UKC

I've been thinking about getting some micro cams for a while. Wild Country have just released the Zero Friends, and the DMM Dragonflies and BD Z4s have also come out recently. They'll all a pretty similar price, and since I'm probably not going to be playing with them in a shop any time, does anyone have experience with these models and opinions?

The Zeros are the smallest, the Dragonflies the cheapest and the Z4s have this rigidifying stem but no extendable sling. It really seems hard to know what I need and what I don't - I've never used micros before, only full sized cams, which in the small sizes I'm never too happy with in terms of how they sit.

I had the same decision to make recently, and came to the conclusion that they are all pretty similar. I think the green Dragonfly is the smallest cam available currently, unless you mean in terms of head width - maybe WC Zeros are narrower, I'm not sure.

I ended up going with the WC Zeros, mostly out of novelty value as other people I climb with have the DMM Dragonflies. I also liked that they have more metal in their construction. I haven't tried the Z4s but didn't really like the plasticy look of them.

There's a good thread with photos comparing the Zeros, Z4s, Aliens and Dragonflies (and probably more) here:

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/118029262/wild-country-zero-fri...

This post has come at the perfect time. I'm in the process of writing a Micro Cams group test including the Dragonflies, Wild Country Zeros, BD Z4s and Metolius Master cams. It's a bit early for me to give any kind of verdict yet as I haven't had chance to use them all enough (thanks Covid + rain), but I can tell you for now that when I reviewed the Dragonflies I really liked them. Here's a link to that review:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/climbing/protection/dmm_dragonfly_micro_cam...

If you have any specific question let me know and I'll try to answer as best I can - I have all of them here with me apart from the Z4s which Rebecca Ting is currently reviewing. I'm looking at an August/Sept publication for the group test by the way.

WC might not be able to replace old or damaged slings on their cams.  DMM do. 

Ah nice, perhaps I should have bided my time before making my choice

Designed and made in the UK.

DMM will replace slings.

Brilliant company with great ethos.

I recently got a set of Dragonfly cams and really like them; they work well in thin cracks (of course), but also they have slim heads which often fit nicely in small elliptical pockets. Zeros sound very good too, though, and I'm sure they do pretty much the same things.

Personally, I'd rule out any cams lacking extendable slings, which I think are a big asset - I can often halve the number of quickdraws I would otherwise carry

DMM Dragonflies - Designed and made in the UK.

DMM will replace slings.

Brilliant company with great ethos.

Yep!   Like I said. 

Yeah sorry I meant the Zeros are narrowest, which that thread seems to confirm. Useful link, thanks

Awesome thanks, I look forward to the full review.

Does the flexible stem on the Dragonflies make them more fiddly to place than the others?

Isn’t a flexible stem pretty much essential with such a small cam, your going to want to place it in horizontal cracks too?

sorry this post is quite long and rambling but hopefully a good starting point until Theo's full review

The Dragonfly:
I have had a full set of dragonflies since they came out (first used them 1st july 2019). They are really nice, easy to handle and as previously mentioned the extender sling is a big bonus over the Z4s and Master cams. They are reassuring and have taken a grade off some routes as well as being super flexible. The poor flexibility of Master cams in the smaller sizes is why I would never ever consider them as micro cams.

I have a few reservations however having used the dragonflies that you probably won't find in existing reviews: 
The trigger wires have a tendency to keep catching on the cam head and the cams often feel sticky (need to oil them again something I rarely had to do with my previous Totem basic - still the best micro cams I've used).

On one of the cams the little lug that attaches the trigger wire to the cam lobe fell off one of first times I went out rendering the cam completely useless. The retailer replaced and dealt with DMM. Apparently this known issue has been rectified and was only a problem on some of the first batches but it has always left me slightly uneasy that it could happen again and if I was mid route it could leave me in a sticky situation.

The sizing of the larger dragonflies sizes sit between the sizes of the existing Dragon cams (or the very similar and same colour Camalots, C4s and Friends). This is a big bonus for getting the correct size cam for the placement where it really matters as it does on smaller placements (not over camed but not loose either). However it is also a complete nightmare as the cams are the same colour where they overlap, this means when leading in a stressful situation and you reach for your purple cam for instance you now find that you now need to make to make sure you grab the correct purple cam when previously you would just grab the purple cam for that size placement. This issue has been completely overlooked in all reviews I've seen so far but have heard others complain of the same thing, and from several partners when borrowing them. It also means that mixing between different brands of micro cams could leave you with a bigger gap in your range than a overlap.

Leaving my reservations aside this is still an excellent choice and the larger number number of placement options a full set has opened up is incredible.

