Passive-Only Trad Anchor

https://www.climbing.com/skills/tricams-101-a-guide-to-using-this-tool/

http://www.vdiffclimbing.com/hexes/

Passive pro is passive because it sits there like a wedge in a constriction.

Active pro is active because it translates downward pull into outward force via cam lobes.  ie, the harder you pull down on a cam, the more outward force is generated on the lobes.

A tri-cam or hex can be used in both ways.

1.  Wander around the base of a cliff literally anywhere with your whole rack.  Stop at a plausible set of features and/or crack(s).

2.  Do the thought experiment: "If I had to create a safe anchor from this location, how best would I do it?"

3.  Repeat this exercise many times, in many locations, letting your imagination be your guide (and the pictures of secure placements which exist in books, on- line, etc.)

4.  If you have any common sense, you will know when a placement is bomb proof from observation combined with the laws of physics.

5.  Repeat until confident to repeat the experiment on lead.

6.  Build a belay at the end of the pitch.

Now you are beginning to be a competent, passive-only trad leader.

TBlom wrote:

https://www.climbing.com/skills/tricams-101-a-guide-to-using-this-tool/

http://www.vdiffclimbing.com/hexes/

Passive pro is passive because it sits there like a wedge in a constriction.

Active pro is active because it translates downward pull into outward force via cam lobes.  ie, the harder you pull down on a cam, the more outward force is generated on the lobes.

A tri-cam or hex can be used in both ways.

Ok, so no one can say you're wrong, but isn't that just the most annoying distinction ever? As mentioned above, some SLCDs can be placed passively. In fact, if you want to be awful, you could say that all SLCDs caaan be placed passively, but only some can do so safely. Now that I think about it, I recently placed an ABC Huevo with the rounded side resting against a nub, so technically it was active, right?

Or, we could just all agree that active gear has moving parts and passive gear doesn't. That's obviously what the OP meant. Tricams and hexes are passive no matter what, end of story.

Gunkiemike wrote:

Exactly (on both points). I clipped the left hex so its cord would (in theory anyway) get loaded and stiffen. The smaller hex only moved inward 1/16" or so under bodyweight then held fast. 

I definitely would not want to fall on it.  

rgold wrote:

That wouldn't be my definition and it isn't a good one, since a certain amount of passive gear uses camming action, like the hexentrics just mentioned.  Moreover, if we were stuck with this definition, we would no longer speak of passive gear but only of passive placements.  The distinction between active and passive gear is whether the gear has springs and internal moving parts.  Tricams are passive gear no matter how they are placed.

I agree.  It's semantics.  

I think the distinction is between the actual gear and the placement.  

rockklimber wrote:

I definitely would not want to fall on it.  

Of course not. Nor would I. It was placed for two reasons: 1) amusement, the whole idea behind the lead being a challenge to see what I could do without cams. And 2), b/c the alternative at that spot (and the next 15 feet) was no gear. But it was real easy crack so realistically it was 99% about getting the laughs. The bounce testing came weeks later, "in the interest of science".

Gunkiemike wrote:

Of course not. Nor would I. It was placed for two reasons: 1) amusement, the whole idea behind the lead being a challenge to see what I could do without cams. And 2), b/c the alternative at that spot (and the next 15 feet) was no gear. But it was real easy crack so realistically it was 99% about getting the laughs. The bounce testing came weeks later, "in the interest of science".

Understood.  It is fun to see a followers reaction when you place obviously junk pro.  Some dont even notice and clean it as if that's the way it's supposed to be done.  

+1 for tricams. They are the most versatile and reliable gear in my opinion. With practice they can be placed and cleaned quickly and easily, often work where nothing else would, and I usually trust tricams way more than a cam. They are cheaper than cams, but I would still use them even if the price was the same. I often place more tricams on a pitch than cams and nuts combined. 

Also it's been said but bears repeating: Can we stop pretending that cams are automatically 'multi-directional' and that nuts are automatically not? I've made many nut placements, usually in horizontal cracks, that are completely bomber for downward, upward, and pull to either side. A well placed nut is often more bomber than anything else. Cams are very useful but they are fickle devices, they walk quite a bit and can behave unpredictably. Cams are good at creating the illusion of protection even when they are placed quite poorly. In some ways I do think it takes more skill to place and evaluate cams than nuts and tricams, or at least more wisdom, since it's so easy to mindlessly plug in shitty cam placements whereas a poor nut placement tends to be more obvious.

Terry Price wrote:

1.  Wander around the base of a cliff literally anywhere with your whole rack.  Stop at a plausible set of features and/or crack(s).

2.  Do the thought experiment: "If I had to create a safe anchor from this location, how best would I do it?"

3.  Repeat this exercise many times, in many locations, letting your imagination be your guide (and the pictures of secure placements which exist in books, on- line, etc.)

4.  If you have any common sense, you will know when a placement is bomb proof from observation combined with the laws of physics.

5.  Repeat until confident to repeat the experiment on lead.

6.  Build a belay at the end of the pitch.

Now you are beginning to be a competent, passive-only trad leader.

I think a lot of newbies (myself included) are psyched to get on a climb and don't spend time doing this sort of thing. Now I'm finding that I place pieces slowly and it's holding me back, and I'm going back and spending time placing pieces on the ground to get faster.

Slartibartfast wrote:

Ok, so no one can say you're wrong, but isn't that just the most annoying distinction ever? As mentioned above, some SLCDs can be placed passively. In fact, if you want to be awful, you could say that all SLCDs caaan be placed passively, but only some can do so safely. Now that I think about it, I recently placed an ABC Huevo with the rounded side resting against a nub, so technically it was active, right?

Or, we could just all agree that active gear has moving parts and passive gear doesn't. That's obviously what the OP meant. Tricams and hexes are passive no matter what, end of story.

What it comes down to basically is that any piece can be placed in a passive or active placement.