Tri-cams and hexes

I am a new trad climber and generally only climb trad routes that are pretty easy.  My current rack consists of black diamond stoppers and an assortment of SLCDs.  I do not, however, currently own any tri-cams or hexes.  

Is it worth getting any tri-cams or hexes for a beginning rack?

What benefits do they give versus SLCDs and normal nuts?

Only if you have a limited budget. Virtually no one carries hexes and tricams are fiddly and not worth your time.

Get offset nuts instead!

You should look up tricams in the forums. There have been many, many discussions about them. They have their haters, lovers, and in-betweens. You can read the discussions and decide for yourself. No need to rehash it here, although it seems inevitable now that you've thrown the meat in the dog pit.

I don't have hexes, but I'm a member of the church of the immaculate tricam, and I'm here to proselytize!

Tricams:
1) fit rare funny little pockets where nothing else will
2) are the hands-down best pro for horizontals, especially shallow/flaring ones
3) Are lighter and cheaper than cams, and thus supplement cams well for when you run out of cams or want to reserve cans for later on a pitch
4) are euphoria-inducing when you set a perfect pink placement
5) are just generally bad-ass

Here we go!

Tricams:

1. very rarely
2. just climb two more feet
3. cheapass
4. weird
5. no

And much cheaper than cams, if you need to bail and leave gear behind.

I own black, pink, and red non-evo tricams. I carry them if I think I'll need extra pro for an anchor, if the pro is likely to be weird, or if I want doubles without racking up more cams.
They're definitely handy for protecting weird, pebbly cracks and not a bad way to fill out a rack, as they don't weigh much.

Your second may hate you though.

Small Tricams are great depending on where you climb, Hexes will collect dust in your closet.

I have both. Haven't carried my hexes in years. I'll bring tricams in Eldo when shit gets really weird and literally nothing else will fit. I love my tricams, but very rarely use them.

Dude: you won't need any Tri-cams in the Rockies.  I've climbed up and down the American Rockies for 27 years and never needed a Tri-cam. I OWN them, but never needed them.  Your cash is much better spent getting camming devices.

I also grew up with hexes. I only have 4 Torque nuts (a kind of hex) now, because SLCD's are so far superior to them for every day use.

If you go east to climb, they become much more valuable. But why climb out east when you live in the sub-Mecca of climbing?  Yosemite being Mecca.

I have very rarely used my hexes since I got a full rack of cams. My tricams on the other hand, I still use all the time. I only have the black, red, two pinks, and brown camp tricams and I have a double rack of cams, but it still tend to find at least one place on each route where one of the tricams works better than a cam. Maybe that is because of the nature of the rock near me. 

I will only speak to tricams since I look like a moron trying to place hexes.

I don't ever think they are a requirement to own but if you get good with them they have their place. If your second hates you when cleaning I personally think your placement was likely too tight.

For days when I'm feeling doing something weird for fun I'll do entire climbs with a double set of tricams. Although at this point unless the crack gets wider than the blue (biggest I own) it doesn't feel like a big challenge beyond using cams.

Also, I tend to bring them before a second set of cams when the approach hike is longer. Especially if the climbing isn't technically hard.

And honestly, even though I'm one of those that probably like their tricams too much, I'd say unless you're really strapped for cash make sure you have your cams in all sizes you need first and a second set available either from you or your partner before tricams.

If you don't have a partner with gear and you only have enough money for a set of tricams for the foreseeable future, and find yourself running out of .3 to 1 be size cams. Then tricams are a decent solution.

Oh and if you want to place them one handed the newer models (both Evo and standard in normal sizes) have a stiffer runner which is cool in those smaller sizes.

Depends on what I’m climbing and where I’m climbing. Hexes are light and tricams are light. Cams of the same size are a bit heavier. If I’m climbing at my limit, I’m never reaching for a hex. If I’m traveling 6+ miles and am unsure if I’ll need extra gear, I’ll pack the hexes to serve as a double for a single set of cams. Hexes are however my least used gear. They are cheap if you are struggling to buy enough cams. Tricams come whenever I know there is a bunch of horizontals. 

Medium tricams (red, brown, blue) can be a nice multi-functional replacement for large stoppers.

Eugenel Espiritu wrote: Depends on what I’m climbing and where I’m climbing. Hexes are light and tricams are light. Cams of the same size are a bit heavier. If I’m climbing at my limit, I’m never reaching for a hex. If I’m traveling 6+ miles and am unsure if I’ll need extra gear, I’ll pack the hexes to serve as a double for a single set of cams. Hexes are however my least used gear. They are cheap if you are struggling to buy enough cams. Tricams come whenever I know there is a bunch of horizontals. 

And Eugenel just proved my point...you will never see someone from Bishop or Truckee saying "get some Tricams".  But anywhere east of the Ohio they love them Tricams. The sedimentary rock is more suited to it. 

Sam Skovgaard wrote: I don't have hexes, but I'm a member of the church of the immaculate tricam, and I'm here to proselytize!

Tricams:
1) fit rare funny little pockets where nothing else will
2) are the hands-down best pro for horizontals, especially shallow/flaring ones
3) Are lighter and cheaper than cams, and thus supplement cams well for when you run out of cams or want to reserve cans for later on a pitch
4) are euphoria-inducing when you set a perfect pink placement
5) are just generally bad-ass

I don't think Sam is wrong, per say, but I think everything is area dependent and given the feedback from others in your area, tricams seem like a nonessential investment.

As for hexes, I carry them on multi-pitch trad routes with gear anchors, as they're a great alternative to using up much-needed cams. If you plan to do a lot of these kind of routes, they're a lightweight and cost-effective way to not short yourself of 2-3 cams you/your partner might need on the sharp end. They can definitely be finicky though, so I rarely use them on lead. Also, they're great for bailing off of.

Buck Rio wrote:

And Eugenel just proved my point...you will never see someone from Bishop or Truckee saying "get some Tricams".  But anywhere east of the Ohio they love them Tricams. The sedimentary rock is more suited to it. 

Same here in Australia, solid quartzite-conglomerate loves tricams. Carbonates also seem to be good for them, although I've never climbed on one.

Basically if the rock you're on was deposited in a fluvial or shallow marine environment you'll probably want tricams.

Former Climber wrote: 

Gunks metaquartzite is not sedimentary.

It's borderline, the sedimentary/metamorphic boundary is a big grey area.

Tricams are passe. What you need are quintcams. At least until the sexcams come out.

I really like the DMM torque nuts. My home area is central NC with quartzite, but I also took them to Vegas and placed them a lot there as well. Maybe it's because I tend to stick to moderate climbing with larger irregular cracks? 

Tricams are the jam for multipitch gear anchors. I carry pink and red instead of larger nuts.