UKC

Metolius Curve Nuts

© Metolius
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© Metolius, May 2007

It's a common debate on UKClimbing.com. Which are better? DMM Walnuts or Wild Country Rocks? Each brand will have their hardcore devotees who will swear that nothing compares to their chosen brand of nut. However most will settle in the middle and simply carry a set of Rocks, and a set of Walnuts. But it's not an either or, and I recently got a set of Metolius Curved Nuts that you can pick up for around £70.00 at most gear shops. How did they fair?

First, what do you get for your £70?

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Metolius Curve Nuts Table
© Metolius, May 2007
Well you get a set of ten anodised nuts, rated from 6-10kn. Two of them (numbers 4 and 9) are the same colour, and there are three different shades of blue, but the colours are all different enough to allow them to be easily told apart. You also got a "Freenut" Nut Key, which has a built in clip and curvy-paddy bit over one end to make it more bashable. In my experience, to administer enough bashing to be worthwhile, I generally find myself reaching for a large rock, but a neat idea all the same, and pretty good for a freebie (and as a bonus, it doesn't have those parallel stab-you-in-the-arse prongs).

The first thing you will probably notice when you get them out of the box (or indeed look at a picture of them) is their rather unconventional shape. At first glance they seem to have taken a huge step back to simple 'V' shape wedges, however looking at them reveals that they are tapered like all other nuts, however the direction of taper is at 90 degrees to the norm of Rocks or Walnuts.

Are they any good?

Well, I've had mine for about a year now, and overall I'd say yes, they've served me really well. I'll get the down sides out of the way first

Due to their general "flatness" (i.e., they are not tapered bottom to top) they can quite easily be unseated by pebbles on gritstone. This isn't a major issue and placements are generally pretty solid, but I have found myself thinking on a couple of occasions "I wish this was a bit more curved". I suppose a good analogy is the difference between the old straight-sided Camp Hexentrics versus the curvier Wild Country Rockcentrics

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"Freenut" Nut Key
© Metolius, May 2007
For the weight freaks the Curve Nuts are not the lightest. In comparison to other 1-10 anodised sets: Wild Country Rocks weigh in at 353g, DMM Walnuts at 349g and Metolius Curve Nuts at 423g. Although Metolius are now making Ultralight Curve Nuts, which weigh in at a mere 311g, which will presumably make their way over here at some point. See this page at the Metolius website.

These nuts are sturdy. In a year of use and abuse, I have only managed to bend one wire. When you get a good placement, they are super reassuring. I found them perfect on smooth rock, such as limestone or rhyolite (again, similar to the old Camp hexentrics).

If you are just starting to build up a rack, or if you want a second set of nuts to complement your existing set, consider getting a bunch of Metolius Curve Nuts. You never know, one day you may be joining me in suggesting an alternative option in the Wild Country Rocks versus DMM Walnuts debate.

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The full set
© Metolius, May 2007

For more information Beyond Hope



18 May, 2007
I've had a set for about a year as well. The thing that Pottsworth really hasn't addressed is the whole principle behind the different design and why they are different in a good way. They ARE curved, but rather than a transverse cure there is a longitudinal curve, which means that they can sit in flares very well. They are an alternative to the fabled HB offset but in this role I'd say the HB's were far more effective. However as you can't get them for the moment I chose them as an alternative and they do work very well. The one problem I've had with them is that they seat rather too well! You don't need to use the Huber force to seat them! As for the similar but smaller astro nuts I think they are the best mirco's around bar none. If only Metolius got them CE marked (or at least the relevant ones...) then I could buy more easily...
18 May, 2007
I was pretty impressedwhen I read the spiel about them being able to seat in flares, but in my experiance, they are little better than standard nuts on flared placements, as you get a king of camming efect pushing the nut out of the crack
18 May, 2007
As I say - the astronuts are the dogs danglied in flares, and I bought the curve nuts on this basis - they did not live up to the astro's and metolius would do well IMHO to make them more suitable for flares...
18 May, 2007
At the end fo the day I was reviewing the curves, not the astros. The idea behind the tapering may be the same as for astro nuts, but in my experiance it doesn't work on the curves, and I don't have any astros, so wouldn't know, and hence I didn't talk about how they are designed to work in flares but don't I was just trying to give an overall description of how well they perform, as opposed to a super technical description of them, or how they should perform
18 May, 2007
Fair point - was not trying to critise - just pointing out thats how metolius sell them and that as such they don't perform as well as they should... just trying to add something thats all...
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