The Z4s:
Have played with these in a shop, they feel really well made and look really durable. As with all BD cams the trigger action is supper smooth. The stem going stiff when you pull back the trigger but goes floppy once placed is a really nice feature and should be really useful when sliding the cam inside a crack to the optimum placement or placing the cam at full reach. Another advantage I can see over the competition is the narrower head of the smallest cam (i haven't checked the others) is about 5mm smaller than the Dragonfly which will mean you will be able to get the Z4 into much smaller openings (or the trailing end of the cam when you insert it at an angle into even smaller openings easier that you wouldn't with a wider cam). You are also more likely to get a good placement where the placement is only parallel or good relative to the cam size for small width in a break or crack, this is important as with such small sizes a good placement is critical if you don't want the cam to blow.
The sizing issue I previously mentioned with the dragonflies is not an issue with the Z4s as the sizes match up with the existing C4/Friends/Dragons colours and sizes.
If you are into headpointing or aid climbing they also come in offset versions with split colour slings and cam heads to the corresponding cams which is a really neat design feature.

I'm considering buying a set of these and selling my dragonflies as I've been so impressed with them so far despite the drawback of not having a extender sling.

The Zero Friend
Again only played in the shop: These don't go as small as the Dragonflies but instead go slightly bigger like the old Alien cams did though for many the smallest dragonfly is only going to be of use on harder climbs and won't be missed. They have a beefier feel than the other cams and look like they are built to last however this means they feel slightly stiffer than the Dragonfly and Z4 but still supper flexible, certainly compared to the smaller Master cams. Again the sizes match up in the larger existing Friends/Dragons & C4s sizes so will avoid the issues of the dragonfly sizes. One reservation is how durable the shaped trigger wires will be after some use, when new they mean the wire is held clear of the head when you pull the trigger and would be better for sliding down inside a crack, however inevitably they are going to get pulled and miss shaped and i wonder how much this will affect the trigger action. I could see a set of Red to Blue or silver fitting in really well with mine or most peoples racks.

Totem Cams
Not a true micro cam but the smallest sizes (black/Blue&yellow 0.5-0.8) should be sufficient for many climbers not wanting the very tiniest cams. for their size they a probably my favourite cam, and well worth considering even if the price is slightly higher.

So I've got a set of c4's and am in the process of doubling up the mid sized with dragons. Would you go silver dragonfly or stick to the dragons?

also consider the totem basics, although similar to the dragon flies. they are great in limestone imo (I know quite specific but something too consider if you climb on it a lot). the only problem is I think there may be a short supply of them as I think the totem factory had to move to a bigger place in Spain , so it slowed down production. 

When you do your review, please include the black totem. It is a most wonderful thing. 

Long time since they’ve been available I think, sadly.

Hi Dave

Got to agree about my new black Totem, a thing of wonder .

Chris

Basics aren't in production anymore. 

It's true, and a thread about micro-cams cannot be complete without mentioning the black Totem. Love mine so much.

I second the DMM dragonflies.

Firstly, thanks to Graeme for writing the group test for me

On the notes of the Black Totem: I've been thinking about including this and think you're all right, it's definitely micro-cam sized and is totally brilliant as you get all the benefits of a regular sized cam (i.e it's not super small and so the entire unit is more sturdy and less subject to deformation than a micro cam). There's also an argument for including the blue and yellow Totems as the micro cams in the review feature 'micro' versions of the regular sized cams (blue, silver, purple Dragon sizes), and the blue and yellow totems are the same sizes with similarly narrow head widths...

For reference here's my review of the Black (and Orange) Totems: https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/climbing/protection/new_totem_cams_black_an...

You're also right about the Totem Basics: they're great, but they're no longer in production. I will mention them in the review. On that note, has anyone got a spare set they want to sell!?

In reply to Danbow73: Silver Dragonfly or Silver Dragon? 

Here's the size comparison from my Dragonfly review:

5 Silver (15.1-22.5mm, 9kN) Overlapping with silver 0 Dragon (16-25mm) but slightly smaller and much narrower head width.

So the Silver Dragon fits slightly larger placements and has a much wider head (unfortunately I don't have a Silver Dragon here to compare exactly). To answer your question I would say it depends what you want to use it for: is it going to be your only cam of that size? And if so will you be using it generally? In which case I'd probably go for the Silver Dragon as it will probably last longer - it's generally more robust. If it's going to be your second cam of that size I'd be tempted to go for the Silver Dragonfly as the head is really narrow and it's a nice piece of kit. Alternatively, the Yellow Totem has both narrow head width and durability, so that could be one to think about.