Old camalots sling

I have one of those old 1989 camalots with the double stem that converges in just a bare wire, do I clip i carbiner to it to rack and clip to it or does it have some old sling I could replace? Thanks!

Absolutely do not sling 1st and 2nd gen Camalots. It is bare wire after all. 

Those original camalots had some problems with the heads and swedges.  I would give them a thorough inspection.  I can't imagine why you would still want to use them.  I had a couple when I was learning in the mid 90's and replaced them with single stems as soon as I could afford it.  I only had a 1 and 2 which were Ok but I remember the 3 and 4 being very unstable. I do still have a couple of rigid friends on my alpine rack so I'm not sure if that's any better but at least they were bought around 2002 or so.

I've still got my gen one and two Camalots that I bought new in 1987, as well as some Friends from 1980. Those early bare wire Camalots and Friends were designed for a biner, not a sling. Sewn slings weren't even a thing back then. I've hung and or fallen on all of them. But the only time I break them out is at Indian Creek. 

When you are looking at a big whipper because you've already placed all your new shiny cams, that antique gear starts to look pretty good. They still fly B-52's built in the 1960's. Aluminum lasts a long time. Leaving tomorrow for another Creek trip. My rack is basically the entire history of climbing, not counting pitons.

I learned this from Rock & Ice or Climbing in the early 90’s. Works great, and until the latest generation lightweight stuff came out this was my preferred setup. 

• Hard vinyl or poly tubing, slit down it's length to fit over the wire (slit facing away from the webbing)
• Cut  so it is a tight fit, which keeps the carbon frame snug up against the cam axle
• The loops are doubled, with a biner keeper so extensions are easy and fast. So is clipping
• Water knot or double-fisherman's. I just don't use them unless I check and tighten the knots for the day
• Also, I thread a 3mm or so cord through the trigger and the frame, tie it so it's snug, and then the trigger doesn't flop up and down which is why the wires break. Some of these triggers are very old.
• And finally, the loop of cord at the frame side also helps keep the frame snug to the cam axle - but more importantly it's a loop that I can hook with a nut tool. If the cam is stuck, give it a yank on that cord attached to the trigger and it will come out.

Steve McGeewrote:

I learned this from Rock & Ice or Climbing in the early 90’s. Works great, and until the latest generation lightweight stuff came out this was my preferred setup. 

• Hard vinyl or poly tubing, slit down it's length to fit over the wire (slit facing away from the webbing)
• Cut  so it is a tight fit, which keeps the carbon frame snug up against the cam axle
• The loops are doubled, with a biner keeper so extensions are easy and fast. So is clipping
• Water knot or double-fisherman's. I just don't use them unless I check and tighten the knots for the day
• Also, I thread a 3mm or so cord through the trigger and the frame, tie it so it's snug, and then the trigger doesn't flop up and down which is why the wires break. Some of these triggers are very old.
• And finally, the loop of cord at the frame side also helps keep the frame snug to the cam axle - but more importantly it's a loop that I can hook with a nut tool. If the cam is stuck, give it a yank on that cord attached to the trigger and it will come out.

I did this to mine, and found that the cable was cutting through the tubing. 

The Chouinard Camalots from the late 1980's often developed cracks in the heads.  Examine yours carefully and if you see any cracks then the cam is damaged and unsafe to use.  I have a #1 and #3 from that era and at first glance they seem fine.

Now look closely at the top of the #3 on the right side of the axle between the cams.  There is a prominent crack starting where the cable emerges from the head.  If you can magnify the image you might see that there is a smaller crack in the head just to the right of the prominent crack.

Here is the #1.  There is also a crack in the head; it's subtle and you have to look hard to see this one.  It's emerging from the middle of the hole where the cable emerges from the head.

These should not be climbed on.  Whether or not you should use yours otherwise, is for you to decide and there is a lot of discussion on these boards about using old gear.  

Thanks for the replies guys!! I ended up just sticking a carabiner on the wire and called it. As far as the head of the cam goes, I checked and there doesn’t seem to be any cracking. My specific cam has the rubber knobs on top of the wire swages to dampen the force of the cam closing, and the seem to have worked well enough… 

again, thank You guys for the advice, hopefully soon ill be climbing on this old thing!

Matthew Hoffwrote:

 My specific cam has the rubber knobs on top of the wire swages to dampen the force of the cam closing, and the seem to have worked well enough… 

????

Can you post a photo of what you're talking about.

So, this was kind of before the Intertubes, so kind of hard to find, but I remember BD testing cracked Camalots. They found that the swages could not pass between the double axle, and even with the head completely cracked through, they were safe to use.

 Still was/is a kind of a shitty unit, even by standards of the 80s and 90s. Now, for Camalot Jr.s, that was another story. I’m still happy to use those. 

Frank Steinwrote:

I did this to mine, and found that the cable was cutting through the tubing. 

Hasn't happen to me.

BD started making a chamfer, or recess around the ball swages after the recall to solve the problem. So if you have an axle housing with a 'seat' for the ball swage, you're fine. This was solved in the 2nd generation (pictured in APS's #3 with the one-piece frame).

Mark Websterwrote:

I've still got my gen one and two Camalots that I bought new in 1987, as well as some Friends from 1980. Those early bare wire Camalots and Friends were designed for a biner, not a sling. Sewn slings weren't even a thing back then. I've hung and or fallen on all of them. But the only time I break them out is at Indian Creek. 

When you are looking at a big whipper because you've already placed all your new shiny cams, that antique gear starts to look pretty good. They still fly B-52's built in the 1960's. Aluminum lasts a long time. Leaving tomorrow for another Creek trip. My rack is basically the entire history of climbing, not counting pitons.

Hexes, double stem friends and camalots, Valley Giants, totems. Yup. You've got everything there.