Who has whipped on a #1 Dragonfly?

Inspired by the Z4 Thread, I'm gathering opinions on the Dragonflies. There are a few older threads on this, but now the Dragonflies have been out long enough that I'm sure people have some experiences with them. How well do they work, how are they holding up to abuse, and are there any annoyances we should be aware of?

Favorite small cam, hate the stupid extendable sling

I have a dragonfly #2. Its been placed around 30 times so far. I have not taken a big fall on it yet, but I have taken a couple of short falls and it held well. It seems to be holding up so far. Feels almost exactly like an alien.

I took a medium sized whip on the blue #4 Dragonfly and now one of the lobes doesn’t retract properly. The metal doesn’t look particularly deformed, not sure what’s wrong with it.

I fell on one twice in the same crappy placement. It ripped both times. (I don't blame the cam, I knew the placement was marginal.) The second fall broke the little nub that holds the wire in place when it ripped out and the cam was dead weight for the rest of the climb. It was easily fixed back home by crimping a bit of brass back on in place of the piece that broke off and I'm still using it when the climb calls for such a little thing. Overall, I think the Dragonflies are fine cams. I wasn't crazy about the idea of the extendable sling, but I actually like them now and I think that they enable me to carry fewer slings/draws. I think that the extendable sling is more annoying for the second than the leader though, so if your priority is a mildly less annoyed partner then maybe that's a consideration for you? The action in the smaller cams is not as smooth as with the larger ones, but in an actual climbing situation I can't say that this matters to me; I've never in my life had the thought that "boy, I sure wish this action was smoother" while actually doing rock climbing. Maybe at home on the couch. They are nice and flexible, and I haven't had any issues with them walking. All that said, If I were buying another set of little cams today I would probably not buy them again and go for mastercams or the new BD ones. I was lucky and bootied the tiny green BD cam and I prefer that to the Dragonfly in the same size. Narrower functional head and it feels sturdier. A little easier to place as well with the stiffer stem. 

I’ve whipped on the yellow one 2x and it’s held up pretty well slight deform on one of the lobes but still appears bomber and retracts nicely. My buddy whipped on the red. One size smaller  about 8 feet and it actually deformed less than the yellow, maybe it was just a really bomb placement. Overall I really like them my only complaint would be they are kinda flimsy and can be tough to place especially if your reaching for a placement or it’s a tight fit.

Wow, I can’t believe nobody has mentioned totem cams yet, isn’t that how every small cam thread is supposed to derail?

Colonel Mustardwrote:

Wow, I can’t believe nobody has mentioned totem cams yet, isn’t that how every small cam thread is supposed to derail?

The black totem is definitely imo the best small cam but it’s not a micro like the flies which has atleast 3 maybe 4 smaller sizes.

Matt Penawrote:

The black totem is definitely imo the best small cam but it’s not a micro like the flies which has atleast 3 maybe 4 smaller sizes.

Oh, I’m aware. That’s just the part when you insist the as yet devised totems are still better. 

Colonel Mustardwrote:

Oh, I’m aware. That’s just the part when you insist the as yet devised totems are still better. 

You're just trolling, so I'm not responding to this for your sake, I'm responding for anyone else who wonders.

I'm a big fan of the Totems, but I wouldn't hold my breath for Totems in smaller sizes. There are a bunch more moving parts in the Totems than in other cams, and my guess is that it would be very difficult to make a smaller cam than the black with a similar design. Better materials or manufacturing techniques might make it possible, but they would likely drive up cost to a point where there isn't a large enough market for the product. This is why someone who has Totems might be interested in Dragonflies or other cams that go into smaller sizes.

I hung from the green one placed in a loose block and had a few swings down when I got a bit above the placement...held just fine.

Ted Pinsonwrote:

I hung from the green one placed in a loose block and had a few swings down when I got a bit above the placement...held just fine.

You hung from a cam with maybe a 3mm usable range placed in a "loose" block. It couldn'ta been that loose!

Took an 8 foot fall on the yellow in what seemed like a marginal placement (shallow in sandstone). Held beautifully. The fall was a complete surprise, I would not have been confident it would hold before actually whhipping. Huge confidence booster in the little guys...

Sam Cieplywrote:

I took a medium sized whip on the blue #4 Dragonfly and now one of the lobes doesn’t retract properly. The metal doesn’t look particularly deformed, not sure what’s wrong with it.

Same happened to my #4, the axle is slightly too long, allowing the lobes to slide and the spring to stick between the lobes.

I had metolium ul mastercams and got dragonflies as a second set in small sizes, sold them all for totems and new aliens.

They would get super dirty super fast (as in halfway up a single grade III climb) and not retract as well, in addition to the issue I described above.

Isn’t this thread a bit of an example of survivorship bias :)

Short Fall Seanwrote:

You hung from a cam with maybe a 3mm usable range placed in a "loose" block. It couldn'ta been that loose!

It’s been loose for at least 40 years, but it definitely wobbles.  It’s not going anywhere but definitely doesn’t stay put either.  The placement seemed to actually hold it in place.

From the small cam thread, and as referenced by caughtinside:

“Gargano wrote: I've been climbing on some routes that require micro cams lately. After going through the process of comparing cams I ended up getting the two smallest dragonflies (#1 green & #2 red) to complement C3s and ballnutz™ for the thinnest placements. Sometimes tiny placements are so particular that only certain pieces will fit well, despite multiple units being within the same range. I took a few falls on the green dragonfly and, while the piece held, the trigger wire broke and the lobes were decently damaged. Due to the tight geometry of the lobes, trigger wires, and stem I can't replace the trigger wire at home. Still waiting to hear back from DMM regarding repair. The unit did its job but it's a bummer to have gear break on its first use and be out of commission due to tricky repair issues. The green Z4 and the green dragonfly have essentially the same range. I'd be more likely to go with the Z4 in the future. It'll be easier to get them cheaper and potentially easier to repair in the field.’

Never heard back from DMM.

Red dragonfly is for sale.

The lobes sit snugly against each other and the lip of each lobe overlaps the trigger wires and springs. The issue is getting the wire out. 

bro how u gonna play your dragonfly like that, he sacrificed everything to keep you off the ground :'(

If you don't have the skills to get that trigger wire out that's fine, most people probably wouldn't unless they are a machinist, mechanic, or some other job working with tools and metal parts. But I don't know why you guys are ganging up on Dan, he was just trying to help.

This is all off topic anyways...

Took about a 15 footer onto a Dragonfly #1, it held great, but when I lowered off and cleaned it, I noticed one of the "L wires" that pulls the lobe down had broken. The small little keeper weld under the wire bar had broken off. Not exactly sure how this happened, but currently in the process of working out a repair with DMM. If the repair goes well, and they take care of me, ill likely buy several more of the smalls in the future, I like it a lot. 

For reference, DMM told me it had to be sent to them because the L wires are not consumer replaceable, which is frustrating and not the best design.