By Marc Horan
From Boulder, CO area
Apr 29, 2008
| REI's gonna have all C4s at 20% off of retail May 2-11.
Just don't let Avery know that you shop there. :)
--Marc |  |
By Kateri Ahrendt
From Longmont, CO
Apr 29, 2008
| Lots of good advice so far. I'm also a tricam fan - I have the black, pink, red, brown and blue, and place the black, pink and red the most. Also a big fan of the BD C4s - purchased most of mine on the last 20% off sale that REI had. As far as hexes go, I prefer the Wild Country Hexentrics (I have red, yellow, and blue sizes) over the BD hexes; the shape is great and I like the slings versus the wires. And I often use the hexes and tricams cragging (more so at Eldo), as I'm a chicken leader who likes a lot of pro... and they're fun to place, imo (when I have a good stance, not when I'm having sewing machine leg and trembling arms).
As far as purchasing doubles in the cams, if you can afford it that's great. If you can't, your trad partner(s) will likely have their own rack and together you'll get by.
And, agree with John - purchase the best gear for you, rather than compromising on less preferred gear due to money. | |
By Jed Pointer
From Boulder, CO
Apr 30, 2008
| C4's .5 and up. Mastercams Blue-Red. Full set C3's.
The smaller the cam, the narrower you want it.
The more cams, the better. The longer pitches and parallel cracks of Splatte, the Desert and Vedauwoo will generally demand more cams. Eldo, Flatirons and Boulder Canyon pitches are generally short and highly varied for pro, so you can get away with a lot less gear.
Skip the Aliens. If you insist, for whatever insane reason, wait a couple more months. As people get familiar with Mastercams, Aliens will become more and more available for less money.
Trying to save a few bucks or pick up a few useless features by buying off brand stuff is a waste of money in the longer term. | |
By Not So Famous Old Dude
Apr 30, 2008
| Jed Pointer wrote: Skip the Aliens. If you insist, for whatever insane reason, wait a couple more months. As people get familiar with Mastercams, Aliens will become more and more available for less money.
I still talk of small cams in "Alien equivalents" because that constitutes the bulk of my small protection at this point. But you make a valid point, and it's really rather sad. Although CCH did it to themselves, it seems strange that they were once on top of the heap for small protection, I remember for over a decade it was "Dude, one word: Aliens" all over the boards. Now you are right that with the BD cams (and others) that have come out offering the same advantages, yet don't have the stink of death on them, who is going to buy new Aliens? Great business lesson in this. | |
By Brian Scoggins
From Laramie, WY
Apr 30, 2008
| Jed Pointer wrote: The longer pitches and parallel cracks of Splatte, the Desert and Vedauwoo will generally demand more cams.
Vedauwoo has longer pitches now? The more you know...
In all seriousness, its hard to find a sub-5.8 crack at Vedauwoo that simply won't go without doubles or triples of a certain size. It might make life easier to rack doubles, but you can usually find pro up or down a foot or two that is some other size.
If you're building your first rack, you don't need doubles in any cams. | |
By Anonymous Spraying Account
Apr 30, 2008
| Sad to see people ripping on hexes.
I carry hexes and place at least one on over 50% of the pitches I do in Eldo, and pass up quite a few hex placements just because I happen to have a cam handy. They may not be as versatile but they are bomber when placed correctly, are much cheaper, and don't cause nearly as much heartburn if you need to bail on one.
I acquired my rack rather incrementally so for a while it was a set of nuts w/ doubles in 'thin fingers' sizes, a variety (not a full set) of hexes, camalots #1,2,3 and a random alien. This worked out pretty darn well; these days I'm a bit more fleshed out w/ cams but I don't feel dependent on them to make it to the top of a climb safely.
Now, tricams ... I have a set but they live in the car. I need to start placing them and falling on them so I have a better feel for them, but I'm wary: I had a nasty user-error zipper on tricams, and have also had serious trouble removing them on more than one occasion.
Edit, just to flame: Wires over slings any day of the week! | |
By Not So Famous Old Dude
Apr 30, 2008
| I use tricams mainly in belays to conserve cams, because they provide upward pull protection if placed properly. If you fall on a tricam, it's going to be fixed most of the time unless you want to chisel it out. | |
By Tom Hanson
From Castle Rock, CO
Apr 30, 2008
| One set of cams, but double up on the wired nuts (all sizes).
Eldo and The Flatirons gobble up stopper type nuts like nowhere else on earth. | |
By Avery Nelson
From Boulder, CO
Apr 30, 2008
| Marc Horan wrote: REI's gonna have all C4s at 20% off of retail May 2-11. Just don't let Avery know that you shop there. :) --Marc
That's right. Not only do I dislike shopping at REI, I will disown any friendships if I know you've ever had dirty dreams of shopping at REI! Ok, just kidding.
Kateri Ahrendt wrote: Also a big fan of the BD C4s - purchased most of mine on the last 20% off sale that REI had.
Yes, I know how you are an REI fan; and you know how I fervently dispise that three letter acronym for having been manhandled. How are you liking the black tricam? | |
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