If I don't have Totems, will I die?

full range of Totem cams, TC pros, and pink tricam == immortal?

But yes, in general you will die.

Buying totems is not necessarily the actual causation for climbing harder. Probably just gives the "confidence" to try harder... kind of like the pink tricam or TC pros. 

Ted Pinson wrote: All men must die.

I have a few comments. 

1. Who said the tradiban was a male?

2. Your comment is extremely sexist.

Chris Blatchley wrote: this is the best you can come up with? getting a little lazy tradiban, i expect more from you.

It’s a warmup for our opinions on crag dogs?

Chris Blatchley wrote: this is the best you can come up with? getting a little lazy tradiban, i expect more from you.

Settle a bit little one. I'm genuinely interested in why these get the hype. The trolling title is just to catch your attention and force you to bump my thread to the top where more people will see it.

Trust me, I've been around a long time and I'm going to keep cranking out the hits while you're playing at the bowling alley.

 yer gonna die

abandon moderation wrote:

Pretty immortal, but not quite. What you really need is the Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Pro rope from REI!!!

With TC branded on both your feet and your rope, there's not much that can go wrong.

Rumor is they wanted an Alex Honnold rope but he thought it would be bad for his brand.

Rumor is wrong. NOTHING is bad for Alex's brand or pocketbook.

Alex Honnnold Bi-Pattern Glider

Tradiban wrote: So much spooge for these things. Are they really a game changer?!

I'd say it's a really good fit for you.  Spooge wise.

coldfinger wrote:

I'd say it's a really good fit for you.  Spooge wise.

Good thing I always carry a huge load.

I have the three smallest Totems: black blue and yellow. I got them because I needed something to take over the size of red and yellow c3’s. Yes, I know the yellow totem is basically a .4 though. I’ve never really found much benefit to having them. I’ve only found them more flexible than black diamond c3’s and c4’s to prevent walking as well as the fact that they fit between BD sizes. When it comes to pin scars, I’m usually grabbing an offset nut. The slightly unsymmetrical loading from a traditional cam doesn’t bother me. I guess totems just helped me realize that. I still carry them as part of my standard rack of BD cams. I guess they just inspire more out of me and mentally they place easier.

Nonancedotal answer: Physically in their design, the lobes have piecewise camming angles, combine that with the independent loading of each pair of lobes and I guess that makes non-parallel placements more secure while still also maintaining a wide placement range. That’s half the magic. The other half is harder alloy. Thus, an ability to maintain enough of a normal force to hold offset placements, which gives more options to the leader, which means God made them, they are now the best cam in existence, and everyone should buy them.

perfect marketing scheme.

Tl;dr totems inspire confidence inspiring harder sends

Edited: per Ryan’s comment

Chris K wrote: ... The other half is softer alloy....

Totems are 7075, right? So, harder alloy than most cams.

Garry R wrote: If you climb limestone they're definitely worth it.

Wisdom from a legend

I have two totems and my wife still hasnt killed me.

Gumby King wrote: I have two totems and my wife still hasnt killed me.

Talk to her after you buy whole set

Fehim Hasecic wrote:

Talk to her after you buy whole set

Theres a reason why I dont have a whole set...

Totems turn a2/c3 into c1

Tradiban wrote:
 If I don't have Totems, will I die? 

Yes, you will.

And I will die if I don't have my yellow BD C4.

Ryan Pfleger wrote:

Totems are 7075, right? So, harder alloy than most cams.

Hmm yes you’re right. I guess I should say that the harder aluminum is less likely to deform and can bite into rock more?  If a toothed piece of metal bites into rock it has more friction surface area compared to a metal that was toothed but deformed to perfectly curved surface. 

This was a 5.7 move. I would have died had i not been saved by my red totem. Praise be. 

Here's how to test the totem hype:

1. Go to your local crag. (Lol as if)
2. From the ground, place a totem in a placement that would be a bit sub-par for a c4 or other.
3. Yank on that sucker from every angle.

Yes, they're just cams in the end, but they really do feel like they're 1/2" bolts in bomber granite in a lot of wonky placements. 

Max R wrote: This was a 5.7 move. I would have died had i not been saved by my red totem. Praise be. 

What kind of rock is that?  Looks like dried mud...screams for a Tricam.