New Totem Basic blue (alien)

It does slide through...

Basic Cam, red/yellow.

Please excuse the terrible photo quality..

Agreed - Just played with my Totems and the wire will "slip" though allowing the other pair of cams to expand further. It's true though that as soon as ANY of the cams saw some real use (pins, old cable or new Totem style) they'd get beat up and likely bind.

Just got my Totem B/G offset. This FINALLY allows me to put the last of my CCHs into retirement. I had pre-recall ones but still... I'll save them for El Caps days...

Pics of the new Totem. I really like the re-done trigger bar. Nice and feels less prone to slippage when you're sweaty and gripped.

Are the Totems made of the softer type of aluminum like the CCH and Fixe Aliens? That's a key selling point for me - and why I'd stick with Aliens over BD and Metolius offerings...

Yup they are.

Yup they are.

Well, I guess I'll wait to pass judgement until they're out a bit longer then. Seems to me it's not much different than what CCH did, and would be surprised if they didn't act similarly once the wires start getting tweaked from use.

JLP wrote:Can someone link to something confirming the material in X4's and C4's?? I'm not seeing anything on Google and the manf websites. I was under the impression everyone had been using 6061 for at least the past decade, but now Metolius site is showing 7075 for most of their cams...feel like I looked there not too long ago and saw 6061 for at least the Mastercams...maybe not...?

Aric will know better than I but I'm pretty sure ONLY CCH was using 6061 and that was even questionable (CCH 6061 didn't test to spec if I recall correctly)

Fixe and Totem both use 6061 one in their Aliens/Basics but I'm pretty sure everyone else uses 7075 for their cam lobes (Including Totem in their namesake cam)

Aric Datesman wrote:Well, I guess I'll wait to pass judgement until they're out a bit longer then. Seems to me it's not much different than what CCH did, and would be surprised if they didn't act similarly once the wires start getting tweaked from use.

I've had three of the Totem Basics/Aliens for almost 2 years now. I use them all the time and love them. They are a significant improvement over the old CCHs. I did like the rigid trigger rods on the CCHs and was initially suspicious of the very flexible metal cable used on the Totems, but my concerns have been put to rest: they perform flawlessly, have shown no tendency to wear/deform, and ensure FULLY independent action of the two pairs of lobes, just like the rigid rod version.
In my opinion, Totem makes the best small cam ever.

Aric Datesman wrote: Sorry Reboot, but in practice the individual pins worked out to be the better solution because of binding in the top plate and the possibility of the thin diameter wire rope kinking in the wrong place and throwing the lobes askew.

I also prefer the individual pin design for Alien trigger wires. When I repair worn out wire rope trigger wires on mine I switch over to individual pins.

mattm wrote: Aric will know better than I but I'm pretty sure ONLY CCH was using 6061 and that was even questionable (CCH 6061 didn't test to spec if I recall correctly) Fixe and Totem both use 6061 one in their Aliens/Basics but I'm pretty sure everyone else uses 7075 for their cam lobes (Including Totem in their namesake cam)

Yup Matt, CCH's 6061 was all over the map WRT to hardness, as verified by a 3rd party (who was finishing a Masters degree in Materials Science) that I sent samples to. We never determined the exact alloy/heat treatment, as the person I sent it to didn't feel comfortable doing quality control for CCH gratis since he was generally paid for that level of consulting. But his opinion was that it definitely WAS NOT the 6061T6 they claimed to use.

I'd have to look through my notes, but I seem to recall most everyone using 6061T6, with the exception of Metolius (which makes sense given their smaller cam angle/higher holding force). That stuff's archived off at the moment, so if someone can find a more recent reference that will save me a heap of trouble finding where I squirreled it away. And frankly I've got a 3 year old and at this point finding it isn't exactly high on my priority list.

anywhere to get these out east?