UKC

Never have myself, but some swear by them.Do tell...

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

Yep, always carry the smallest (pink) one with me. especially good for small horizontal placements and pockets when a nut won't go in.

In reply to nickinscottishmountains: Not yet but I have ordered the two smallest ones from needlesports.co.uk and once they arrive I will be able to tell you!

They are ment to be really good for small pockets and horizontal cracks.

Daniel

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:Yes I use them in akward finger/hand cracks that will not take good nut/hex placements. I know that doesn't sound like a particularly helpful statement but it is that simple they just sometimes sit far more securely, probably where a crack does not taper in the best way for a nut/hex to grip and where the surfaces are to uneven for a good cam placement.

In reply to nickinscottishmountains: Thanks guys-pretty good consensus here. Next stop for me-the till at climbing shop with a handful of tricams!

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

I've used them for shotholes and the odd horizontal break, when their good they are smashing.

when they're not so good I'd rather fall on an RP0.

I'll always favour a nut or sprung cams


hose

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

They are great for small Millstone peg-scars. Also the red one can be a vital runner on Pool Wall at Lawrencefield. Without it you need to place a big Rock 3 that fills your finger slot and makes the move desperate or impossible, with it you can place a small RP at the base of the finger slot and back it up with the tri-cam below in a break that is too shallow to take a Friend. Tested this with a fall and the Tri-cam held, the RP didn't.

Alan

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

was watching an ascent of Adios Amigos at Millstone last weekend- the protection used in the shot holes was a nut placed in wire 1st with the wire bent back over the nut and protruding from the wall- the placements appeared bomber- any weight applied cams the nut into position- the second had no end of trouble removing one (he said they usually come out fairly easily by hooking a nut key through the loop of wire at the 'nut' end)

having said that- the wire looked pretty manky after the event- but it's a technique worth bearing in mind for an emergency

In reply to Removed User:

If bedded properly, bent over nuts can work in horizontal breaks as well. I must admit I used to swear by Tricams but now I can afford Aliens I only use Tricams when the route has shot holes, weird pockets or on long mountaineering routes where they provide a useful lightweight backup if you have used you cam (or nut!) of that size down below.

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

Yanks and Canucks swear by them. Great for icey cracks, where a cam or hex will not bite into any rime/ice.

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

I have one of the red slung TriCams, given by a friend mainly as a curiosity because he never used it, and I think their brilliant. Even though it doesn't get used that often its always on my rack because when it does get called up for active service it has always been the only thing that will fit in a vital placment. I use it most in horizontal breaks that won't take a nut/hex or my smallest friend, shot holes where it rules because I don't have any swanky new narrow cams, and thin roof cracks.

In reply to Izzy:When it comes to novelty value if you hold them the right way up they look like the head of the Egyptian dog headed god, Anubus i think he's called. this can be used in an emergancy to keep bored kids amused at the crag, always handy.

In reply to Alan James, ROCKFAX: For those of us trying to translate between sling colours and Tricam sizes, the following was determined by a brief investigation of the C.A.M.P. web site (www.camp.it):

Size: Sling Colour:
0.5 Pink
1 Red
2 Violet
3 Dark Blue
4 Green
5 Orange
6 Yellow
7 Mustard Yellow

Note that the above sizes do not correspond with those listed on the Needlesports web site, but the overall range looks right (ie eight sizes altogether).

So, based on what people have said here, it looks like sizes 0.5 and 1 may be the most useful?

C.A.M.P. also list the Ball Nuts in their online catalogue. I've heard of these things, but never seen a live one. Anyone ever used one?

In reply to Martin W:

You can see my "ball nuts" if you want...

In reply to Martin W: 0.5 & 1 are the ones that seem to be recomended the most on most sites I have looked at.

In reply to Daniel: Is the red one (Size 1) the one that goes into the shot holes at Millstone?

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:

Can anyone tell me why they are so called? Is it because there should be 3 points touching the rock?

Blenner

In reply to blenner: They are a curved piece of metal which forms 3 prongs on the concave side.

In reply to Martin W:I use the 1,red, 20-30mm/ 2,violet, 29-41 and the 2.5, blue, 32-48 all good for finger-hand cracks and reckon the 0.5 and 1.5 would also be great.

