UKC

After some microcams and was set on getting some totem basics after rave reviews from mates. No where seems to have them in stock so I was thinking of getting aliens Instead. I just wondered if anyone had experience of both, as it would appear they are very similar. I just don't know anyone who has a set of aliens.

Cheers in advance

In reply to SFrancis:

I have a mix of both, but would get totem basics in preference as I think they are better quality and more precisely made. But they are both good, and I'm not sure you would notice a whole lot of difference!

In reply to LJC:

Ditto.

It's worth noting though that the aliens can be picked up for £40 if you look around which is cheaper than the totems for a similar product. The revolution and evolution models are pretty good.

In reply to SFrancis:

I've a set of Aliens and really like them. However given the quality problems they've had in the recent past; for what it's worth I'd wait for Totems.

In reply to LJC:

ding ding... built quality seems to be better on totems, but the fixe evo aliens seem nicer... still will get totems, not evo aliens.

In reply to SFrancis:

Off topic slightly sorry....

I've heard about these rave reviews regarding the totems too, what is it that is so good about them, say compared to BD C3s? Just curious.

In reply to Lamb:

C3s are stiff... ok, in some horizontals, but the orig. aliens are just miles better in every respect. And the totems are just that, orig aliens but with stellar quality. Hands down the best micro cams in the market (imho). But each to their own (unless you're spancered, in which case you have a hudge bias and I don't trust a single word ya say about gear ).

In reply to Lamb:

BD and Metolius cams have harder lobes which mean that they can skate about when loaded.

In reply to timjones:

When you talk about the lobes being harder, do you mean that the totems alloy is actually a softer compound and slightly ductile when loaded? Impressive if that's the case.

In reply to All:

Cheers for all the comments, I know its a topic thats comes up a few times before.

I guess I'll wait for the totem basics to come back in stock. Hopefully soon.

In reply to SFrancis:
I don't think the basic cams will be in stock until June 2018. If you opt for the aliens make sure you get the revolution variant rather than the evolution.

In reply to Lamb:


I'd have to check ob the exact definition of ductile.

The lobes are softer and deform slightly as far as I know.

The downside is that they will wear faster.

In reply to Lamb:
Yes: the original cch and the new fixe aliens have softer lobe metal compared to other brands, and a slightly different camming angle, which adds to up give better bite and holding power, at the expense of durability and expansion range.

I have some C3s as well, they go slightly smaller than the black alien plus have a much narrower head, making them more useful in certain places.

In reply to nacnud:

I was told the same thing in V12 the other week, I think they're concentrating their manufacturing efforts on their other range of cams atm. Only place I've found totem basics is Amazon at £80 a pop. I love them personally but I'm having a hard time tracking them down at a reasonable price for my gf.

In reply to SFrancis:

you can order totemscams and basics directly from totemcams.com, but not all the sizes in stock, though what's available changes pretty regularly....https://www.totemcams.com/shop/en/12-totem-cam