UKC

Has anybody any experience with Camp Tri Cams? Are they worth the £80 price tag?

In reply to mh554:
Easily the best piece of gear I've ever owned.

I Paid £60 for my set of 0.5-2, I'm going to buy some more at somepoint.

In reply to mh554:

they are marmite gear IMO. Also as you push up the grades the hassle placing and removing starts to become more than its worth.

That said on some rock types they are great (cairngorm granite for example) and go where nothing else will and I love them in winter.

In reply to mh554:

I love them, they feel 'bomber' when placed well. Like a nut on steroids!!

The main problem I've had is that they're a nightmare to remove on second, my mrs has a trick and seems to be able to remove them without too much trouble but I just can't get them out! Not the worst problem though, makes me feel more secure climbing above them.

Chris

In reply to BenedictIEP:
I might not go that far but I'd still replace mine if I lost them - I'm onto my fourth pink one now! (one got nicked and the other is at the back of a blind hole in Coire an Lochan, pushed in by a second that didn't have a nut key and that I hadn't explained tricams to...)

In reply to mh554:

People either love them or hate them.

I usually carry a double set of 0.5 & 1 on one krab and one each of 1.5 - 3.0 on another. They mostly get used at gear anchors or when a cam is too wide for a placement. Work really well in the horizontal cracks on Gunks moderates. Could be too fiddly for harder routes. I've stiffened the first 10cm of webbing on 0.5 - 1.5 with a bit of tape for easier placement and I see they come that way now.

Easy to re-sling with a bit of webbing and a knot when the webbing wears out. Camp has instructions on their site. Although, I hear you folks have more trouble finding re-sling materials or places that will sew then we do here in the States.

In reply to mh554:

Well worth it

In reply to mh554:

Depends what you're climbing.

On long mountain routes I take them, using them where I would be using a cam in a belay (I look for nuts first though), this saves any cams for the leader of the next pitch. For me it's much nicer to place a quick cam than a tricam when stressed.

They're also pretty light compared with cams and have good range. If I'm climbing below my limit in the mountains and want to go fast I'll use these as I can generally use two hands to seat them on easier ground.

They're also good for specific placements like narrow shot holes on grit or funny limestone pockets so they're not just for multipitch by any means.

What I don't like about them is how fiddly they are. Placing them above your head is tricky as they flap around. Seen someone strap a straw to them with finger tape but I cba with that. Cleaning them with a nutkey is easy, but you have to explain how to do it if someone has never done it before.

Overall IMO, they're no replacement for cams but they do come into their own in specific situations!

In reply to alooker:

I guess that's a good point and one I'll take on board, if I'm really only taking doubles of cams on a multipitch route as I suspect I'll need some on belays then tricams are in many ways better. On many rock types they will go in to most cam placements but also places cams won't go, making your rack more versatile.

However on some routes when I'm near the top of my grade I'm doubling some cams because I know the rock is often very cam heavy (grit for example) and in this case I'll steer well clear of tricams for reasons given.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

Yes, same here. Give me a trigger to squeeze or a steel wire to hold when I'm frantic!

In reply to mh554:


They are in winter!!