If you mean the ball and wedge type devices I tested some of the smaller sizes for a mate who sells Camp gear and they were great in very thin cracks the only reason I dont have a set is that there arent many of that type of routes in my area.

In reply to Clach na Benn: So does anyone know if the red one is the one for Millstone's shot holes? I want to buy a tricam, but will only use it there, so the purchase has to be right first time. Can anyone help?

In reply to nickinscottishmountains:
have the bottom 3 sizes and use them a lot as already mentioned Horizontal and some vertical placements

Have also lowered off the size 2 from a very shallow horizontal placement then absailed to get it back a bit

But then again my freind will not touch them

In reply to Clach na Benn:
Yeah Lowe balls are great for limestone for the thin cracks, and on granite for the same and also fits well in to tiny little placements you can just find and don't work for anything else. They are especially good for these as the ball bit moves so if the placement is small but also wedges a little thiner towards the front of the placement then they can feel really secure, and fit in places that you'd be very lucky to get a nut in to.

Tricamsm hmmmmm haven't used my one yet, I think it's a size up from the smallest... I think the smallest sizes are the most usefull as they can go places that other pro won't go....

In reply to Phil West:

Thank you!

In reply to Clach na Benn and others: Looking at the sizes, it seems to me that the 0.5 (16mm-28mm) and the 1.0 (20mm-30mm) overlap a lot. If you get the 0.5 because it's the smallest, then the next logical one would seem to me to be the 1.5 (26mm-38mm).

Oh, and I've just noticed (by the subtle technique of scrolling up one screen's worth) that Needlesports do the Ball Nuts as well. At £27.85 they look as if they might compare well price-wise against tiny cams, but too expensive to buy one just to try it I think.

Thanks to all for your comments, by the way. I feel some shiny new gear may be heading towards my rack soon...

In reply to Martin W:

Great for the Gunks and Alpine routes.......

On a related note.....Big hexes...great for big routes and cheaper than cams if you have to leave any behind for whatever reason.

Mick

In reply to Mick - Rockfax USA: How big? I have WC Rockcentrics 5 to 9. I've thought of renting the size 9 out as a bedsit...

In reply to Martin W:I also have a size 9 Rockcentric and think that if i could make a hinged lid to fit it would make a great breadbin.....

Any other ideas for the "big un" ?

In reply to johnt:

My Rockcentric 9's almost always on my rack. Nothing beats the feeling of security as it cams into a large crack.

It's great for keeping off the dive-bombing seagulls at Chair Ladder, too.

In reply to Rob Naylor: Monster size hexes and rockcentrics are great but beware I was once thrashing around trying to remove a wedged in hex 9 that my mate had placed and then leaned on, when it suddenly came pinging out at high velocity and got me straight in the forehead. I briefly saw lots of pretty little stars and swayed around a bit before comming back to full reality. Big hexes are so big they can knock you out.

In reply to Clach na Benn: I got to the top of Paradise Wall (Crack?) at Stanage years ago and it was freezing in the wind (as it often is). I had three attempts at throwing some rope down so that my second could tie my jacket on, but the wind kept blowing the coils back in my face. I coiled the rope again, but this time I tied a fig 8 and clipped my size 10 hex on. I swung it about my head and threw it as hard as I could towards my belayer. About 1.5 seconds later the hex loomed very large in my vision as the wind blew it straight back at me. I ducked as it winged past my eye and landed on the crag-top path 20ft behind me!
So my vote for uses of large hexes has got to be as a weapon.

In reply to Phil West:

Not sure of the exact size, but inverted rock 9s on cord are supposed to be bomber in those Edge Lane holes, and certainly have been for me on the slate and at Avon (is there a standard quarrying dynamite hole size?) so you could just compare sizes at the gear shop. Don't the ones on Masters take a big Alien now too?

In reply to Phil West:

Size 2.5 blue i think, assuming this combination exists!, for the millstone holes.

In reply to nickinscottishmountains: Well, I've got a 0.5, 1.5 2.5 and 3.5 tricam; the 0.5 gets a lot of use in situations as described above, the 1.5 gets a bit, and the 3.5 has been placed a couple of times out of boredom / curiosity only. The 0.5 especially always goes out with me, it's great when little else works. My single experience of a ballnut ended in a 30ft ground fall - it's a long story - and perhaps just as well the paramedics left it at the crag when they scraped me off the deck...(thanks gents).
Otherwise, on the uses for hexes (I have a number 9, actually a cross-section of the factory where hexes are made). Simply string an 8 and a 9 together and you have either a killer bolo or a very handy set of cow-bells. The new rockcentrics make an especially pleasing note.

