Wild Country Friend Cam's Size 1-3 sling question

Does anyone use these cams? do you think  the expandable sling is nice? when I tested it in the store I felt like it kept getting stuck where the sling is sewed. Not trying to carry so many alpine draws if I don't have to.

selma nunes wrote: Does anyone use these cams? do you think like the expandable sling is nice? when I tested it in the store I felt like it kept getting stuck where the sling is sewed. Not trying to carry so many alpine draws if I don't have to.  

Excellent quality, lightweight pieces, although sizes are slightly off from the similarly-colored Camalots (only really matters on Wingate). The extendable slings aren't long enough to make a difference, in my opinion. Dragons have longer extendable slings, but no thumb loop. 

F r i t z wrote:

Excellent quality, lightweight pieces, although sizes are slightly off from the similarly-colored Camalots (only really matters on Wingate). The extendable slings aren't long enough to make a difference, in my opinion. Dragons have longer extendable slings, but no thumb loop. 

yeah, i really like the dragons but I also have small hands so I prefer the lump loops. if the expanding sling doesn't make a difference then I might keep my metolious double rack. 

I like them, I have .4-3 in friends and C4s as doubles.  When you extend the sling, pull the bar tack (aka sewed part) away from the cam, not the smooth side of the sling to keep everything neat.

I find the extendo-slings handy when a piece is under a little bulge or just a tiny bit out-of-line.  Placing a c4 or mastercam unslung I really notice the difference in drag/walking, the Friend slings do have their use, you just still need alpines or shoulder runners depending on the route.

Not sure the dragons are actually "longer" when measuring from axle to sling end:

from: THREAD

The new friends are great, as are the new BD camalots. Lighter than the "old" c4s. They make a great complimentary set.

I have found the extendable slings are nice on long pitches - I usually run out of draws/slings at some point, so being able to conserve or still slightly extend a cam is helpful. A 'nice' feature, not a huge one, though.
I have 0.5-3 new Friends and new/2019 camalots 1-6. The friends are lighter through #1, #2 above, camalots  ​someone's spreadsheet comparing them​​​

selma nunes wrote: Does anyone use these cams? do you think  the expandable sling is nice? when I tested it in the store I felt like it kept getting stuck where the sling is sewed. Not trying to carry so many alpine draws if I don't have to.

The extendable sling is nice but you will still choose to take the same amount of draws most likely. It does allow a second option of where the caribiner sits, so you can clear it over the edge of a crack etc.

If you extend the sling by grabbing 1cm away from the bartacking, and pulling toward you the bar tacking doesnt hit the thumb loop. Grab 1cm away so you dont have the caribiner on the bartack. if you grab the side without the bartacking, you have to pull the bartack through the thumb loop

christoph benells wrote:
The extendable sling is nice but you will still choose to take the same amount of draws most likely. It does allow a second option of where the caribiner sits, so you can clear it over the edge of a crack etc.

If you extend the sling by grabbing 1cm away from the bartacking, and pulling toward you the bar tacking doesnt hit the thumb loop. Grab 1cm away so you dont have the caribiner on the bartack. if you grab the side without the bartacking, you have to pull the bartack through the thumb loop

come on did ya read any posts above you??

David Murphy wrote: come on did ya read any posts above you??

ain't nobody got time for that cmon now

There are definitely more than less scenarios that I take less draws due to having the extendable slings but I’d say that’s predominantly single pitch. I’ve come accustomed to always ripping the bar tack side to extend due to faffin with them a bit at times, too. 

I have a friend who has a set of cams with extendable slings. They're super annoying to clean as a follower, and +4 inches is useless for extension. 

I have Dragons and one of my partners has the Friends. While the total length isn't very different, the Dragons with extended slings just "feel" like they're extended more, maybe because there's more sling and less cam stem? I have placed a Dragon with no additional extension, but never done so with a Friend.

With that being said, they're super useful for getting the carabiner off of an edge, like someone mentioned above.

Nathan Sullivan wrote: I like them, I have .4-3 in friends and C4s as doubles.  When you extend the sling, pull the bar tack (aka sewed part) away from the cam, not the smooth side of the sling to keep everything neat.

I find the extendo-slings handy when a piece is under a little bulge or just a tiny bit out-of-line.  Placing a c4 or mastercam unslung I really notice the difference in drag/walking, the Friend slings do have their use, you just still need alpines or shoulder runners depending on the route.

I totally agree with this. I have a single rack of WC friends from .4-4 and depending on the route you still need aplines. The extendable draws on the WC friends is only good for little overhangs or extensions. 

I only really find the extension useful when pairing with a sport draw for when I need just a little bit more length. Lets me save my alpine draws for nuts and anchors.

I have a set of .4-3 WC friends with extendable slings and a set of C4s in the same sizes. They are great cams of the same general design, but I generally prefer the WCs to the C4s because of the sling. Also, there is no anodized finish on the contact points of the lobes on the WCs so theoretically they MIGHT grip better than a new C4?

I have yet to be upset about having an extendable sling, though I do not always use it. There are times where it provides just the right amount of extension and can save you from needing to use an alpine draw if you need to conserve them.

Doesn't this belong in "climbing gear discussion" not "climbing gear reviews"?

And you just need to get in the habit of pulling the strand with the bar tack when you extend.  I'd also tell you partners to get in the habit of shortening it BEFORE they remove it and repack it when cleaning.  These two things seem to be the main complaint, though I don't understand why as it isn't that hard to be smarter than two loops of dyneema instead of one.

I put my color code mark on the heat shink over the stiching to make that spot stand out more. So you can see easily what to pull to extend.

timothy fisherwrote: I put my color code mark on the heat shink over the stiching to make that spot stand out more. So you can see easily what to pull to extend.

Dude there isn’t any heat shrink on the bar tack that is the dmm dragons 

I bought my 1-3 sizes, I'm very happy with them really don't see why I'd go for anything else, especially if you see any amount of aid in your future of climbing. 

I have a set of 1-3 friends i bought this April new from Moosejaw. They appear to be the new version but the date on the slings is 2008 (did they have extendable slings then?) Is this a typo on the sling?

Courtwrote:

I have a set of 1-3 friends i bought this April new from Moosejaw. They appear to be the new version but the date on the slings is 2008 (did they have extendable slings then?) Is this a typo on the sling?

The new friends came out April 2016. Your sling was manufactured in May 2019, as is embroidered below the CE certification.

I have one of those in size 3 (the blue one) easy to place and bomber when placed right.
I don't really care that much for the extendable sling, worst, if you use it, when you re-rack in a hurry it will hang very low on your harness and be annoying, for this reason I never extend it and use a alpine quickdraw when extention is needed