trad climbing.
Four cam lobes are more stable than three, but three is often a narrower profile and can often fit better in smaller placements.
They all work, just some better than others in particular placements.
An equivalent nut size, if it can be placed instead of the cam, is often lighter to carry and can be more bomb-proof / easier to check insitu before moving on.
Nuts are cheaper than cams. This is also a consideration if you ever bail off a climb and leave gear behind ;-)
stugang
27-Dec-2015
3:39:16 PM
Personally think for the small cam locks I prefer 3 cams. They may wiggle more but that is just your inner fear of wiggling gear. They also walk into the crack less which can avoid those occasional nightmare manual extractions.



Miguel75
27-Dec-2015
8:36:55 PM
On 26/12/2015 Wendy wrote:
>Meh, totems, fiddly nonsense. Go basic for you first gear. I might love
>my link cams but I would never suggest them as a learning set for the same
>reason.

SNIP...

I'm not talking about the Totem Aliens, I reckon the standard Totem cams are freaking awesome, pretty basic and no more fiddly than C4's.

EDIT: Why do you reckon Totems are more fiddly than C;4's?
martym
29-Dec-2015
11:17:09 PM
On 24/12/2015 gfdonc wrote:
>I don't get why BD's are the defacto choice for most climbers.
>You might want to consider DMM Dragons - lighter, safer cam angle and
>the extendable sling works well.
>

I was reading about Totem Cams on OutdoorGearLab and came across this quote:
"During the 1980's there were several different companies releasing slightly different versions of the same thing. Because of Ray Jardines patent on the basic design of Friends, other companies were forced to create variations to the trigger and stem which fueled innovation over the years. In 1987 Black Diamond joined the list of companies selling different versions of cams; however, the Black Diamond "Camalot" was unique. The lobes of the Camalot were not set upon a single axle as all other cams had been, they possessed a double axle which improved the range substantially without decreasing the holding power at all. Over the years this design has seen several improvements, but is still based up the same sizes and double axle design. The Camalot remains the gold standard of rock climbing protection today."
+
"The Black Diamond Camalot C4 is the clear winner. These cams are awesome. We found them to be the most versatile and reliable cam that we tested. Free climbing, aid climbing, anchor setting, you name it. These cams will get the job done for you in good style. Their double axle design gives them a good range, though not the greatest, and we found them to be a top performer in awkward placements. All in all, these cams are just bomber; durable, confidence-inspiring and easy to handle. "
martym
29-Dec-2015
11:20:11 PM
Another interesting historical aside from the same article:
"Climbing Magazine reports that Jardine required absolute secrecy from his select group of climbing partners during development of the first Friends. When meeting up to go climbing for the day a larger group of climbers was present when one of Jardines partners began to ask if he had brought the cams, mid sentence he realized he shouldn't mention it and so he asked if Jardine was going to bring any "Friends," the name stuck and in 1978 Friends hit the market. Their first advertisement in the magazines with slogans like "Get High with a little help from your Friends" appeared in January 1978."
PeterW
30-Dec-2015
1:45:13 AM
I saw my first Friends in May 1978 in Yosemite. They seemed like a clever idea although I recall being concerned about their reliability with so many moving parts. At the time I declined to buy any at the extremely "steep" price of US$17.80 each (about A$15.50 at the time)! The next month in London I succumbed and bought two Friends (#2 and #3) for £14.10 in total (about A$23.40).

Back in Australia in August, Kevin Lindorff and I put up Boats Against the Current (22) at the First Dial in the Grampians using my two Friends, which is highly likely to be their first use in Australia!
(Which is why I really thought Kevin was going to name the route "What are Friends For?") :-)
kieranl
30-Dec-2015
9:10:06 PM
On 30/12/2015 PeterW wrote:

>Back in Australia in August, Kevin Lindorff and I put up Boats Against
>the Current (22) at the First Dial in the Grampians using my two Friends,
>which is highly likely to be their first use in Australia!
>(Which is why I really thought Kevin was going to name the route "What
>are Friends For?") :-)

I've got a couple of slides of Kevin on that somewhere, must scan them. I remember using your Friends for the first time on traverse pitch of Judgement Day - used the slings as quickdraws ;)
Rhysd85
6-Feb-2016
11:38:17 AM
Hey Peter,
I'm struggling to work out where Boats Against the Current starts and climbs. Can you enlighten me or point me in the direction of which guidebook may contain a description?
Regards, Rhys
PeterW
6-Feb-2016
3:03:30 PM
I probably can't offer much advice - I visited the cliff just the once nearly 40 years ago!

I don't know where else it might be described, but it's listed in my copy of the 1991 VCC guide "South-Eastern Grampians" by Chris Baxter. From memory I led pitch 1 (and probably pitch 3) while Kevin led the crux pitch 2.

Boats Against the Current 63m 22
Airy wanderings which provide sections of great climbing; now superseded by Intermission (25).
1) Climb Hotspur for 8m. L to arete, up to roof, L to stance on BT (Borrowed Time?).
2) 20m Go back to the arete. Bridge up under roofs to a ledge on R. Traverse R to Hotspur.
3) 25m Traverse a few m L, then up and L.
Kevin Lindorff, Peter Watson 19-8-78

Hotspur 42m 18
The corner which dominates the middle of the cliff. Its beetling overhangs are overcome with surprising moves.
1) (crux) Climb the rotten crack in the L wall (8m right of FWBT (For Whom the Bells Toll)) into the niche. Step R into the line and follow it.
2) 21m The line.
Michael Stone, Chris Baxter (alt), Chris Dewhirst 25-11-73

I hope this helps!
rhysd85
6-Feb-2016
7:41:26 PM
Thanks, i'll check that out

Macciza
8-Feb-2016
4:14:48 PM
Totems are great from the short play I've had with them. They are one of the only true innovations seen in cam devices since they were invented.

DMM Dragons are great too! The safe and useable extender sling works well and cut your need for extra draws by half ...

Hybrid size cams are great if you are getting into harder new lines but are also extremely good for usual climbing once you get an eye for all the placement opportunities they can fit.

Of course nothing is wrong with good old standard single axle Friends, the shoulders on which all the others stand ...

 Page 2 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 35
There are 35 messages in this topic.

 

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