Micro Cams

I am looking for some of the smaller sizes cams but I am not sure what to go with. I like the idea of the Z4s (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) but have not heard Good feedback. Or should I try to hunt down some C3s and probably overpay for used trustworthy cams. I am willing to spend some money but not looking to spend more than 200 on 4-3 micro cams 

I'd say buy one of a kind & try it out. That's personally my new approach to this kind of question. Honestly, there isn't much more you can gather here that you can't already know looking at the specs & reviews of each of those. The rest is largely down to personal preferences imo....

The Z4's are fine.  They are a step up from the X4's.  People who don't like them are just splitting hairs over minutia.  There aren't too many truly bad micro cams out there, just personal preference.  

Metolius are pretty solid I like them alot they are affordable and 0purple, 1blue and 2yellow fit that size range. You can almost buy doubles for the price of a single rack of z4.

Wild Country Zeros are my favorite 

Deven Lewis wrote: Metolius are pretty solid I like them alot they are affordable and 0purple, 1blue and 2yellow fit that size range. You can almost buy doubles for the price of a single rack of z4.

I like the Mastercams a lot too but that's a bit of a dramatic claim as they're only $10 less retail than Z4s. If I bought 6 Z4s I could have bought 7 Mastercams for that price. 

you might want to consider Ball nuts also they overlap with the smaller size micro cams

N H wrote:

I like the Mastercams a lot too but that's a bit of a dramatic claim as they're only $10 less retail than Z4s. If I bought 6 Z4s I could have bought 7 Mastercams for that price. 

Your right. How about 6 master cams and 2, 30 racks

The Z4's are nice, but they shine in the .3-.75 range. The .1 and .2 are nice too, just not as beefy as the twisted cables on the bigger sizes, for obvious reasons. I'd get a black Totem though before the .2 Z4. UL Master cams are really nice in the 2 down as well. 00, 0, and 1 feel great and place well.

Metolius

For the smallest sizes ball nuts are rated higher and are pretty amazing.  Harder to place and clean however.   I like my x4s other than I wish they were not quite as wide.

Master Cams, routinely on sale for $45ea + any active junky cashback.
Use those as your base rack of micro cams. Cheap. Durable. Light.

Play with partners fancy new Z4s, new WC zero friends (not out yet), Alien Revo, etc. Down the road, double up with a different set to compliment the master cams. Totems are awesome, but not truly micro, with black being the smallest. Those are great if you don't need to double up on 0.1-0.2 sizing. 

I have some Metolius UL Mastercams and like them. IMHO, they’re the biggest bang for your buck. You can get them for about $45 each from gearexpress when they’re on sale. I wish they would bring back the thumb loop though.

I bought one DMM Dragonfly (red) and really like it so far. Nice range for how small it is, thumb loop, flexible stem and extendable sling. 

I have C3's, Aliens, mastercams, and totems.  I really like the blue and black aliens revolutions, they seem to slot well.  The mastercams are good (I have the older thumbloop versions), but I find the trigger a bit stiff.  The black totem is the smallest totem cam and even then it isn't that small in comparison.  But it is a fantastic cam and it repeatedly amazes me the places it will fit and stay.  The C3's are my favorite though.  I have whipped 25' on my red C3 only to find that it held with 2 lobes engaged.  And if you aid climb you will appreciate the purple C3 for thin seems...I can't tell you how many times I have aided up on only 2 lobes.  I think this is one of the biggest advantages of the C3.  Most other 4 lobed cams would twist out on a 2 lob placement but with the C3 I often found that the middle lobe and the inner lobe were plenty good enough for body weight aid climbing.  One other advantage of the C3 is that the trigger is farther up the stem from the head of the cam.  This just gives you more clearance.  I remember last fall on El Cap where my alien triggers kept getting in the way on a thin right facing crack...the C3's didn't have this problem.  I think one of the most important considerations is to get multiple brands if you plan to double up.  With micro cams the camming range is so small and the fit slightly different between brands that a black alien will fit where a purple C3 or metolius won't (or vise versa).  As for the Z4's, I haven't played with them but I plan to get the smallest 3 just for the reason of having a slightly different cam which may fit better in certain places.

Just buy one black totem. Im pretty sure thats all you need.

Zev Fishman wrote: I am looking for some of the smaller sizes cams but I am not sure what to go with. I like the idea of the Z4s (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) but have not heard Good feedback. Or should I try to hunt down some C3s and probably overpay for used trustworthy cams. I am willing to spend some money but not looking to spend more than 200 on 4-3 micro cams 

They're all good. Plenty of people are still pitching off on ancient Metolius U-stems. Best thing is to ask the folks where you are climbing at and see what they like. Maybe play with some of their cams. I'm still hauling some older CCH Aliens on my rack next to the Black Totem (and up) and I like them and don't feel the need to change.  

Seriously, they're all so damned good these days. 

Buy whatever you like.  Have you had a chance to play with any micro and small cams?  I like the X4s and don't see much of an improvement (if any) in the Z4.  Maybe the width of the heads...  I would buy X4s on sale over Z4s at the moment.  I have smaller Metolious cams and really like the TCUs.  I still have old ultralight master cams, and they are cheap and light and do the job.  Also look at Aliens.

Dylan Pike wrote: Just buy one black totem. Im pretty sure thats all you need.

I'd say 2, so you can build a redundant anchor at the top of the pitch.

Franck Vee wrote:

I'd say 2, so you can build a redundant anchor at the top of the pitch.

Nah, that's what the pink tricam is for.

Hi, I have a black totem and I m looking for 2 to 3 cams that would have smaller ranges.
The Z4 seems very interesting but I cannot find a chart comparing them to the Totem and its not like I can go and have look in store those days :(
Any opinion on which one(s) I should pick ? Are all cams in the Z4 range smaller than the black Totem?
Thanks for the help!

Fabien M wrote: Hi, I have a black totem and I m looking for 2 to 3 cams that would have smaller ranges.
The Z4 seems very interesting but I cannot find a chart comparing them to the Totem and its not like I can go and have look in store those days :(
Any opinion on which one(s) I should pick ? Are all cams in the Z4 range smaller than the black Totem?
Thanks for the help!

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