UKC

My trad rack is pushing 10 years of age and I've decided its time to replace/update my gear, well more update than replace as I have only ever had two SLCD's the rest has been my tri-cams and hexes complimented by other peoples kit. Not looking for the cheapest, or the most bling, but am interested in good solid, reliable gear.

Whats the current consensus on lightweight camming devices? Whats peoples favorites nowadays? I really like the old DMM 3CU's as they seem to fit everywhere, but wondering if the 4CU's or Dragon cams have any merits?

My nuts are ok, but have been thinking about ditching my Zero G nuts and getting some offsets and small nuts to compliment my wallnuts.

As above, whats peoples favorites? I'm looking for ease of placement, what are peoples thoughts on the DMM offsets and peenuts, any others worth looking at?

You may notice I've only mentioned DMM protection, as that's all I'm really familiar with. But any thoughts from other brands is appreciated

In reply to GarethSL:

The new about-to-appear WC friends perhaps?
http://www.outside.co.uk/latest/news/The-Very-Best-of-Friends

In reply to GarethSL:

I'd be looking at Totem Cams:

http://www.totemcams.com/

The Totem for standard sizes, Basics for smaller sizes.

The new WC cams look like the best of the Dragon/Camalot but the Totem seem to get rave reviews for holding ability which, when all said and done, is what you REALLY want......

In reply to GarethSL:

I'd definitely get a set of the DMM alloy offsets, you can usually find a full set for about £35 or so, which is pretty reasonable. The gold and blue I find are especially useful on many limestone pitches, only issue is the wires seem to become bent/twisted more easily than my regular BD stoppers...

In reply to GarethSL:

For normal sized cams, either Dragons or Camalots. Even though I mainly have Dragons, I'd prolly get the new lighter Camalot Ultralights were I buying now.

While sometimes the double sling on Dragons is nice... more often than not, it's too darn fiddly.

For smaller sizes (say camalot size 0.5 or 0.4), I'd prolly get Totem Basics and some Hybrids. Fixe Alien Evo might also be another option.

In reply to Coel Hellier:

I have my eye on these too. Does anyone have any info about availability? I saw one review that mentioned "spring 2016", which seems a bit vague.

(Edit: the review was probably the one you referenced!)

In reply to Laurence20:

I had noticed dmm wire seems to bend quite easily, my zero g nuts have a couple of kinks on the other hand. Nice to know the BD stoppers are OK in that regard

In reply to GarethSL:

I don't think you could go wrong with a set of C4s. Ultralights or otherwise, brilliant cam.

In reply to GarethSL:

I think I've got the best possible cam setup. The 4 Totem basics, then a green BD X4 (next best thing to a totem basic, but in the next up size), then camalots for the rest (although the new WC Tech Friends might be a step up from them).

In reply to GarethSL:
I have the Totem Basics and BD C4s up to size 5. I'd recommend both, particularly the Totems. I have a WC micro cam too but I wouldn't trust it to hold much of a fall, to be fair it is tiny but the lobes just don't seem to stick like the Totems.

In reply to HeMa:

Just to give the opposing view, I have Dragons and wouldn't go back to being without the doubled sling. On my old Tech Friends, I very rarely placed them without adding a quickdraw. It's possible that I'm just paranoid about rope lines and walking but I really rate the doubled sling, it's meant I can carry fewer draws on a lot of routes and I can clip cams quicker and more conveniently too.

Having said that, my second hates retrieving them so I suppose it also depends on how often you'll be seconding on them and/or how much you like your second.

In reply to Luke90:


Don't second that much, but most of the stuff I climb is quite sustained or even cruxy and sadly short. So ropedrag rarely is a problem, but fiddly gear is... As in gettin' up the climb might be if I can get the gear in quickly enough.


A bit different story on longer and easier (mountain/alpine) routes, but then again I mostly use 60cm slings then. So I rarely use the extended portion and if I need to extend, well it's usually with 60cm slings. But other people have other needs, and for them the extended sling might be a really valuable thing. Just not for me.

In reply to GarethSL:
Hi,
If you like the 3CU then the 4CU would make a good cheap robust rack. If cost is not a consideration then look at the non "basic" Totem would be my advice, could go for the blue basic for one size under, for sizes bigger my stock answer would be BD C4s, though it has to be said the new Wild Country dual axel might be worth holding on for, I did have a play with some demo ones and they do have a nice feel.

