Sport climber: need help with cam placements

Hey guys, after sport climbing my whole life I'm ready to give trad a shot, but my cam placements just feel so finicky. Can someone point out what I'm doing wrong?

Also what's with huge cams like #3's? I've never seen a bolt that big! They can't even fit in the rap rings...

I'm super good at placing passive pro though! And I can see why cams were so revolutionary, placing them is so much quicker when you don't have to feed a wire through the hanger.

Gerrit Verbeek wrote: Hey guys, after sport climbing my whole life I'm ready to give trad a shot, but my cam placements just feel so finicky. Can someone point out what I'm doing wrong?

Also what's with huge cams like #3's? I've never seen a bolt that big! They can't even fit in the rap rings...

The big cams are mainly used for those German-style ring bolt anchors. Some of the old ones even require Valley Giants, but those are pretty rare.

Thanks so much! I've been hoping to try my hand at trad, and these pictures answer a lot of my questions. You're an inspiration!

Gerrit Verbeek wrote: Hey guys, after sport climbing my whole life I'm ready to give trad a shot, but my cam placements just feel so finicky. Can someone point out what I'm doing wrong?

Also what's with huge cams like #3's? I've never seen a bolt that big! They can't even fit in the rap rings...

You have to use a double axle cam in placement like this.  The single axle won't hold you in a fall.