In reply to bb:


another trick with the old style hexes is to insert a 6 inbetween two 8's and you get a huge 12 or so....

In reply to hoseyb: Ahh now we're on to stacking gear. Hmmmmm! I remember an article in OTE a while back where aluminium kettles (stacked?) had been used for pro - think it was George Smith, Noel Crane or Crispin Waddy somewhere on the Lleyn or Anglesey.It was a route named as a homage to Morley Wood (Brewing up with Morley Wood, I recall). I love unusual placements and inventiveness with gear.

In reply to Phil West:

Morley Wood’s on the slate (in those woods opposite Llanberis across Llyn Padarn somewhere, I think) and was put up by Martin Crook. I think various items of household equipment have also been used on the Lleyn, but I don’t know the details.

Anyone know if the Morley Wood kettle’s in situ, btw?

In reply to Paz:

Inverted Rock 9 on Spectra certainly goes in quite comfortably on Edge Lane. Bomber - well, I'm afraid we didn't test it. I believe 2.5 Aliens are the kit of choice for our sponsored heroes in Millstone boreholes these days, but I stand to be corrected. I'd imagine a 3' length of suitably planed down and tied-off 2x2 would be just fine, too - an idea I think Richard McHardy had a long time before me.

In reply to Phil West:


they didn't stack the kettles, just placed them.

one on slate (don't know if its still there Mr M)

on the lleyn, I seem to remember the placement of car jacks, kettles, house bricks etc.



I met someone who had a buoy on his rack.... And they claimed to have fallen on it as well. A little scary, but with a little beach combing you could have a full rack.


hose

In reply to hoseyb:
We have belayed on a float from a lobster pot jammed in a crack, fantastic. 8" wide threads.

In reply to hoseyb:

An ascent without stacking is an ascent without dignity.

There's a story in the Arran guide about a 50's FA team using an inflatable dinghy as gear in some chimney (possibly as a sort of proto-bouldering mat?) but I can't remember the route.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

I prefer "a route without humour is a route without heart".


even in the dark places, a little stacking or comedy placements (If you're gonna die, you might as well die lighter...) can lighten things enough to see youre way to the finish.

Gryppe Typpe thynne had two examples of this. One pleasent suprise for my second; a tidily clipped shrub blooming sweetly, and as I set off from one of the belays I made belayer Noakes smile a bit by lifting off a nearby flake, dropping a nut behind and lovingly replacing it to hold the gear in place. Bomber.


I love climbing.....


hose

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Think I'd prefer a just under 2*(root 2) diameter steel pipe my self, it's a big lob to take on to a bit of wood on those aretes.

In reply to Paz:

>just under 2*(root 2) diameter<

Is that right. Pi must come into it, surely?

In reply to Paz: Yeah I had that idea too - a long time ago I was looking at EL and thinking of welding some sort of contraption out of 3 scaffolding type poles in a triangular formation on a frame....

Ummmm yes it was a bit mad, probably quite unethical, and certainly impossible to place en-route...

In reply to johncoxmysteriously: You can eat your pi when you've climbed the route.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Pi tells you about the circumferance and area so no. I think the biggest square you can get in a circle is when the diameter equals the diagonal length of it which is where it comes from.

In reply to Paz:

Oh right, you mean a square steel pipe. I was envisaging a round one, just fitting.

Does Great Arete have any of these handy shotholes, I wonder (anyone?)

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:


Not quite right, John. The route is Nuis Chimney (130m VS *). According to the SMC book, the inflatable dingy was debris from a crashed WWII bomber, and was retrieved on abseil by members of the Fell and Rock Club in 1946. This was after the second ascent of the route earlier that year by Dowman and Buckley (the first ascent was in 1901!)

The guidebook relates: "Dowman [used] the head and shoulders of Paddy Buckley to surmount the crux, Buckley using the handy wing spar of an Allied bomber (called Skipper and the Kids) to follow." I wonder if this is the first recorded example of toiletries being used as aid? (Think about it.)