Wildcountry Friends.

Anybody buy their friends? Anybody use em?
If so, how do they do as of 2018?

Old friends or the new ones?

I use both!

Climbed on a set my partner had and liked them. I personally rack the previous generation, the helium friends. Never figured out why folks seemed to dislike the heliums.

WadeM wrote: Old friends or the new ones?

I use both!

The new. 

Theyre awesome!

I wrote a review here: https://mojagear.com/trad/2017/08/24/gear-review-wild-countrys-new-friend-cams-updated-re-engineered/
last year about them.

I have a set of Ultralights and then 3x each WC size. They are great durable cams

The new friends are great. Black Diamond is releasing new, lighter versions of the C4s next year. The current wild country friends are lighter than the upcoming C4s up to size #2. Otherwise, they're the same fantastic piece of gear, plus extendable slings

Everyone hates my Helliums....as an alpimist, Helliums were the first light weight cam and I was attracted to them for that alone. I must admit when I have a mixed rack, I grab the heavy BD cam first

Got to use a set of a friend’s (new) Friends recently - liked them more than C4s.

Nicer than c4s, not as nice as dragons but if you must have a thumb loop I would choose them over c4s... But all three are gtg honestly.

WadeM wrote: Theyre awesome!

I wrote a review here: https://mojagear.com/trad/2017/08/24/gear-review-wild-countrys-new-friend-cams-updated-re-engineered/
last year about them.

I have a set of Ultralights and then 3x each WC size. They are great durable cams

Great review! Thanks!

Love them. I have a set of C4s and Wild Country. I find myself reaching for the WC first. 

WadeM wrote: Theyre awesome!

I wrote a review here: https://mojagear.com/trad/2017/08/24/gear-review-wild-countrys-new-friend-cams-updated-re-engineered/
last year about them.

I have a set of Ultralights and then 3x each WC size. They are great durable cams

Nice. Does the stiffer stem on the friend cause there to be more walking in placement or more rigidness in a horizontal crac? 

I mean...  I've seen a cam being "loaded" in a horizontal placement and come right out. 

I know that can easily be another topic. 

Nick B wrote: Nicer than c4s, not as nice as dragons but if you must have a thumb loop I would choose them over c4s... But all three are gtg honestly.

Just curious, what makes the Friends not as nice as Dragons? I have Dragon 2's and have been looking at #0.5-#1 Friends as my first doubles. 

Jared Chrysostom wrote:

Just curious, what makes the Friends not as nice as Dragons? I have Dragon 2's and have been looking at #0.5-#1 Friends as my first doubles. 

The main functional thing is that the extendable sling on the wc friends is too short to be of practical use.  I never bother to extend mine as it is not enough to be useful on it's own whereas I can use the dragon sling alone in lots of situations.    I also think the action is smoother and machining is slightly better in the dmm.   The triple grip lobe face is also nice.   The wc are still nice cams but I would take the dragons mainly due to the extendable sling issue.    I actually prefer the bd non extendable slings over the messier, almost useless wc setup

Although the extendable slings on the WC don’t add much, it is particularly helpful in situations where the biner would be loaded over an edge. The small amount of extension alleviates an otherwise stressful and dangerous situation. Most of the time, I leave the slings doubled and extend with a draw. In short, they’re great cams - at least as nice, arguably better than c4s, although I’m looking forward to checking out the new ones in the spring. 

Michael S. Catlett wrote: Everyone hates my Helliums....as an alpimist, Helliums were the first light weight cam and I was attracted to them for that alone. I must admit when I have a mixed rack, I grab the heavy BD cam first

wouldn’t it make sense to place your heavy gear first regardless if you’re climbing with a mixed rack of doubles?

The thing I have found with extendable sling cams, particularly the Dragons as their sling is longer and stem shorter, is that you extend and cam put a quickdraw and it's pretty much as good as a cam with a 60cm extension sling.  And there's a LOT less screwing around or potential for biner rotation.  It's way easier to clip the rope with gloves on too.

As for handling the extendable slings on the cams.......  Place.  Unclip both strands, reclip the bar tack strand and clip the rope.  

When cleaning unclip the rope, extend the short strand and clip it.  Remove the cam.

An extended sling cam on a harness or sling is a real pain in the butt, so make sure your partners know the sequence.

coldfinger wrote: The thing I have found with extendable sling cams, particularly the Dragons as their sling is longer and stem shorter, is that you extend and cam put a quickdraw and it's pretty much as good as a cam with a 60cm extension sling.  And there's a LOT less screwing around or potential for biner rotation.  It's way easier to clip the rope with gloves on too.

As for handling the extendable slings on the cams.......  Place.  Unclip both strands, reclip the bar tack strand and clip the rope.  

When cleaning unclip the rope, extend the short strand and clip it.  Remove the cam.

An extended sling cam on a harness or sling is a real pain in the butt, so make sure your partners know the sequence.

Check it. https://youtu.be/EDvHdE-A7fw