UKC

After reading some reviews i'm going to get a set of Kouba hexes to complete the passive side of my rack. Their nuts seem to have some problems but the hexes sound great and a fair deal cheaper than torque nuts or hexentrics.

I was planning on "serving an apprenticeship" on just passive pro, as recommended by andy kirkpatrick, and picking up some cams over time as I can afford them. I doubt i'll be leading anything past VS this year and it seems good practice to only have nuts and really learn how to use them.
However I noticed the kouba abalak tricams and was wondering if it was worth picking up a set, to have some pro for horizontal cracks in summer and to replace cams in winter? Or would I be better spending the extra on CAMP tricams? Or not bothering with tricams at all? I've never placed one but they sound ideal for winter use?

Cheers,
Kahti

In reply to Kahti:

I have both the kouba hexes and Tricams after spotting a deal on ebay at Christmas where each set was less than £20.
The hexes will not cover the big stuff though as the biggest is around the same size as a rock 11. I would treat it like a second set of nuts and fork out for some big hexcentrics or torquenuts.

The Tricams are good but I have not placed them much and can be a bit fiddly to place, needing 2 hand to set. This could just take practice, and the steel wire helps to keep them nicely in place. The biggest is around a size 2 4cu from memory.

kouba's gear is solid though and at a cracking pric, give it a go.

In reply to Kahti:

i just bought the full set for £30, you can't really go wrong for £5 each, can you? i haven't had a chance to use them yet though. my one reservation when buying them i suppose was that you can't place them passively, however they were about a third of the price of the camp tricams

regarding tricams in general i have a few of the camp ones and have placed them on almost every route (climbing up to e2) i've done since i got them. i like them a lot, they are absolutely bomber in horizontal breaks and though they're a bit of a fiddle to place and remove (does this matter on VS?) i guess they have a wider camming range than my demon cams or something because they seem to just go straight in rather than pissing around trying to work out what size cam i need

In reply to teltrabm:

Thanks for pointing that out mr trebus! I had just assumed they would cover a similar size to other hexes. Seems really weird they don't make a bigger one?
Guess i'll shell out the extra for a set of torque nuts instead.

A second set of nuts is also on my list though. What is the preference here, a full set of standard nuts, a set of offsets, or would these be good for versatility? I think for the level i'm at right now I only need one of the above, combined with large hexes and tricams or cams?

Still undecided on whether to get a set of the Abalaks or put the money towards starting a cam rack?

In reply to Kahti:

Six Abalaks for the price of one cheap cam? No brainer.
As a noob you really need to get the most 'bang for buck' (within reason) which is why I bought a set, they seem like decent kit.

I think your 'learning how to use nuts' comment is the way to go. Surely the best way to know when to use a cam is when you don't have one and really wish you had!

In reply to Kahti:



They are hexes in the classic sense, where lots of nuts big and small were hex shaped. Most manufacturers opt for the rock shape these days, but small hexes are bomber and at that price, try them out. You can always punt them on here if you don’t get on with them or keep them for a winter rack to save your good nuts.

If there was an either or choice, I would probably go for the offsets though.

In reply to Kahti:

well i just got back from a week in north wales. didn't do a lot of routes but tried to place the abalaks a few times

they are pretty crap compared to the camp ones i think - almost impossible to place in vertical cracks. they seem to just flop over, they don't seat well like the camp ones, maybe it is because of the shape (they're a bit narrower) or because the wire is so stiff. - i took the full set up cemetery gates and despite almost completely running out of nuts and cams by about halfway and being scared silly i still couldn't find anywhere to put one - and that's with most of the placements on that route being from basically rests. my camp tricams did get placed though, albeit passively

i got one in a horizontal crack on a hvs near the campsite and it seemed bomber, however my second couldn't remove it and it took me ten minutes of faffing on abseil to get it out. i don't regret buying them as i'm sure there'll be placements where nothing else'll fit and they were so cheap - but i'd say the camp ones are better from my very limited experience

i guess you've already made up your mind, but food for thought??