Don't buy Fixe Aliens. Period.

Don't buy Fixe Alien cams. The experience of myself and most of my friends is that the trigger wires will pull out after normal usage. There is no repair kit commonly available and Fixe will ignore any emails seeking repair or parts (and generally neglect their customers). If you want a similar cam buy Totem Basics for much higher quality, but really anything on the market will likely serve you better.

Be more specific. Which Fixe Aliens?

I've been satisfied with the Revolutions (newest generation) and have had more problems with Totem Basics.

I won't argue about Fixe USA's reputation for customer service, but on the other hand if you have a problem with a Totem Basic you're dealing with a company in Spain. In my case it took two months to get mine serviced and returned.

Don’t buy any cams, they will get worn out after normal usage. Just free solo.

The Alien Lite ( the trigger wire were flexible cable and inserted directly into the cam lobes) was a disaster and it was common for the trigger wires pull out of the cam lobes. We even had some do that in the shop. We returned them all they were so bad. If they stayed put in the shop then in a month or two the cars would fray and break. There was no fix for this.

The Alien Revolution (the trigger are  made from sold wire), on the other hand, have been find and I haven’t heard any significant problems. 

Not sure if Fixe Aliens use a different design, but I’ve repaired CCH Aliens by using paper clips to replace the trigger wire. Really simple and cheap fix.

Nelson Klein wrote:If you want a similar cam buy Totem Basics for much higher quality, but really anything on the market will likely serve you better.

You mean the cams that are currently unavailable due to a critical recall?

Forget about Totem basics. At this point I think it’s safe to assume they are not coming back to market. There isn’t even any mention of the product on the Totem website anymore.

Hey, don’t hate on totem basics.  I have the entire set, including offsets, which weren’t impacted by the recall, and they have been nothing short of amazing.  

I see a trigger wire kit for sale on the Fixe site - do you have regular or Revo aliens?  Looks like you can buy and replace the wires on the non-Lite versions.

I'm pretty new to trad, but have the Yellow and Grey Revos, and they seem OK.  My Gray came with the head set at about 25 degrees to the trigger and thumb loop, which doesn't inspire confidence, but it's fine otherwise.  At least my trigger wires are good so far.

I thought only the smallest blue was not available. 

I recently bought 4 green aliens in a row and I had to return all of them for the same reason.  The lobes would get stuck in place every time I pulled the trigger. The first two (also the cross bars were loose) were the generation before the revos and had no hassle getting my money back because I dealt with amazon. The second two were revos feeling totally confident they would be fine, but as soon as I left the store they began sticking and progressively got worse. I went and easily exchanged it giving aliens one last chance, but I was let down again. Fixe IS shit.  Totems are THE shit.

Elias Tinseth wrote: I recently bought 4 green aliens in a row and I had to return all of them for the same reason.  The lobes would get stuck in place every time I pulled the trigger. The first two (also the cross bars were loose) were the generation before the revos and had no hassle getting my money back because I dealt with amazon. The second two were revos feeling totally confident they would be fine, but as soon as I left the store they began sticking and progressively got worse. I went and easily exchanged it giving aliens one last chance, but I was let down again. Fixe IS shit.  Totems are THE shit.

Did you attempt to diagnose the issue?  The way alien cam lobes rub each other with tight tolerances, dings from a placement or proof loading can, in some instances, make lobes stick. It’s an easy fix with a nail file. 

Kailas is currently selling their rebranding of Totem Basics. After being without them for a long time. So I'm guessing Totem had another run of these. 

mattm wrote:

Did you attempt to diagnose the issue?  The way alien cam lobes rub each other with tight tolerances, dings from a placement or proof loading can, in some instances, make lobes stick. It’s an easy fix with a nail file. 

They were all completely brand new, never touched rock. I checked for issues with the wires and deformities in the lobes and they were fine in that aspect. Has to be poor assembly.

Señor Arroz wrote: Kailas is currently selling their rebranding of Totem Basics. After being without them for a long time. So I'm guessing Totem had another run of these. 

Sorry but no. Kailas have over 1000 stores in China. They just bring some cams from the stores to put them on the website. It's two different inventory. Totem MT did not start back the product. 

Marc-Olivier Chabot wrote:

Sorry but no. Kailas have over 1000 stores in China. They just bring some cams from the stores to put them on the website. It's two different inventory. Totem MT did not start back the product. 

Cool. Thanks for explaining that.