UKC

Hi
I'm on a tight budget and have limited myself to 4 Wild Country Helium Friends.
As I climb with a uni club I'm often with people without cams, however when doing more challenging climbs I pair myself with a close friend who has a set of 0 to 3 Friends. Would it be worth purchasing half sizes from 0.5-3.5 so we have a full set of cams between us? Or would I be more limited in placements when climbing with just the half sizes?

Cheers,
Jack

In reply to peaterpan:

I would personally be tempted to get Sizes bigger and or smaller than the set your friend has.

In reply to peaterpan:

Why are you looking to get helium cams? They aren't very good.

Dragon/Camalots are much better.

Joe Brown do a great deal on Dragons where you can get 4 for £160, £40 each.

If I was starting out and getting 4 cams to begin with. I would probably get purple, green, red and yellow if I climbed in the Lakes/North Wales. If I climbed on granite or gritstone a lot I would get green, red, yellow and blue. And if I climbed on limestone a lot I would get grey, purple, green and red.

If you are on a supertight budget. I'd probably get DMM 4cus which can be had for £30 each. They aren't as good as Dragons or Camalots, but they still work.

I'd probably get sizes 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5.

HTH Tom

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Hi, my friend uses Helium friends and ive just got used to using them. Joe Brown are doing a 3 for 110 offer

In reply to Choss:

If i wasnt climbing with him I would be left a bit limited on cam placements?

In reply to peaterpan:

.5, 1.5, 2.5 all good!

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Can you explain your reasons why they're, not very good?
I personally don't think there is much in it between Heliums, Dragons and Camalots.

They each have disadvantages and advantages so just go for whatever you feel the most comfortable with/cheapest ones you can find.

Personally I don't like Dragons due to the lack of a thumb loop, but that's just me. I have friends who swear by them.

In reply to blackreaver:

They're perfectly functional. I just don't think they are as nice to use as the Camalots/Dragons.

In the small sizes the stems are far too long.
The Heliums are heavier than Technical Friends.

I just don't think they are particularly remarkable, especially if they are the same price as Dragons/Camalots.

I've got Dragons at the moment and whilst they're okay the Doubled up sling can be a really faff and I preferred the Camalots I had before them.

In the smaller sizes the Totem Basic cams are unbeatable.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

do you have 1 dragon per biner? I have a coloured phantom on each of mine which not only helps with selection but I don't have problems with the doubled sling.

In reply to CurlyStevo:


I do indeed.

However I find that if I stuff one deep into a flake, out of sight, it is very fiddly to extend the sling and also harder to clip a quickdraw into it. Whereas the more rigid nylon sling of a camalot, I find, is easier to locate and clip.

In reply to peaterpan:

The other bonus of going for a twin axle design such as the dragons is that you get a slightly larger range on each cam, which increases versatility a little bit (v12 has a useful page on their website that uses graphs to compares cam ranges).

From a cost point of view, using dmm cams will theoretically save you some pennies as you only need a single crab, as opposed to a QuickDraw, for each cam. Although that doesn't help if you already own loads of draws!

If you're spending a decent lump of cash I'd get the cams that you like the best. If that means doubling up on the ones you're familiar with then go for it-there's not really any bad designs out there. However, there may be benefits from getting something different.... And both you and your mate will soon get used to placing them if you go for a different model.

Mike