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

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

Clearly you blocked the critical solution pocket with that Totum creating a dire situation that only a Totum could fix. 

Buck Rio wrote:

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

Welded tuff. Smith rock, true that tricams work well there.

Chris K wrote:

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. 

7075 Vickers hardness 175, yield 550 GPa
6061 Vickers hardness 107, yield 280 GPa (assuming BD uses 6061)

You can say whatever you want. Just make it up as you go along.

Spaggett, Gotcha! wrote: Why the black one though?

Because I'm most likely to fall on a tips crack where I can't jam at all. That little cam has been a tank on a few hard for me bits and caught it's fair share of whips, even got one when a marginal nut above it pulled and made for a longer fall. 

Totems are a "nice to have" that fit in some really wonky placement, if the crack isn't parallel they're nice. If you're having to place blind out of a layback and can't visually see the lobes it inspires a bit more confidence, those whips I referenced would have been fine on a blue alien too, but I couldn't see in to place it.

Do you have more disposable income than grit? If yes, you're gonna love totems. 

Ryan Pfleger wrote:

You can say whatever you want. Just make it up as you go along.

That’s not as fun though

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

Someone will be along soon, Max, to tell you how much better you'd have been saved by a tricam. (Hah, just saw when this posted that they already had.) 

Buck Rio wrote:

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

Welded tuft. (Smith Rock). Basically volcanic mud. I really only placed it so my gf could admire it when seconding the pitch. 

They are objectively better cams than all others in those sizes. (Red c3 - #2)

Whether they warrant the extra cost is subjective.

American alpine Club offers us 20% which I’m told gets you to about $70 per cam shipped. 

Cole D wrote: They are objectively better cams than all others in those sizes.

Except my understanding is that in very flaring cracks an actual offset cam still performs better.

Señor Arroz wrote:

Someone will be along soon, Max, to tell you how much better you'd have been saved by a tricam. (Hah, just saw when this posted that they already had.) 

That was me (tongue in cheek) I don't even own a Tricam any more :-)

Ryan Pfleger wrote:

Except my understanding is that in very flaring cracks an actual offset cam still performs better.

This is true if you have an offset that EXACTLY fits the flare. I'm not that great of a climber and find fiddling with gear draining and detrimental to my overall climbing performance. To me, the versatility of being able to just eye the crack and put a Totem in there vs. deciding it's a flare, find the offsets on my rack, find the right one, fiddle some more, is a great benefit. Aid climbers who use them all the time in pin scars seem pretty high on the Totems, too, though, so they must work okay for that. 

On El Cap, totems will make your life a hell of a lot easier. But they are definitely not a replacement for offset cams. Especially the small .1/.2 sizes. 

I was disappointed to find out that the smallest totem isn't very small, maybe this size of a 0.3 BD? For the price I'll be sticking with BD stuff. Hope I don't die!

Tradiban wrote: I was disappointed to find out that the smallest totem isn't very small, maybe this size of a 0.3 BD? For the price I'll be sticking with BD stuff. Hope I don't die!

The smallest Totem is more like a 0.2 BD. Have you only compare the range of both cam because what makes Totem the best cam has nothing to do with the range. 

I have been an Aliens/Camelot guy for a long time but after hearing about the benefits of the totems for aid I purchased a set from blue to red for an ascent of the Shield. After that route I was sold, at least for wall climbing. I now have a full set of Totems and after using them for a few days free climbing I find that I’m reaching for them over the Camalots and Aliens. In parallel cracks any cam will work but when the cracks get shallow or flared or horizontal, etc. the Totems just place much more securely. They seem to really excel in granite and while I haven’t used them in limestone I’m sure they would be great for that as well.

They are by no means necessary as you will get used to any type of gear that you are using on a regular basis. But I often find that they are the difference between an ok placement and a bomber one. I also did an ascent of the Finger of Fate not to long ago with a double set of Totems and they made the route almost casual.

Steven Lucarelli wrote: I have been an Aliens/Camelot guy for a long time but after hearing about the benefits of the totems for aid I purchased a set from blue to red for an ascent of the Shield. After that route I was sold, at least for wall climbing. I now have a full set of Totems and after using them for a few days free climbing I find that I’m reaching for them over the Camalots and Aliens. In parallel cracks any cam will work but when the cracks get shallow or flared or horizontal, etc. the Totems just place much more securely. They seem to really excel in granite and while I haven’t used them in limestone I’m sure they would be great for that as well.

They are by no means necessary as you will get used to any type of gear that you are using on a regular basis. But I often find that they are the difference between an ok placement and a bomber one.

Totems are designed for limestone... if youre pushing your limits on low friction rock then they are a no brainer

Black totem sits right between the .2 X4 and a .3 BD. Key difference, though, is it places much better than either.

I'm not a hard guy like you, Nick, but I rarely find myself needing my .1 or .2 instead of the black totem.

Either way, there's no beating death. 

All ya need is the black, blue, and yellow. The rest aren't worth it in my opinion. The small ones are incredible though. 

Tradiban wrote: I was disappointed to find out that the smallest totem isn't very small, maybe this size of a 0.3 BD? For the price I'll be sticking with BD stuff. Hope I don't die!

5/10

Señor Arroz wrote: Black totem sits right between the .2 X4 and a .3 BD. Key difference, though, is it places much better than either.

I'm not a hard guy like you, Nick, but I rarely find myself needing my .1 or .2 instead of the black totem.

Either way, there's no beating death. 

Totem seems like the superior design but I think that design most matters in the smaller sizes, the "micro" stuff, for the price the BD stuff will do the job just as well. If Totem had a smaller cam I would buy them for sure in that .1, .2 size. They probably don't because their design doesn't fit well into those sizes.