bd c3's durability??????

ok, i bought a full set of the bd c3's last year after climbing with them on friends racks, and absolutely loved them for those small holes and pin scars and placements that really no other cam can fit in.

but i really am starting to think they are total 1 time use cams. its a 1 fall or 1 take and they seem to be done...

i have a red and a purple that won't pull now, the purple saw a foot slip fall from below the placement, so a foot long fall. and the red i've only had a take on and neither will pull now.. it seems like if i could get under the plastic protector thing that i could maybe adjust the wire but that's not gonna happen.

anybody else have problems with their c3's?
I love the cams but this is ridiculous especially at $65 a pop

That is certainly not been the case for me. I have only took on the my purple 00 but I have taken two pretty good falls on my yellow 2 and hung on my red 1 and they are still as smooth as when I bought them. I use them a lot for anchors on hanging belays because they fit everywhere. im not sure why that would have happened, I could see the placement causing that to happen more then the cam itself being designed that way. Im curious as well now about other peoples experiences with them.

I've never used BD C3 cams, had their pre-C3 cams. Sold them and went with Metolius: I really like them A LOT. Yesterday was out and set my little blue tcu, damn thing didn't want to come out too easy. I started using the pick of my axe to assist, you know the theory, if it doesn't move, get a bigger hammer. Well in this case the pick from a Taakoon. I finally got it out, well, no worse for wear. Had a totally stuck #4 tcu, got it out, although the wires kind of got bent. Straightened them up with needle nose and reg pliers, good to go. Took a regulated fall on it to test it's integrity after the repair, I trust it! The master cams are pretty good too, time will tell with the cords for reliability. My two pennies.

Juan

i have 4 full sets of c3's

every piece has been aided/taken/fallen/dropped and they all work fantastic

maybe send them back to BD and see what they can do to fix it?

I took a big fall (25? feet) on the green c3 last fall. It caught the fall, but the trigger got wedged into the crack below the placement and broke. It was a bummer since nothing was broken but the trigger, the lobes were fine. Instead of replacing the trigger, Black Diamond sent me a photo of a similar broken cam that got glued back together.

hey folks,
i have a set and i had a problem with one of the wires on the red one. not really sure what happen cause the second gave it back to me and that's how i got it back. never fell on it . so, one of the springs straightened and caused one lobe to not compress.

i fixed it back at camp w/ some tools , but it was a bitch.

Dusty Ross wrote:Instead of replacing the trigger, Black Diamond sent me a photo of a similar broken cam that got glued back together.

Really? I'm surprise because they are usually good about this. I guess I'll go with Metolius Master because when I asked them to resling my old TCUs, they replaced the triggers at no extra charge.

I have a double set and haven't had a problem with any of them. I've never taken falls on them, but have used them and aided on them a fair bit. I primarily use them aiding and they get bounced tested and get weighted in weird orientations(I placed one and the entire stem was twisted when I stepped on it and it was fine).

One thing to remember is that cams are complicated pieces of machinery that get abused alot. The smaller cams to an even greater extent, so they will be less durbale than say a #1 BD. That said, I find all of the brands to do well and have only had a problem with the trigger cables on mastercams.

As far as customer serivice, I've only had experience with Metolius, and I thought they weren't very receptive. But I think your experiences will vary depending on who you get and the cycle of the moon. Both companies are very good in my mind.

Cheers,
Evan

divnamite wrote: Really? I'm surprise because they are usually good about this. I guess I'll go with Metolius Master because when I asked them to resling my old TCUs, they replaced the triggers at no extra charge.

Yes, really. They claimed it wasn't under warranty (which it isn't).

When I broke a purple tcu, Metolius told me is wasn't part of the warranty, then sent me a new one...

I'm still sold on BD, though.

One of my c3's (green) got slightly bent and the cams now don't retract or extend fully. It happened while in normal use (bounce testing), so I contacted BD asking to see whether they would be able to fix it or put a new trigger set on it etc. I was more than willing to pay.

Their reply was that if it happened while climbing then it wasn't covered by warranty. Also, they are not able to replace the trigger mechanism so I would need to buy a new cam.

If it was a design fault they said they would replace it. Since I know it was fine before the climb but broken afterwards I know I damaged it, but I thought it would have been more durable than that.

Don't get me wrong I think they are a great cam, but I have pretty much given up on them and now have gone back to aliens.

I had a friend who took a nasty fall on a red alien (it held) and bent way out of shape. He sent it in and CCH fixed it no questions asked. I also have a problem with my C3's. Part of the trigger wire is bent.

Wow, I'm surprised at BD now. They were great when it comes to fixing things up. I guess I'll stick to Metolius until further notice.

My partner took a ~8 foot fall on the 00 C3 after riping a small nut above it. The C3 ripped (sketcky placement anyway) but afterwords we realized that the trigger wires got tweaked as well as the axle. The cam lobes would not contract or release reliably. Had to be retired, this was the cams 2nd or 3rd climb, maybe its 3rd or 4th placement.

No doubt they will go places where others cant, but there durability...

i have had my red c3 for a while now. i have taken numerous falls on it, including a 15 footer onto only 2 lobes engaged. it held the fall. i clean them quite a bit and take a file to the lobes to remove burrs now and then, and they ( i also have a green and a yellow) work ultra smooth still

sounds like some people are having the same issues i am... it's all in the trigger wire. some how it got extended and bent above the plastic and now one lobe wont even budge.

I sold all of mine because I was concerned about reliability/durability. I ended up having to replace one of the trigger wires with some welding wire, it took some time and patience (and tiny pliers).