As a tricam owner you must have an eye for gear, for something a bit different from wallnuts have a look at metolius curve nuts, for me they work somewhere between nuts and offsets and do well in small sizes on limestone. Though my second set of wires recently is curve nuts up to 4 then WC super light offsets above.

Though my rack choices are generally a little like marmite!

Wayne

In reply to Wayne S:

Actually curve nuts would be my go to if I was to replace my walnuts, I've used them a few times and really liked them

In reply to GarethSL:

I have a set of totem basics and C4's in larger sizes. I'm pretty happy with this setup, the totems are amazing. I've fallen on them all at some point and happy that they will stick in a good placement. The narrow head lets you wiggle them into some odd placements that a C4 can't get into as well. My only wish is that they made a size black one (as per the original aliens), I currently have an X4 red to plug this gap and whilst i'm satisfied with it. It comes nowhere near the quality of the basics (i'm rather glad I got basics over a set of X4's).

I think for larger cams (Dragons, Friends, Camelot's), it comes down to ergonomics. I personally really like a thumb loop but don't find an extendable sling that necessary, thus camalots. I know others that are the opposite. If you want something different then the totem cams come in larger sizes as well, given the quality of the basics i'd have high hopes for them. The only problem I can see is that they look a bit bulky to rack.

In reply to GarethSL:

I've owned and used Camalot C4s, Dragons, 4CUs, Metolius, rigid, technical and Helium Friends, and CCH Aliens. As others said, the differences between Dragons, C4s and latest Friends are marginal as they converge on the same design. I’m interested if people recommending C4s (for example) above have climbed with Totems. In my view, Totems are better than any of the above for UK or European trad. climbing: they stick where others don’t without significantly sacrificing range, weight, robustness, or handling.

...as good as anything else in good placements, better than anything else in awkward, flared, or marginal placements.

From a longer review: https://www.coldmountainkit.com/knowledge/reviews/330-totem-cam-review
Gold and black versions are apparently imminent, the full range will then cover 95% of UK trad. placements.

I paid full price for mine and have no connection with the shop, importer, or manufacturer. I could use a black and gold (and a second set) and obviously I’m open to sponsorship or bribery!

In reply to duncan:

I think that I know your co-reviewer and feel sure that he'd endorse your recommendation.

In reply to duncan:


Depends on the routes... can be certainly true for limestone.

But the Totems rack like sh*te. So if you're climbing longer granite crack, then fittin' a double set of totems on ones harness can be a huge nuisance.

Plus I seem to recall Totems only go up to #3 (for C4s) or so... So something else is required anyway on the bigger sizes.

In reply to HeMa:


Thanks for reminding me! Another thing to look out for!

In reply to GarethSL:

One other thing to add to the equation: when your Dragons or 4CUs need to be reslung, they need to go on a trip to Llanberis. When your C4s need to be reslung, they have to go to the US. This is why, as much as I like my Camalots, I'll probably be buying DMM next time.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

I thought cams couldn't be re-slung anymore in the EU?

In reply to Toerag:

Well...

DMM still has this on their page:
http://dmmclimbing.com/about/servicing-repairs/

In reply to Toerag:

I've never heard that. My (rather vague) understanding is that, in re-slinging a cam, the manufacturer implicitly warrants that it's safe to use, whichis why they'll only do their own cams and why there's a somewhat arbitrary age cut-off.

I guess that this rule, that servicing an item equals warranting that it's safe to use, might be EU legislation? No idea. An awful lot of stuff gets blamed on Brussels...

Buy British!

In reply to Coel Hellier:


No. Buy the old, about to be discontinued WC friends - you will soon, no doubt be able to pick them up cheap. The new ones are, I believe, just Camalot/Dragon double axle clones in size and even colour. The old ones conveniently interleave these sizes, so buy them now, and later, when you want to expand your rack, you can supplement them with Camalots/Dragons/ new Friends. I suspect WC have made a big blunder in abandoning what makes their cams distinctive.

In reply to Toerag:


The situation seems to be that because it is PPE, anyone re-slinging the cam has to recertify the whole thing, not just the new sling, only the original manufacturer is likely to be prepared to do that. DMM will re-sling their own cams, but Wild Country no longer re-sling their own cams.

In reply to Robert Durran:
Personally I'm not buying WC cams now they aren't providing a reslinging service, currently you have to use an independent party to do this, the only ones I know of are in the states and are not cheap once you factor in postage too. I'm not sure what the state of play with trigger wire replacement is on these cams either.