Do 5.10+ climbers in Yosemite use Totems (not for aid)?

I keep hearing about Totems on the forum, but none of my free-climbing Yosemite buddies use them. I don't either. Are we on an island? Are we too old? Or have totems really not caught on to the serious free climbers in Yosemite? And I'm not talking about the 5.8 weekend warriors out there who thought they worked great on Nutcracker or for aid climbers. If you're a serious Yosemite climber and use them on free ascents, I want to hear!

ive never climbed in yosemite, and ive never led a trad route harder than 10+, and i have done some aid climbing, mostly on the weekends.

so since im exactly what youre looking for, they rock for free climbing. anybody telling you otherwise is selling you bd cams.

I whipped all over my totems on Five & Dime this past weekend. Does that count?

Every freeclimber I know in Yosemite and Soyo, under the age of 50 and that can afford them, use totems as at least part of one of the sets on their rack.

Reasons being:

• They make blind placements more likely to hold
• They hang a bit lower than C4s so they don't bunch up on the gear loops/sling as much as a double set of C4s do
• The narrow head makes them the golden child from a mating of aliens and C3s (especially when compared to the width of a black or blue alien head from back in the day, less so with the alien evos or totem basics)
• Their cost makes you less likely to bail if it means leaving some behind. 

Lol@the last one.

I am someone that mostly climbs in Yosemite, climbing 5.10/5.11s and I always climb with a rack of smaller totems black-purple. Don’t know how I got by before them! 

I wish I had nothing but totems. When you place one, you'll immediately understand. Even orange, not sure why that got a bad wrap. I want a blue, silver, and purple;) 

I climb lots of 5.10+ boulder problems on week days and have never found a need for them. They must be overrated. 

Honnold soloed Freerider without a single totem cam..

Ma Ja wrote: I wish I had nothing but totems. When you place one, you'll immediately understand. Even orange, not sure why that got a bad wrap. I want a blue, silver, and purple;) 

There isn't a silver....I think you mean yellow.  But yes I agree, once you place them you will understand.  Once you climb above them you will understand even more.  Once you whip on one you will be totally sold.  The biggest pluses are they are essentially a regular and an offset cam in one, they walk less than c4s and they can hold more securely through a larger percentage of their range given how they transfer loads directly into camming action of the lobes instead of having to transfer those loads through a stem and and axle.

yes.

I am not a Yosemite climber, but the only reason i only use a half rack of them is they don't hold passively which is sometimes a nice backup in rearward flaring cracks.

I’m certainly a Yosemite climber and I use them exclusively.  

Christopher Smith wrote:

There isn't a silver....I think you mean yellow.

I have a full set. You didn't understand the joke.

Ma Ja wrote:

I have a full set. You didn't understand the joke.

Are you saying the yellow corresponds to BD silver AKA .4?  Or is this more whooshing on my part?

Christopher Smith wrote:

Are you saying the yellow corresponds to BD silver AKA .4?  Or is this more whooshing on my part?

I want a 3,4, and 5.

~5.11 Yose climber and I pretty much only use totems. They just work in so many more placements and can make routes quite a bit safer imo. 

Totems are noob! Esp. that Rock Hudson guy who sent  Phoenix on hexes.

:P

I saw them on some Valley local's free racks last week. Personally, I'd love a set. 

I bailed off a Totem in Yosemite. Does that count?