UKC

I'm slowly updating my rack and it's time for my old Camp hexes to be replaced as they are heavier than the modern ones my mates are using.

I have a number 11 black diamond one on wire which I really like and have considered buying some of the other sizes but have considered some on dyneema as it won't kink if I clip them top and bottom so they don't dangle around as much on my harness. 

Just thought I'd float it here and see what people's opinions are?

BW

If I got some exclusively for winter I'd get them all on wires as they're easier to place with gloves on, and I find slings get worn out more easily in winter.

Sounds like a good shout, cheers! 

I personally think get walnuts (or rocks if you must) in sizes 11 and 12, you then only need 3 toque nuts to cover the full range of placements (red gold blue). I find the wire doesn't work so well on larger hexes as it tends to flop and it also gets in the way of one of the placements. Also the 'natural' placements of a hex (not sideways)  is not correct for wire, it will tend to by default be sitting on a corner. Wire is also heavier than dyneema. 

+1 for BD wired hexes, when I used to go winter climbing (sob sob) I found them easier to place and less jangly (an equally important factor)

Wired hexes won't torque into cracks like hexes on cord or dyneema. Don't really understand hexes on wire as they don't effectively do the only thing they're made in that shape to do. 

If being able to place something 15cm higher is a massive thing then I guess go for it but I'd go for dyneema personally. 

+2 for BD hexes on wire.  The wire lasts longer, they don't get as tangles on a big rack, you can put more of them on one crab, they can be easier to place and I personally don't find that the wire ones torque less easily.   

I havewall nuts up to 11 and then BD hexes 8, 9, 10 & 11 if that is any use with sizing. 

Remember 'drillium'?

I still find them better, though. I have tried using the newer lighter ones, but the old (unfortunately named!) Camp ones are simply unbeatable for hammering into wide cracks, especially in the Northern Cairngorms and the 'Coe.

Heavy = Good, at least for a piece of kit that is mainly used being hammered into some iced up crack, so I stick with my mixture of old Camp cowbells and other old models.

Not so fussed about wires, dyneema or reslung with 8mm cord (for big sizes). Each can have advantages or disadvantages in any specific placement.

CB

I think the sharpish corners on the camp ones also make them bite better in icey cracks. They are really heavy though!

They are heavy, but I have found the equivalent-sized Rock-centrics (or whatever they're called) rubbish by comparison when I've tried to place them. They do seem to put up with my copious hammering, but they seem nowhere near as bomber and just don't fit as well.

Although I haven't placed them, I know BD do hexes that are similar to the Camp ones, but they taper along the sideways axis (which I'm not a fan of) and they're wired (I'm not sure how useful it is to cut the wires and get them re-strung with nylon accessory cord or tape).

If only a DMM wallnut #12 was a real thing.

Best of both worlds and an old 80's thing; hexs on dyneema (cord back in the day) then tubing round the dyneema for rigidity. As you can't untie/retie the dyneema, split the tubing and tape it round.

I've used DMM Torque Nuts for years now and they work fine. The tape has lasted really well and I'm not shy at giving them a whack.

I'd use heat shrink that I can get from work. We use it on industrial lanyards etc.

I think I'm probably going to go with the black diamond wired ones though. 

Camp excentrics  do tape on the sideways placements, it's maybe just less than some other hexes?

Agree, and if you get on tape, you can use the tape loop as an extender if you start to run-out of draws, or to weight a directional piece of gear to stop it lifting.

An old WC Rockcentric #6 on wire comes pretty close ;-) 

I've carried one of them alongside my large wires for the last decade, both in Summer and Winter and until a Wallnut #12 is actually available, it's works pretty damn well, and is highly recommended

Unfortunately, the similar sized BD version, racks poorly so the DMM Torque Nut #2 on wire is probably the best option currently available. I've tried larger hexes on wires and as another poster stated, they just don't seem to work... 

More generally in Winter, I've used both Rockcentrics and Torque Nuts on dyneema. I definitely prefer the Rockcentrics. I routinely hammer the crap out of them, especially the larger ones and the dyneema is definitely more forgiving of that than wire would be. The extendable slings on the TNuts are pointless in Winter so they offer no advantage in that regard and I've consistently found the Rockcentrics just sit better in real world placements despite the TNuts theoretically larger camming range in parallel cracks.

Useful option. That's how I generally rack the largest two or three Rockcentrics, at least the start of the day.

They don't necessarily get re-racked that way but it's far tidier for when they're likely to stay on the harness for a while. 

Looking through pictures on the web, it seems hexes on tape will get you up to at least VIII 9 (see: http://www.scottishwinter.com/?p=7024), though Boswell and MacLeod both seem to carry BD wired hexes, just in case you're thinking about grade IX upward.

Aye, right enough there is a slight taper - I just looked at them now. I think other hexes taper a lot more. I guess a lot of preference for different gear types is just what you get used to.

The new(ish) DMM wired hexes are the business. I really rate them. I think they're better than the BD ones, especially in the larger sizes, as the wire is stiffer so they flop about a bit less when you're placing them. 

The wire also feels a bit more durable than dyneema when your bashing them about to place/remove.

Heat shrinks an idea, though I think with tubing you'd still be able to move it up and down the sling if needed.

BD wireds I've found a bit 'basic', but that could be me thinking more fancy gear equates to something. BD certainly better priced for sacrificial rap offs, which I seem to lose hexs to.