UKC

DMM Baby Dragon Cams: Sizes 00 and 01

© Mick Ryan
Craig Smith reviews the DMM 'Baby Dragons', size 00 and 0, the latest additions to DMM's range of Dragon cams. The single stem cams have the same dual axle design as their larger counter-parts. DMM say: "These small but strong cams are ideally suited for protecting finger cracks and complete the range of our successful Dragon Cams. The silver colour coded Dragon 0 and blue 00 are comparable in size to the 4CU 1 and 0.5 respectively, although the Dragons are lighter with a greater range. The narrower head will also allow them to fit into smaller pockets."

photo
Baby Dragons
© DMM

Features

  • A lightweight single stem cam with dual axles
  • Special thumb grip and trigger bar for easy handling
  • Hot forged cam lobes to reduce weight
  • A6082 cam lobes for added bite
  • Original 13.75° camming angle
  • 14kN in passive position (sizes 1-6)
  • Fitted with extendable 8mm Dyneema slings
  • Colour coded to help you make a speedy identification

Well, the almighty capitalist machine chugs on, engulfing new continents and finding ever more ingenious ways to prize the last coppers out of our wallets that the Bankers didn't get. In my opinion, one of its latest wheezes is that prices are going up, but quality is dropping. Oh dear!

Demon 9  © Mick Ryan

Thankfully, against this prevailing wind, I think there are still one or two bastions of craftsmanship alive and kicking in the UK that care about quality. For example, Hope Technologies of Barnoldswick, Lancashire, who make bike components of the highest quality, come to mind, as do DMM of LLanberis Gwynedd, Wales. Here I will review DMM Dragons size 00 and 0, the latest additions to DMMs range of Dragon cams.

Since their introduction in the late 1970's spring-loaded camming devices have revolutionised climbing - period. As the story goes, on the seventh day Ray Jardine came up with the 13.75-degree constant radius and on the eight day he created what came to be known as Friends and the rest is history. No more did you have to worry about whether those opposing hexes in that horizontal break were a little bit iffy; just plug in a Friend and cruise to victory. Over the course of time, patents have lapsed and technologists have fathomed a myriad of variations on the spring-loaded camming theme. Today, like baked beans, the choice of camming devices is relatively large. I hope in this review to be able to convince you that although cams may look more or less the same, there are cams that stand out in terms of manufacturing quality and functionality.

The Dragon cam units are finely engineered, single stemmed, double axle camming devices similar in some respects to Black Diamond Camolots. They utilise the tried and extensively tested constant 13.75-degree cam angle that is by all accounts still the best balance between holding power and camming range. Out of the box they are shiny and look very much the part. No sharp edges or burrs, just the finest craftsmanship.

Demon 1  © Mick Ryan

Yes, they have four cams and a single stem, as opposed to being hooped. The stem and trigger are deigned for maximal ergonomic efficiency, making placement and removal smooth. The stem has a sleeve that can rotate made of a super tough material that serves to reduce stem abrasion and prevent damage to the all important stem and trigger wires. The thumb grip is colour coded so even when totally frenzied one can discern size. The stem design places the thumb in an optimum position so the fingers can grab and work the trigger. In use they work well in that I found the DMM set up allowed me to get a really positive grip on the trigger assemblage. It's a matter of preference, whether you like the thumb loop as features on Wild Country, Helium Friends, or the loopless design as featured on the Dragons since I found both designs worked equally well.

The new Dragons have an 8mm Dyneema sling that extends to a massive 23cm, so no need to extend these babies. As a side, Dymeena is very tough and abrasion resistant. If - and this is a big if - the sling does wear out or get damaged DMM offer a resling and overhaul service. I found the springs in the Dragons strong, which meant that the cams were resistant to being pulled out of slippy placements which is worth bearing in mind when you climb your next limestone roof cracks. The strong spring also meant that the potential for 'walking' was reduced.

Summary

All in all the Dragons I tested worked very well and I found myself reaching for them with confidence. One thing I did notice was that the trigger wires did not get caught up in the cams, as sometimes happens with cams from other makers. This can be rather worrying if you are trying to get a piece in quick.

As far as range and weight go, the smallest two Dragons are slightly lighter than their equivalent Wild Country Helium Friends and have more or less the same camming range. Interestingly, the larger sized Dragons are slightly heavier than Wild Country Helium friends. However, it takes 9 Wild Country Helium Friends ( sizes 0.0-4.0) weighing 1127g to cover more or less the same camming range* as 8 DMM Dragons (sizes 00-6) weighing 1101g, which may give some folk food for thought.

DMM Dragons are very nice and trustworthy cams that are entirely made in Wales with no compromise on quality of materials or manufacture. In fact you can rest assured that the DMM workforce have 25 years experience of making cams. Now there's a claim that few manufacturers still active today can claim!

* The total ranges are Dragons sizes 00-6 = 13.6-114mm compared to Wild Country Helium Friends sizes 0.0-4.0 = 14-102mm

"All in all DMM Dragons are very nice and trustworthy cams that are entirely made in Wales with no compromise on quality of materials or manufacture."

photo
Craig Smith on a new route near Hebden Bridge this weekend (22nd July). Climbed ground up and graded XS.
© Michael Ryan, Jul 2012


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 DMM



1 Nov, 2012
How did the loopless thumb pad feel in use in comparison to the looped Heliums and Camalots?
1 Nov, 2012
How do the head widths compare to other cams? In my eyes head width is one of the most important aspects of a small cam! Size 1 dragons are easily the best SLCD in their expansion range in this respect.
2 Nov, 2012
"renowned for his extensive wardrobe of lycra"...which I hope he kept hold of as it's bound to be 'in' again soon enough, and original examples will fetch big bucks on ebay.
2 Nov, 2012
It would be interesting to hear how these compare in size and quality to the Black Diamond C3s and Metolious 0/00.
3 Nov, 2012
No review of their holding power? Why not get on something steep, plug one in, back it up a little lower with a bomber gear nest and take a big lob on it? Surely how well they hold a fall is far more important than any other consideration. Also, how about a bit of abuse, jump up and down on them, mash them with a few rocks, see if that has any effect on their trigger wires/other aspects of performance. Obviously you can't get a perfect idea of long term wear and tear over a short review period but there's no harm subjecting them to a bit of the abuse they would normally receive from being sat on, thrown to the ground at the bottom or a rucksack, bent sharply over a lip during a fall, etc.
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