powercams vs. tcus

so I recently purchased the 4 pack of metolius cams off backcountry.com because of the big sales going on for the holiday. Though I just realized that I purchased the powercams in the small sizes 1-4. For some reason in my head I told myself I was buying the TCUS. Not a big fuck up, ill still use them. From reviewing the specs all I could figure out is that its 4 lobes instead of 3, and they are maybe an ounce heavier.... is there any other differences that I am not noticing?? Also do you think this purchase was still a good buy or did I shoot myself in the foot for not getting the tcus?

thanks all.

Power cams (4 lobes) are great! Older in design but maybe the lightest cams still available. They have slight limitations as the don't flex on all axis as the single stems do. The TCUs were designed as I assume to address the narrower pods and shallower cracks as they are narrower. But Because the cables are "outboard" of the lobes they are wider than some of the newer designed 4 lobe cams. I have some of each and use them both. Holding power will be better on the 4 lobe units so it's probably better you start with those. Assuming you don't have other cams on your rack. Also very narrow are the master cams with thumb loop and ultra light master cams. The heads on those are actually narrower than the tcu. So if you double up I would get sizes in the master cams (if staying with metolius). There are other brands as well that are awesome. Eg, totem basic, alien, etc. Hope this helps and I'm sure others will chime in with valuable info.

You did fine. They are not that different in design or application, and when they are, more often than not, "4 lobes is better than 3". As mentioned above, if/when you need more small cams, get a different brand; usually that provides a few pieces that fit nicely in between the Metolius sizes. I am a fan of Aliens (Totem Basics) for this, but I have a partner who loves BD X4s..

I have Power Cams, 1-6.

The only negative comment I can make would apply to the larger sizes (5 and 6). They can be a little floppy if you're trying to place while cruxing, with the flex stem and heavy head.

Otherwise, they work great and the 4 lobes are definitely more confidence inspiring than 3.

Michael C wrote:I have Power Cams, 1-6. The only negative comment I can make would apply to the larger sizes (5 and 6). They can be a little floppy if you're trying to place while cruxing, with the flex stem and heavy head. Otherwise, they work great and the 4 lobes are definitely more confidence inspiring than 3.

Gunkiemike wrote: I think you've got Master cams. Those are (er, were - I've heard they've been stiffened) the floppy ones. Power cams are U fame and they don't flop, even in the largest sizes.

Huge fan of power cams, head width is nearly similar to tcus when I compared. I have a set of 1-6 in both power and master cams. Some may say tcus are better in some funky pockets but I've never wanted a tcu over a mastercam/power cam.