Tricams....A thing of the past?
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2 years ago I purchased my first set of Camp Tricams. I initially purchased them as a cheap way to supplement my rack in place of cams since I couldn't afford many at the time. At first, I was somewhat hesitant about placing them since it took so long for me to get them set right. After a season of practice I finally got it down and they have now become my main go to piece on most routes. For me, they're by far the most versatile piece of pro on my rack. With that being said, I have yet to climb with anyone who uses or has used them. Everyone I've ever climbed with seems to be taken by surprise when cleaning a pitch I've lead and they come across one. So my question is this, Do you still use tricams regularly or have you replaced them with more modern gear such as cams, Big Bro's, etc.? Is the lack of tricam usage an area type thing? They still sell them and Camp has even improved them in recent years so that means someone is still using them. Thoughts? |
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What's a tricam? |
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They had their time and still have a lot of utility in horizontals at places like the Gunks or Lovers Leap. I thought they were good when modded, but personally haven't carried them in about twenty years as they aren't the best option for our local basalt. |
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Healyje wrote: I thought they were good when moddedWhat was the tape mod for? To keep the sling from pivoting? If so, was this to use them more as an odd shaped stopper? |
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Bonneville wrote:2 years ago I purchased my first set of Camp Tricams. I initially purchased them as a cheap way to supplement my rack in place of cams since I couldn't afford many at the time. At first, I was somewhat hesitant about placing them since it took so long for me to get them set right. After a season of practice I finally got it down and they have now become my main go to piece on most routes. For me, they're by far the most versatile piece of pro on my rack. With that being said, I have yet to climb with anyone who uses or has used them. Everyone I've ever climbed with seems to be taken by surprise when cleaning a pitch I've lead and they come across one. So my question is this, Do you still use tricams regularly or have you replaced them with more modern gear such as cams, Big Bro's, etc.? Is the lack of tricam usage an area type thing? They still sell them and Camp has even improved them in recent years so that means someone is still using them. Thoughts?I've never used tricams. I use standard cams and stoppers, that's it. No hexes, tricams, bigbros, ect. There is really only one route ever that I can think of in which I really wished I had a tricam and I dident. Otherwise, I've always made do just fine with cams. |
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i used them quite a bit on moderate long trad routes in the canadian rockies ... |
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Tricam are the best pro for certain kinds of solution pockets found at Whitehorse ledge. But yeah I'd consider them a specialty or budget kind of pro. I'd much rather fall on a cam or nut than a tricam. They just seem unstable. |
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I rarely use them but when I do its because nothong else will work. |
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I carry and use them, routinely. |
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I have a biner racked with several pieces of specialized gear, the stuff that will work when nothing else will; my pink tricam stays on that biner. |
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Tricams...you love 'em, or you hate 'em. Personally, I think they're great and place them fairly often. They're super light, cheap, and you barely notice them on your rack. I think some people (particularly cam users) get weirded out by how little surface area the point comes in contact with the rock, but IMO this is what is so beautiful about them, because they can place well in funky pockets/flares where anything else would be garbage. |
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What the other proponents have stated, I have also found true. They also seem to set better in soft rock. I do not leave home w/o them. Well over a decade back there was a fun moderate at Courtright resevoir CA called Aplodontia that had only one or two bolts in 5 pitches. The rest of the pro was tricams in erosion pockets. Fun line! |
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bearbreeder wrote:however this also increases the chance of them rattling out, so i always use a 60 cm extendible on emI always found them fairly rattle-resistant and by and large rotated securely even if this is less than desirable. As you say, and it 'bears' repeating,it doesn't matter what the pro is, you should always sling / extend appropriately. bearbreeder wrote:also remember that while you can place em one handed, it's much harder to clean em one handed for the secondAs for this, it depends. Most placements you just push in on the stem and they come right out. But, you have to be conscious of your placements and thinking of the poor sap who has to clean them. Doing a lot of rope-soloing, I was that sap so over time learned to have a lighter touch. |
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12 years of use and I love mine. Don't use them all the time but bring them all the time. |
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I carry them all the time, have for years and can't remember a trad pitch where I have not used them. (Been climbing mostly in NH and the Adirondacks.) |
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As healyj said, they are very useful in horizontals. Here's a Gunks anchor from a year ago: |
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I carry them, I love them, I place them more than anything else. But, I generally climb trad below 5.10, so I'll usually have stance for placing gear. |
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I can't speak to their utility on any route in the 5.10 or over range, but on moderates I find tricams extremely useful. |
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There does seem to be a love-hate relationship with them... |
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I've never placed one on lead but I carry the pink-bown sometimes blue, tri-cams for anchors so I can conserve my nuts/cams for the next pitch |