UKC

wanting some cams for my birthday, im only just starting out so what should i get? how many? what size? best deals?

In reply to shumidrives: Can't go too far wrong with DMM 4CUs. Available for less than £30 each from Needle Sports if you buy 3. 1.5, 2 and 2.5 is probably a good place to start for general cragging on grit and granite.

In reply to woody0606:

Yeah 4CUs are prefectly fine and cheap.

On the other hand you may spend your whole time wishing you had slightly better ones, so if you're that way inclined you might as well buy Dragons or Camalots to start with...

In reply to Daniel Heath: sizes???

In reply to shumidrives:

don't buy the cheap stuff. if you are serious about climbing, you will end up buying the best stuff later on. I would recommend camalots sizes 1, 2 and 3. After that get the 0.75, 0.5, 0.4. For smaller still, go for the metolious master cams when times get a bit more desperate.

In reply to shumidrives: Camalots. The 4CU may well be loads cheaper, that's because they aren't as versatile, and don't feel as solid when placed. I have both Camalots & 4CU's, the latter now gathers dust most of the time.

In reply to shumidrives:
My first and only cam is a dmm dragon 3.

Used it on every climb I've done since I got it!

Next up, a dragon 1 and a 4

In reply to shumidrives: I went for DMM Dragons 1,2&3. In smaller sizes I'm looking at another Dragon size 00, then under that I use Totems.

They are all bloody pricey though. However needlesports have Dragons for £40 each. Cheapest I can find the Totems is @£50.

In reply to markalmack:

Seconded

In reply to shumidrives: I like DMM 4cu/3cus, I have 3cus in the smaller sizes and 4cus in the larger. They seat well, easy to use and I like the extendable sling.

I've used other more expensive devices; however, they're not worth the extra expense to me.

My few pence worth.

ML.

In reply to Rog Wilko: thirded. I'd have saved quite a lot of money by just buying the good kit straight away.

Also worth considering that at some point in the next 5-10 years you will probably want to have them re-slung. If you get WC or DMM this is doable in the UK, but if you get BD you have to post them over the pond.

In reply to Rog Wilko:

Fourthed.

I can't stand dual-stemmed cams, they never inspire confidence. Dragons are pretty much as good as camalots. I like the mastercams a lot, but they don't get on well with sea cliffs.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham: Yes but rather surprisingly the service is free and all you have to pay for is one way P&P to the USA.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:
>

BUT it only takes about 2-3 weeks for BD to do them and WC takes over 1 week in my experience. Also BD don't charge for reslinging for UK customers and they post back for free, they also did my trigger wires for free, it cost me 12 quid to post 3 cams to them so a LOT cheaper too. (PS I now have only dragons, I sold my camalots as I prefer dragons!)

In reply to shumidrives: One thing to think about is how you rack them. I tend to rack 2 cams to a biner so even though I think the extendable sling on the Dragons is a really good idea it makes my method of racking a right royal PIA so I opted for BD C4's and C3's.

In reply to shumidrives:
V12 do a starter set of Dragons. Sizes 2, 3 &4 for £115. That was my first cam purchase and I like them. Not really tried any others in the same league, but they're much nicer than my friends' cheap ones.

In reply to Hooo: IMO its not the type of cams you buy that are likely to hold back your climbing, they all basically work fine.

True. It's just more faff, though; I try to avoid international post if possible!

There's also the supporting the local business aspect. Don't get me wrong, I love my camalots and don't regret buying them but if they were all stolen tomorrow I'd replace with DMM.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:
I like DMM kit its beautifully manufactured. The dragons with their forging process and excellent design are right at the cutting edge of cam manufacturing just now IMO.

In reply to CurlyStevo:

AFAIK the cam lobes on WC cams are identical, because DMM make them as well.

In reply to shumidrives:

How many... Depends how generous someone is feeling since they're presumably a gift. They're often a fair bit cheaper bought in sets of 3 or more.

Which ones to go for... If they're for sale in uk shops they'll be good and safe. The best choice of design for small, medium and large cams may not be the same so don't be afraid to go for more than one design as you build your rack, try before you buy and buy what you like. Where possible I'd suggest going for British made cams, support British business and there's no compromise on performance or quality, they're right up there at the moment.

What size... Mid size. Cams for the features you're climbing at the moment or will be soon. Generally that's finger and hand size (adjust for your local rock type and route preference), maybe fists. Wild Country 1, 2 and 3 is a pretty good staring point or the similar 'half' size set, whichever you prefer (Size comparison charts exist for comparing to DMM, BD, Metolius etc).

Options... There's nothing fundamentally wrong with 4CU or other dual stem cams (I have several 3CU and they're great) if you're on a budget, they're nicely made and work as well as others in the vast majority of placements. They can be a little more prone to kinking in a fall so if you hammer them they may not last as well as others. That said, I doubt the majority of cams ever see a fall! These days in a world of price matching and special offers they may not be the bargain they once were though. Shop around but bare in mind climbing shops with a physical presence in climbing areas are a valuable resource, support them when you can.

jk

In reply to shumidrives:

Something to bear in mind.

You can usually get very good deals on second hand, cams from people on here.

Making it just as cheap to buy top quality gear.

In reply to shumidrives: Very good offers on Heliums at Needlesports at the moment. Though personally I have a full set of Dragons, individually racked on colour-coordinated phantom crabs. Love them. BD C3s/WC zeros for the small stuff. The 1 2 3 set of Dragons would be my starting point, or if you're sufficiently well heeled, get all of them.

In reply to ChrisBrooke: "individually racked on colour-coordinated phantom crabs"

definitely the way to go IMO

In reply to CurlyStevo:

Yup. I had a bit of an OCD attack last year and bought colour-coordinating krabs for all my cams. Makes it a damn sight easier to grab the right krab off your harness when in extremis.

Plus it just looks prettier.

In reply to jkarran:

Top advice!

My 2p worth, I have used BD, WC and all 3 DMM models. I have 4CU's and have no intention of changing them they perform just as we'll as any other brand or model and the placement is as good as the hand that is placing them, they have a large range (10 I think?) which means I can choose the sizes to take on a route.

It's a bonus that you can three for under ninety quid and five for £120 I think.

In reply to Jimbob11:

Rarely, when I'm falling, is my first thought "I'm glad I got the cheapest cams I could find".