Mountain Project Logo

Where do I send cams (BD C4 and Totem) for trigger wire replacement?

Original Post
Mei pronounced as May · · Bay Area, but not in SF · Joined Jul 2015 · Points: 182

Seeking current information on where I can send a few cams for trigger wire replacement. 

BD website's Gear Repair (via 3rd party) appears to only touch upon soft goods repair. I found Runout Customs based on a MP thread, but their page says they don't do Totem. I know there are DIY threads floating around, but I'll borrow my partner's words (when I went up to get his bail biner down), "I have a job" (except that I don't). Well, just like I'd not resole my own shoes -- I want to leave this important job to the professionals. 

(Pretty sure my partner broke them. Regardless, our combined rack is thinning out.)

Andre Chiquito · · Seneca Rocks, WV · Joined Jun 2019 · Points: 872

Those trigger wires are impressively screwed up!

I don’t have much information to offer you in terms of finding a service to do this, because I couldn’t find one either, so feel free to stop reading here if you want.

I just did the trigger wires on a couple of my Z4s, and it wasn’t too bad, just took some time. I used some thin copper wire from a hardware store to do it, but there are threads out there on how to do it so I won’t go into it more for no reason.
The main thing I wanted to say is that redoing the trigger wires isn’t really a safety concern for the BD cams, as the part of the cam that carries the load is entirely unrelated to the trigger wires. The worst case of screwing around with a DIY trigger wire fix would be getting a cam stuck that’s otherwise completely unusable right now.
If you’re bored, unemployed, and have an ounce of curiosity, you should go for it :) 

You're probably on the same page on this, but definitely don’t try to do a DIY job for the totem, YGD

Michael Vaill · · Yosemite · Joined Apr 2017 · Points: 106

Once you’ve done a few, C4 wires take 5 minutes per cam and is pretty hard to screw up. A $10 spool of wire is good for maybe 100 cams. Totems are a bit more tricky, which is why most people (DIY and pro) won’t do them for you. You can ship them to the manufacturer in Spain but probably want more than 1 cam to make the shipping worth it.

Gunkiemike · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 3,737

I do it a lot for folks who aren't included to do it themselves. $10 for a BD Ultralight ($6 for non-UL BDs). $20 for Totems. I'll PM you my shipping address if you want me to do it.  Mike

Mei pronounced as May · · Bay Area, but not in SF · Joined Jul 2015 · Points: 182

Thanks to all for sharing the helpful information!

Gunkiemikewrote:

I do it a lot for folks who aren't included to do it themselves. $10 for a BD Ultralight ($6 for non-UL BDs). $20 for Totems. I'll PM you my shipping address if you want me to do it.  Mike

Glad that I posted as this is what I was looking for. I've asked my partner to check if he can find the other(s) that broke. We've almost got a single rack of broken cams!

dave custer · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 3,083

BD has recently retriggered and reslung cams for me: https://blackdiamondequipment.com/products/camalot-repair-service?variant=49660774908221 

The experience made me happy...

Nigel Barry · · England · Joined Nov 2022 · Points: 4,815

Nomad in Jtree will do BD for c$10 a wire, just had my Friend 3.5 repaired ($15 for 2 wires). If the right staff member is in shop it is about 10 minutes per cam.

Mei pronounced as May · · Bay Area, but not in SF · Joined Jul 2015 · Points: 182

Ahh... It's nice that Mike is able to take care of all the cams (BD and Totem), but it's good to know about BD offering too. I didn't find that webpage when I checked. 

Nigel Barrywrote:

Nomad in Jtree will do BD for c$10 a wire, just had my Friend 3.5 repaired ($15 for 2 wires). If the right staff member is in shop it is about 10 minutes per cam.

Nomad is our favorite climbing shop and we almost always make sure to stop by any time we visit JTree. Even if we didn't need any gear, my partner always manage to find guidebooks to buy for future daydreaming. It's great to know that they offer that repair service in shop! 

WillF · · Sacramento · Joined Jul 2007 · Points: 30

Mei,

I also had a good experience with black diamond replacing trigger wires. They do a great job on both C4 and C3 trigger repairs. 

The #3 I left behind was because of my DIY trigger repair job. I have since sent my cams to BD when I have more than 2 cams to fix. I just use duct tape around the trigger wires until that stops working. The trigger wires come back looking like new...

I would love to see how they look after Nomads fixed them. 

Will

Nigel Barry · · England · Joined Nov 2022 · Points: 4,815

My other 3.5 was repaired in March 25 and is still going strong.

Mei pronounced as May · · Bay Area, but not in SF · Joined Jul 2015 · Points: 182
Gunkiemikewrote:

I do it a lot for folks who aren't included to do it themselves. $10 for a BD Ultralight ($6 for non-UL BDs). $20 for Totems. I'll PM you my shipping address if you want me to do it.  Mike

I'm back to report that Gunkiemike delivered! USPS "gifted" me a 2-day shipping despite me paying for Ground, which should take a week (CA - NY), and Mike fixed them the same day he received the cams. So it did not take long before I got my fixed cams back. They operate as if they've never been broken before, but I love even more how neat the repair was. One really has to squint to see the difference, even in the Totem, which folks say can't be done because the wire is part of the stem. Excellent price and he only charges shipping at cost. Thanks, Mike! 

It's interactions like this that still draw me back to Mountain Project from time to time. People are real and people try to help. Again, thanks to everyone who chimed in. 

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Climbing Gear Discussion
Post a Reply to "Where do I send cams (BD C4 and Totem) for trig…"

Log In to Reply
Welcome

Join the Community! It's FREE

Already have an account? Login to close this notice.