Totem cams

I just ordered some more basics well nuco's actually. We will see!!

These are NOT knock offs, just re labeled Totems. Totem themselves stated this in a few threads here and elsewhere.

Yeah, it's true they say made in Spain. Looks like they're about out of stock now.....crazy that you can't get these cams easily, folks even have difficulty buying from Totem's own website, and here you can get some that a company paid to have made and sent to China - for cheaper than you can get them anywhere else. Wowza

jason.cre wrote: If this is true, do you know of any cases of a knockoff cam hitting the market? I would be very interested in evidence that Chinese companies are reverse engineering and producing knockoff cams. The only notices I have heard were of simple hardware, like carabiners, which were produced in the same region the company was already manufacturing its products (i.e. the chinese knockoff didnt reverse manufacture, they took the dies and molds directly from the original manufacturer)

I don't know of any Chinese manufacturer currently producing a knockoff cam. With knock offs of petzl ascenders out on the market in the past I don't see why you think a cam would present a problem for someone to copy. Cams are not remotely difficult to tear apart and copy.

In the totem/kailas case this discussion is pointless since the manufacturer confirmed they are just rebranded.

Gavin W wrote: If you check the Great Online Deals Thread, someone there checked with Totem a few weeks ago, and confirmed that the Kailas cams are just re-branded Totems, manufactured by Totem at their facilities in Spain.

That was me, confirming it here too. Heard from both Kailas and Totem, all good.

Yeah the Totems are complicated, so I think they would be harder and slower to knock off. To those that say it can't be done - for sure it can, the Korean and Chinese climbers in Yosemite have been showing me knock-off Aliens for years.....but I haven't bought any and tried them out.

Woot!
Erik Sloan
Rockclimbyosemite.com

On another totem-related subject, anyone taken a whip on a desperate two lobe placement?

Does anyone know where I can purchase a black totem?

Brian Seegers wrote:Does anyone know where I can purchase a black totem?

Dick's Climbing had some last I checked!

Thanks! Looks like they're out now, but I appreciate the lead.

Hey guys so I did a lot of research on totem cams, specifically on their basics and decided to add them to my rack for my smaller cam ranges. I just got my red .95 (rev A) in the mail and I was a bit concerned about the position of the cam when fully resting. It doesn't seem to sit 90 degrees from the shaft. I've seen that the older aliens do the same and feel that it won't matter with a good placement but I am curious if this is normal or a factory defect. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

harosa wrote:Hey guys so I did a lot of research on totem cams, specifically on their basics and decided to add them to my rack for my smaller cam ranges. I just got my red .95 (rev A) in the mail and I was a bit concerned about the position of the cam when fully resting. It doesn't seem to sit 90 degrees from the shaft. I've seen that the older aliens do the same and feel that it won't matter with a good placement but I am curious if this is normal or a factory defect. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Aliens dont have cam stops so, I guess that would be perfectly normal.

harosa wrote:Hey guys so I did a lot of research on totem cams, specifically on their basics and decided to add them to my rack for my smaller cam ranges. I just got my red .95 (rev A) in the mail and I was a bit concerned about the position of the cam when fully resting. It doesn't seem to sit 90 degrees from the shaft. I've seen that the older aliens do the same and feel that it won't matter with a good placement but I am curious if this is normal or a factory defect. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Don't worry, your unit is fine. There is no reason the bottom of the lobe needs to be perpendicular to the stem when fully open.

If the trigger wires were made too long you could have trouble fully retracting the cam lobes before the trigger bottoms out, but I doubt that is the case.

Normal. They all look like that.
Now start supplementing your rack with Totem Regulars for a truly badass rack.

great cams. Sizing takes some getting used to as well as lobe shape but they're awesome.

Awesome, thanks for clearing that up for me. Can't wait to plug these in!

I sell Totem and Basic (Nuco) by Kailas at good price.

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/112939616/fs-totem-cam

Marc-O sent me the cams as promised. He was very prompt and professional. Thanks buddy.

I have trained 3 new future leaders on these cams ... I have a double rack from black to orange and supplement it with BD3 and 4 where required

I train said leaders at ground level in how to place bomber pro with the totems and with BD cams and explain their differences. Watching them climb I can tell what gear they are placing based on how long it takes them to place it. BD cams always take them longer to place correctly for the same size they would just throw a totem in and be done with it.

It is a double edged sword as I have had one of them tell me "I really need to lead on cams other than totems just for practice." The new leaders feel really confident with the totems when compared to BD's ...

I have gone so far as to buy another full double rack + 4 extra blacks to have as "backup" and to sell to people locally who cannot find them in stock they mean that much to me :D

When I find people at the crag I let them climb on half my rack and instruct them for every piece they place, place the same color totem to compare the two. By the time they have done one or two pitches they want a full rack of totem cams.

They really are a joy to climb with and they have allowed me to turn R rated climbs into PG-13 ones because they work so well where other cams do not. 

They're good and I like them for certain placements even if they're totally irritating to rack, beyond that I can't say I'm otherwise over-the-top religious about them.