Most useful cams for use in Ontario

I was just wondering which cam sizes you folks place the most frequently while climbing in southeastern Ontario (Rattlesnake Point, Mount Nemo, Devil's Glen, etc.). I'm asking in order to figure out what order one should buy cams in while building a rack (assuming that one can't afford to buy them all at the same time.

Also, my friends who trad climb don't own hexs, and say that they aren't useful in Ontario. Does anyone here have a dissenting opinion?

Regardless of where you climb, a standard rack will generally suite you well. Set of nuts, cams 0.5-3 BD Camalot or equivalent, and 6-8 alpine draws. Start with middle range (0.75, 1) and work your way out.

Hexes, tricams, etc are more regional. Tricams do well where there's lots of horizontal cracks like the Gunks.

camalots are standard but any will do
mt nemo saw a bunch of old routes get drilled a few years back but there is some good trad there-camel 5.7 comes to mind..is an amazing pitch and requires a full rack-great lead for newish climbers and experienced leaders as well.
rattlesnake sucks for leading-with few exceptions the gear is crap and you really have to dial the grades back ie: lead some 5.3's to get a feel.
btw-both are great crags in the winter and get sun all day
with no crowds.

The standard is fine, C4's. I don't think escarpment limestone is particularly tricky with which gear you have, but more how you place it.

Hexes are nice, tricams are too if you want to give them a try (great for the irregular, slippery horizontal cracks).

Have you been climbing there? What kind of routes/grades?

gavin is right-it is not so much what but the placement.
i climbed there alot a few years back-and i did alot of rope solo aid and haul practice at nemo in the winter=i've since moved on- i was not overly pleased when a multitude of routes at nemo were rap bolted-but i guess thats the way of things....

I would suggest joining ontarioclimbing.com and posting on the forums there. They are generally quite active, and you'll likely receive a lot of good advice from climbers who climb on the escarpment.

My understanding: cams are the last choice for protecting climbs on Ontario limestone -- you should far prefer to place passive gear due to the nature of the rock. That means first choice is nuts & hexes, 2nd choice tricams, and only cams as a choice of last resort. The reasons are two-fold: cams generally have their biggest advantage over other gear on parallel cracks, and the cracks aren't generally splitter on escarpment rock. Second the rock tends to be quite smooth/slick, so friction to activate the cams doesn't always happening, resulting in apparently bomber placements actually pulling. And, bonus reason, with the soft rock, and freeze-thaw cycles, you're never quite sure how solid anything is -- so the forces exerted by cams are more likely to break things.

Thanks for the advice! Based on what everyone here (as well as my climbing buddies) said, I picked up a couple C4s in sizes .5 and .75. They were used but never fallen on and I only ended up paying $25 each.

David, thanks for telling me about passive pro. I'll be sure to try and place something else before I reach for the cams I got.

Gavin, I've top-roped, sport led, and followed (trad) at Rattlesnake, Mount Nemo, and Devil's Glen, but I haven't led on gear. I've actually never done a trad lead, and am getting this gear so I can practise my placements on top-rope or at ground level, in the hopes of eventually being competent enough to lead. I'm not that great at tracking the grades I climb outdoors, but I would guess that I can climb about a 9 on limestone. At the gym I'm top-roping 10+ or 11-, and leading about 10-.

Great deal on those C4's, Aidan.

You have the right approach in mind. Start slow (and very easy), mock lead if you want, learn how to place both passive and active pro equally. A ton of following helps, so it sounds like you're already part of the way there.

Have fun!

And if you find any more $25 lightly used C4's BUY THEM ALL (or give me a shout)!