Wild country rigid stem

For whatever reason  I recall my landlord gave me this 20 years back.  Do climbers still use this?  Is it worth anything?

Not worth much anymore, though some people still use them in Indian Creek a bit. 

We still use cams, they haven't changed much but a "rigid stem friend" like you have there is more of a relic than something you'll regularly see used today. It might have some collector value but probably not worth much, maybe $20. Hang it on your wall in the work shop they are neat little devices and this one is in good shape.

I’ve got a 1.5 Friend of exactly that vintage on my rack. Don’t place it very often, but once in a while it finds a spot… 

I also have a slightly newer rigid-stem #3.5 that gets used regularly. Seems to be a really handy size.

Put on your lime-colored lycra, muscle man T and headband, crank up the Van Halen and go Full on OG!

Rigid stemmed Friends still work fine, except for the number one size, which always had a problem since the stem was too close in size to the retracted cam dimension.  Many placements were very awkward in that size.  The 1 1/2 size Friends were big enough to avoid this issue.

Ben Vwrote:

Not worth much anymore, though some people still use them in Indian Creek a bit. 

When C4’s came out, coming up on 20 yrs ago now, the rigid stem weight advantage went away and pretty much nobody was using them a few years later unless desperate to fill out a rack.  C4’s took these things completely off the market.  Now they’re museum pieces.  I haven’t seen them racked on anyone in years - except has-beens and never-was trying to look cool.

GNNwrote:

For whatever reason  I recall my landlord gave me this 20 years back.  Do climbers still use this?  Is it worth anything?

I bought one because I'm a sentimental weirdo who loves old gear and climbing history. I was surprised at how expensive they are. They're priced similarly to other, superior cams, presumably because of the demand from other weirdos like myself. 

I take mine along a lot and try and place it as often as possible. I don't think I'd want a rack of them, though. 

So you could sell it for $30-$40 probably. It would probably go to some gear collector who wouldn't place it much, but who knows, maybe some weirdo like me also enjoys climbing and getting to place a piece of climbing history. These things are incredibly bomber, gonna outlast me I'm sure. 

They still work fine. Cal Folsom was climbing at Vantage with a full rack of those this last Winter. He prefers them. That said, I prefer the new stuff. But as long as they've been lubed and had the slings replaced they are great. As someone else said, they are most often seen at Indian Creek where the #4 is a unique size...and you need as many cams as you can beg, borrow or steal, regardless of age

Cherokee Nuneswrote:

Put on your lime-colored lycra, muscle man T and headband, crank up the Van Halen and go Full on OG!

Are we friends in an alternative world?  I dress just like that!

Mark Websterwrote:

They still work fine. Cal Folsom was climbing at Vantage with a full rack of those this last Winter. He prefers them. That said, I prefer the new stuff. But as long as they've been lubed and had the slings replaced they are great. As someone else said, they are most often seen at Indian Creek where the #4 is a unique size...and you need as many cams as you can beg, borrow or steal, regardless of age

If it’s due to it’s unique size for a particular climb then I get it.  Thanks

I also have these.  All four has ABC imprinted in them but the 2 on the left imprinted differently from the right. Anyone heard or seen these before?

Advanced Base Camp cams, made in Korea. If I remember well, the name is Spider. Maybe the Spiders were the three cam units.