UKC

Wild Country Big Friends: Sizes 5 and 6 Review

© Mick Ryan UKC and UKH

Wild Country Big Friend: size 5  © Mick Ryan UKC and UKH
Wild Country Big Friend: size 5
© Mick Ryan UKC and UKH

Craig Smith reviews Wild Country's new 'Big Friends': Sizes 5 and 6.

Features

  • 13.75 cam angle
  • Single axle
  • Single stem
  • Scaled head width
  • Full floating trigger
  • Independent cam triggering
  • Full strength cam stops
  • Colour coded
  • 12mm Dyneema sling

Summary Table

Friend No. Colour Size Range (mm) Head Width (mm) Strength (kN) Weight (g)
5 Red 84-138 87 14 339
6 Green 118-194 120 14 533


"...I'm going to die."

I looked up in horror as the tube chock Johnny had placed slipped out and spiraled down the rope, coming to rest on a Friend 4. Johnny continued to struggle with the off-width, oscillating between sobbing and cursing. He was high enough on the route so as to make his last piece, the Friend 4, redundant. A fall from his current position would without doubt be to the ground and the best-case scenario was serious injury. I stood there cringing, scared to watch what I thought were the final moments of probably our finest climber.

This was 1983, the Johnny in question was Johnny Woodward, who without doubt is one of the most talented climbers I have shared a rope with. The largest Friend in production at the time was size 4. Death Crack, the crack Johnny was leading, needed bigger pro to make it safe, but all we had back then were tube chocks. Thankfully, Johnny made it to the top without falling, a lead of such prowess that it is still fresh in my aging memory.

Craig Smith and a rack of Wild Country Friends including the new Big Friends; size 5 (red) and 6 (green)  © Mick Ryan UKC and UKH
Craig Smith and a rack of Wild Country Friends including the new Big Friends; size 5 (red) and 6 (green)
© Mick Ryan UKC and UKH

"...An enduring problem with large devices has been their propensity to 'walk' into cracks or in some cases twist sideways and fall out..."

Craig Smith on the first ascent of Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun E3 5c/6a, The Roost, Hebden Bridge  © Mick Ryan UKC and UKH
Craig Smith on the first ascent of Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun E3 5c/6a, The Roost, Hebden Bridge
© Mick Ryan UKC and UKH

Over the last three decades, climbing protection has continued to improve. Undoubtedly, this factor has enabled the sport to advance. Large camming devices have tamed climbing wide cracks. Here I will review Wild Country Technical Friends sizes 5 and 6, cams that were essential for the successful ascent of probably the World's hardest off-width crack, Century Crack.

On first acquaintance these large Friends look a little otherworldly, like obese relatives of the already extensive Wild Country range. But don't let their size put you off, in use they perform amazingly well. They are easy to place, thanks to the ergonomic trigger and they sit solidly once placed. An enduring problem with large devices such as these has been their propensity to 'walk' into cracks or in some cases twist sideways and fall out of the placement.

Friends 5 and 6 have been designed to minimize these problems by incorporating strong springs and by having an optimum head width – basically this equates to the length of the axel that separates the pairs of cams. The head width of these large Friends is the widest of any cam on the market, meaning that they are very stable once placed. In use I experienced no walking or twisting out of the cams, an attribute that instilled confidence and lessened the frequency of trouser filling reflexes.

There is an on going battle of words between the major cam makers regarding weight versus the range of any given cam. In my opinion, the differences between the players are fairly minor. On a size for size basis, Friends are slightly lighter than comparable Black Diamond Camalots, but all we are talking about here is the weight of a bag of Bacon Fries (24g) between WC 6 and Camalot 6 or a bag of Minstrels (42g) between WC 5 and BD Camalot 5. As far as range is concerned BD Camalots just pip Friends, but again the differences are really negligible in my opinion.

"...On first acquaintance these large Friends look a little otherworldly, like obese relatives of the already extensive Wild Country range..."

photo
Placing the Wild Country Big Friend: size 6 on the FA of Set The Controls For The Heart of the Sun E3 5c/6a
© Mick Ryan UKC and UKH

In these times of hardship, unless you're a banker, price is a big factor. Well, if you shop around you should be able to score Friends 5 or 6 for less than £90 each. This may sound like a lot for a single device, but it's the going rate for cams of this size irrespective of brand and you certainly get a lot of cam for your money! Furthermore, unless you are thinking of 'treating' yourself to an off width frenzy, you probably only need one of each size in your gear arsenal. Certainly, for most situations in the UK one of each should be enough.

Summary

However, if you plan visiting the States to sample some of their fine cracks then you may want to purchase more than one of each or simply go old school and stock up on toilet paper.

Wild Country Big Friend: size 5  © Mick Ryan UKC and UKH
Wild Country Big Friend: size 5
© Mick Ryan UKC and UKH

About Craig Smith

Craig has climbed on and off for more than 30 years. He has established many new routes at home and abroad that have become recognised as major classics including The Great Flake at Caley, Gin Palace at Vivian and Conan the Librarian at Gogarth to name but a few. He was one of the UK's first sponsored climbers and a frequent magazine cover boy, renowned for his extensive wardrobe of Lycra. These days he earns his money lecturing physiology at the University of Manchester and dabbles in fell running, mountain biking and climbing.


For more information Wild Country/Big Friends



10 May, 2012
Off-topic a bit, but relates to the photos in the article: does that E3 go straight up the crack of The Senate after starting in the chimney? Cheers, Pete.
12 May, 2012
what about the size 4 dragon 4cu cam, It's almost as big as the wild country size 5 and you can pick one up for less than £30
15 May, 2012
However Rock Empire Pulsar cams do come in similar large sizes at 1/3 of the price (as advertised on everything-outdoors.co.uk) Rock Empire Flexible Pulsar Cam size 6 Size 6 - Weight 258g, Strength 12 kN, Size Range 73-115 mm. Price: £28.99 (Including: VAT at 17.5%) Rock Empire Flexible Pulsar Cam size 7 Size 7 - Weight 322g, Strength 12 kN, Size Range 90-145 mm Price: £29.99
15 May, 2012
I've found that Rock Empire cams not to last as well as the more popular makes. That said I guess for sizes you don't use often, that's not the end of the world.
15 May, 2012
//www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.html?id=47986 I don't think they are quite as big as the big friends. The 6 is the same size as a silver Camalot (dragon 6 I think) but with less range. The 7 is a bit bigger but not hugely. They are light and cheap, but the slings on them are rubbish (too short doubled) and they walk a lot more the more expensive models - probably to do with spring strength. I don't trust them to stay in place in the same way I do with my other more expensive cams. Overall I'd say they are MUCH better than nothing, but not as good as the BD/WC equivalents.
More Comments
Loading Notifications...
Facebook Twitter Copy Email