UKC

Upgrading the cam rack at the moment and trying to nail down what range of micro cams to buy. I've settled on Alien Revolutions but am wondering a little on how many I realistically want and in what sizes - main cam rack will be Dragon 2's 0-5 - I probably won't bother with the 00 as I assume the comparative Alien size will have better holding power? 

What I'm really looking for is maximum range and holding power but don't want to end up with sizes that I never use. 

Would be good to hear some experiences - what gets used most etc etc. Cheers! 

You not waiting to see the new DMM ones?

Seen them already at the Outdoor show, they look fine but they're not out until next spring and I'm buying now. Plus, in all honesty they don't look like anything massively special over Aliens so the only reason to choose them would be brand loyalty. I assume the build quality will be higher though, and it'll make for a very complete offering from DMM which is cool. 

Have you seen all the recent discussions on this topic? Lots of useful information on the questions you're asking has been posted already.

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/gear/outdoor_2018_-_our_top_10_products-6...

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/gear/small_cams-687856

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/gear/dmm_micro_cams_rumor-687842

Aye I've read them all but actually nobody talks much about how they crossover in practical use, and which sizes are worth having. Keen to get it right! 

I used a friend's Aliens once on the grit and it was mind-blowing how well they worked. Made E4 feel like HVS. 

Surely the sizes that you need will be largely dependent on the rocktype, crag or even the specific route that you are climbing on?

If you really want to blow your mind try using offset micro cams, they really open up a whole load of new placement possibilities

What's on the market at the moment - Aliens revo's, Alien CCH Alien, Metolius Mastercam, Metolius Ultralight TCU, BD X4, BD C3.

For my money, if it needs to be an Alien style cam, and you can wait for them to restock, Totem Basics. If not, it would have to be Alien Revolutions. If you can bear a Ladder style stem, Metolius TCU.

The Metolius units are very smooth (as long as you oil them to prevent corrosion) are blindingly light, have good holding power and last for ever and a day. I have some of the original TCU's from 1999 and they still work absolutely fine. I have the Blue and the Yellow and would possibly do the purple below that.

I prefer them to the Mastercam, which are just a bit funky IMO - I really wanted to like them with the new thumbpress but they didn't feel as nice in the hand.

Alien Revo's, well I don't know what the quality is like, I only ever saw the preproduction samples, but well, its an Alien but narrower. The CCH Version has a wider head...

C3, they are like marmite - either yo'll love them for their extreme narrow head width which is like a get out of jail free card, or you'll hate the odd stem.

The C4, kind of should be the best of all of them, but for me misses the mark - long termination, floppy in the large sizes, the cable kinks at the thumbpress crimp, the extra range just isn't that much extra in the small sizes...

Some sizes in certain cams tend to hold a bit better or generally see more use -I've not had Aliens before so not super sure about which ones are the winners - maybe it's all of them, which would be hard on the pocket! I suspect I'll just want 3 or so. 

So I've heard!  

Cheers! Some excellent food for thought. 

I've got black, blue and green, use all about equally. The green is just a bit smaller than a 0.5 friend. The  larger aliens for me aren't really micro-cams, but would probably be as good or better than the 00 Dragon if you extended up a sizes. 

https://www.needlesports.com/1124/products/alien-cch-cam.aspx

The 2 smallest totem (not basics) cams are smaller than the dragon 0, I've only been using them for a couple of months but they seem better than anything else out there (based on both my limited experience and loads of reviews I read). Below that I'd get the smallest 3 C3s, had them for years and they've been awesome.