Whats the smallest cam you ever fell on?

About 15 feet onto a friend's brand new blue TCU. Maiden voyage for the cam. The head of it ended up all crooked the way a TCU can get ganked and the sling got shredded. Lol.

Probably in the hundreds of whips on blue metolius/red c3 size as well as the purple metolius/green c3s.  Many, many falls on grey metolius/purple c3s as well as easily 20+ whips on blue ball nuts in various placements.

Generally speaking small gear works in good rock and you don’t generate as much impact force as you think when you fall.  Care needs to be taken when you’re close to the ground, the fall isn’t clean, and/or the piece you’re falling on isn’t redundant, but more often than not I’m surprised by what the placements that caught me look like (umbrella’d, undercammed, generally wonky, etc) after I pull back up to them. 

Earlier this year, attempting an onsight FA with @mrchossboss , I failed to latch a deadpoint and fell onto a blue ballnut in Wingate. It ripped, as did my nest of three (!) blue and yellow Scrotems in a horizontal kitty litter crack.

Mike caught me on a #0.75 with my feet five inches above a boulder. With a less attentive belayer, I would have broken both ankles (at least) from 17 feet up.

It went the next go and we and gave it a fitting name. Dinner was on me that night.

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/122292509/astrogote

Alex Guzmanwrote:

Old or new aliens?

Newer version. 

00 Metolius in Zion.  Aid climbing.  Pretty good fall...dimly recall probably a 20 footer.  On two cam lobes (shallow placement).  Held, thankfully, as I'd back cleaned a long ways.

00 alien. how far and how massive the climber is just as important

I have fallen on my 000 c3 from about 5 feet above and up to the left. held and did not pop. the piece now lives on the shelf though.

#1 Trango Flex cam, the old kind with roll pins for cam stops.  It umbrellad when the roll pins sheared and it popped out.  Fortunately there was a bomber hex placement that caught me a couple feet before hitting the ground.  

Dr Wormwrote:

000 in sandstone free climbing? Scary!!!! I wouldn't take a piss on ten of those nested together in Wingate!

Mine is about 20' onto a small blue metolius. It was the only piece I had plus a light belayer, so probably not that much force?

There's a climb in moab that involves making  5.13 moves way above a 000 c3 nest, forgot the name but there's a video on YouTube

popped a little nut and fell ~10ft onto a 0.3 X4. Cheers Ben, that was a good cam.

blue alien, purple tcu, purple mastercam... all held. Shorter (5-10ft) falls, but 2 with not much rope out. Never had a piece rip, but one blindly placed green alien probably should have. 

Probably either the #4 bd nut or the green C3– I’ve never whipped on anything smaller, but my blue metolius has caught me many times. 

I fell on a .1 x4 on Scarface and it held, I think my feet were barely above it though so hardly a whipper. 

Sam Mwrote:

There's a climb in moab that involves making  5.13 moves way above a 000 c3 nest, forgot the name but there's a video on YouTube

It's a sideways dyno to the left. 

Not really much above the pieces but 000 are super small.

Carbondale Short Bus 5.14- at 4x4 wall in the Creek.

bryans wrote:

Heartened to see all these purple Metolius falls! 

My thought exactly. +10

A proper whip. It held.

First ever trad whip was on a .1 X4. Route was mixed, so I had a bolt below it, but I fell on the cam and it surprisingly held.

Cams are for wussies.  40' on a #3 BD Stopper.

I've whimpered (not whipped typo) onto a purple mastercam and blue alien. They held the soft falls just fine and gave me the confidence to whimper upwards afterwards.
Largest peenut has held a couple times too. 

0.1 x4 in calico hills sandstone.