UKC

In 2015 we gave Totem Cams a glowing write-up, in particular their high holding power and narrow head width. This review focuses on two new sizes at opposite ends of the range.

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In reply to UKC Gear:

I swear these have been on the market since 2015/2016 too? As that's when my uni club bought both orange and black?

In reply to UKC Gear:

Good review but someone in Outside mentioned (some time back) that the slightly elongated cams, which give the totems a greater range, make them possibly less secure in a shallow placement because the point of 'bite' would be a little further down towards the trigger end than a conventional cam. i.e. closer to the outer edge of a shallow placement/break.  Havent used them myself but would be interested to hear any comments in this respect from people who have used / compared them. Perhaps not a significant issue. 

In reply to steveb2006:

I couldn't comment on the technical justification for that thinking (because I don't really understand it!) but I've found the Totems to hold well in shallow placements, at least as good as or better than other cams I've used.

In reply to GHawksworth:

They have indeed been available for a while but weren't available when Rob wrote the original Totem review, hence the new review.

In reply to steveb2006:

I don't pretend to understand the technicalities  and I don't own any Totems, mainly because I have a fairly new set of Dragons, but I have used them on a shared rack. I have to say that I found them very reassuring. They seemed to sit very solidy in cracks and pockets and tbh after using them I rather regretted getting my shiny new Dragons. That said, happily I did not test them in anger but my  impression of them was very favorable

In reply to UKC Gear:

 But in the photo displaying 'double racking' did the climber actually manage to get off  the ground?

In reply to Sean Kelly:

On many of our Venezuelan adventures, cams have been so useful - almost the only gear available and in breaks that are unchanging in width so the right size cam is essential - that we've routinely started many pitches with a triple cam rack.

In reply to UKC Gear:

You obviously have access to Sherpas to carry such a weight John!

In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

Don't feel too bad; I think Dragons/C4s/Friends are better than Totems in a lot of rock types (grit especially). Totems are just great for limestone.

In reply to PaulJepson:

Mine work fine in almost all rock especially grit, I'm just wary of the lack of cam stops in some situations.

In reply to Sean Kelly:

She did indeed! That was the day we did Lionheart (ED1) in Wadi Rum. We needed a lot of cams...