UKC

Totem have revived the much-loved "Alien" - but with many newer micro-cams on the market do they still cut the mustard?

Duncan Campbell puts them to the test by getting pumped and falling off onto them so you don't have to!

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In reply to UKC Gear:

Good review, I fancy myself a set of these. There's a typo (wiht) under the 'On to the present day' section.

David

In reply to UKC Gear:

I thought both faders/fixe/tech rock and Totem both had the rights to produce Aliens, and were both doing so in either original or modified forms. Is this still the case or is there just the one manufacturer now as this article seems to imply?

In reply to UKC Gear:

Great cams! Opposite to the author, I wish they would make a size larger than my red one, that's equivalent to the green dragon/camalot or old orange alien. Although I've read many of the benefits of the design can be lost at this size and above - does anyone know if this is true?

In reply to Colin Scotchford:

Hi Colin, Faders bought the trademark and machines (as I understand it) from David Waggonner's widow. However the patent had expired and there is nothing to stop other companies making similar products. Hence the Totem product is is the Totem Basic, Aliens are made by Faders/Fixe.

Basic might seem a bit of an odd name for the cam but it is basic compared to the Totem Cam itself which completely rethought how cams were designed.

Mikel at Totem set out to make a faithful copy of the Aliens, but with improvements - the ergonomics of the trigger bar were imrpoved, the teeth were completely redesigned and the trigger wires very much improved.

In reply to Swampi:

Hi Swampi, I kind of agree with you, and I still use bronze and orange Aliens alongside my Totem Basics. BUT, the Totem Cam does the job of larger Aliens very well, and probably better than Aliens. I keep mine because I don't like parting with gear that still works fine.

In reply to UKC Gear:

Great article. Thanks. After using the original CCH cams for years I am going to upgrade to the new Fixe Alien Lites. I just love extendible slings.

In reply to UKC Gear:

Thanks. Did you test the offset ones too?

In reply to UKC Gear:

The article incorrectly names David Waggoner as Mark Waggoner in the opening paragraph. Thought there might be a legitimate reason and did a bit of Googling to check, but it does appear to be a mistake.

In reply to UKC Gear:

These totems are great cams, I own the blue and green and they are ace. Although I now favour the Aliens Evo produced by Fixe as they are lighter, have an extendable sling like Dragons and they have and ergonomic trigger. The small blue Totem is 56grms and the Small Blue Fixe Alien Evo is 48grs (with the extendable sling saving you a quickdraw).

In reply to Ramon Marin:

Have Fixe put the springs inside the cam on the blue and black sizes now? Or do they still have much wider heads like the original Aliens? Well done to them if they have managed it, Totem have only done it on the Blue so far, the black is proving difficult.

In reply to tehmarks:

Thanks for the tip-off, that has now been updated.

In reply to teomalchio:

Unfortunately not, but having used them previously I think the sentiments of Duncan's review apply to both the standard and hybrid versions.

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

My yellow alien, the only one I own, is my no1 fav bit of gear. Fairly old, battered and well worn now but whenever I'm pumped and urgent, I get it straight off the harness and always find a placement. Need to supplement my rack with some of these cams.

In reply to Swampi:


Just use the totem original cams in that size!

In reply to UKC Gear:

I think the article is a little mis-leading - Aliens are still available.

The original Alien cams are still in production by Tech Rock / Fixe / Faders - with all the original machinery and made exactly how David Waggoner did. They have also released a lighter version with improvements, the Alien Evolution cam.

Both available from Needlesports and Alpkit - both cheaper than Totems.

In reply to Colin Scotchford:

A quick Google will show no less than 3 ranges of cams claiming to identical or evolved versions of the original Alien (first 3 types here: http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Camming-Devic... ).

The Totem cam range in particular looks very nice but they do lack the smallest size (black) cam of the original range. It's a great shame they chose not to make one (for whatever reason) as it is, in my experience joint most useful size with the 2nd smallest (blue) size.

In reply to UKC Gear:

What I really want to know is will these fit in the peg scars on, for example, Billy Whizz and Boulevard? My Dragons didn't.

In reply to IainWhitehouse:


Some confusion here.

This review calls the Totem Basic, Aliens, distributed by Beta i.e., You Iain.

Then Alpkit have Faders/Fixe 'Alien' at this page: https://www.alpkit.com/products/alien-cams

Duncan should have explained this in his review as it will surely cause much confusion - he essentially portrays Totem as making Aliens!!!! maybe Alien-like....: )

In reply to ChrisBrooke:

If not the BD C3s will fit.

In reply to Alpjay:

Hi Jay, I gave Dunc the basics to test around 18months ago. At that time the Fixe Aliens were not available at all in the UK, even at Needlesports. I don't know when you picked up the distribution but I guess relatively recently and Dunc was probably not aware. I will ask Rob to edit the review a bit to reflect the changed situation.

In reply to ChrisBrooke:

Hi Chris, they'll certainly fit in Billy Whiz, I put nearly my whole rack of them into it. Boulevard I haven't been on in about 10 years so can't remember well but I would expect so.

In reply to Michael Ryan:

But then to be fair you've also got Ramon who is sponsored by Alpkit, and Alpjay on here correcting...

In reply to henwardian:


They haven't chosen not to make Black, they just haven't got it to work right yet. CCH (and presumably Fixe) copped out in a major way on the blue and balck sizes by taking the springs outside the cams jst like a friend or camalot. The result is that the head is a fair bit wider than the larger sizes and they lose one of their best advantages over other cams. Black and blue aliens were loved because at the time nothing else was as small, now they're rather left behind by other competitors like Totem Basics and X4s.

Totem Basic Blue has the springs inside, just like it should, and correspondingly keeps the spondiferously narrow head width which is part of what makes them so good.

Totem plan on bringing out a black Basic just as soon as they can get back around to fighting the springs inside that tiny little cam - they had a go a year or so ago and then remembered they would like a life and to maybe go climbing sometimes so shelved the project temporarily.....

In reply to IainWhitehouse:

Ah, good to know they are going to get on to making that black one. Infact, while they are at it, why not make another size smaller? I often (no exaggeration) try and ram the black into a seam it is too wide to fit in!

I hated the Black Diamond C3s with a passion but I've never tried the new X4s, they look like a great improvement I have to say. Will have to wait till one of my richer friends buys some

I don't do so much climbing on pockets so the only time I noticed width as being a major issue was when I was climbing on Mt Arapiles and frequently borrowing aliens because my camalots didn't fit. Having said that, the Techrock Alien Evolution cams are narrower than the totem ones and they manage to do this somehow without internalising the springs or sacrificing strength (they are essentially the same breaking strength). The Alien Evolution cams are also lighter.
I've never used them and of course paper values don't always translate into useful products. Maybe UKC could do a group test of micro-cams, find out which fit best in dodgy quartz crystal pockets, which hold best inn polished limestone and which get mangled by a good fall.

In reply to Michael Ryan:



I think the other problem is that everyone I know who has the Totem Basic cams, myself included, refers to them as 'Aliens'.

In my view they're the best small cams money can buy.

In reply to IainWhitehouse:

Thanks Iain (and cyberpunk). I led Billy Whizz fine without them, but it would have been nice to have a narrower headed cam than my Dragons for the old peg scars. Same on Boulevard (except I didn't have such a fun time on that one )

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

That's just you. Editorial should be objective, unbiased and be fully informative.