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C3's. Thoughts?

Original Post
Andrew Caraballo · · Milwaukie, OR · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 530

I'm sure there has been much discussion, and I'm relatively new to plugging gear, but I would like to see other folks thoughts on C3's. I've heard from different sources that they are reliable for protecting thin cracks (vs. micro nuts) while traditional free climbing, and from others that C3's are only safe and should be used while aiding.

Dustin B · · Steamboat · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 1,275

I like them, use them and have fallen on them while free climbing and they have held when the placement was good. Some people dont trust them in sandstone (surface contact area) but they seem to do ok for me.

Will Eccleston · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 25

I bought one early on (the green) to replace a left behind 4 cam unit. I thought it would be the ultimate, and that I'd eventually replace all of my Metolius TCU's. Not so. They are totally bomber in a textbook placement, but I find that the stiffness of the stem makes them very susceptible to walking out of a less than perfect spot. (much more so than Metolius TCU's) If you are plugging it into a perfect horizontal or vertical crack - Bomber. If your placement is less than perfect, perhaps not so bomber.

Aaron Martinuzzi · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 1,485

i like C3s; I've found they fit very well in a lot of placements due to their narrow head. as far as surface area goes, i think it was mentioned in another thread that some of the units have more surface area than comparably sized Mastercams (4-cam units) due to the width of the lobes. i've found them to be much more stable than TCUs. For what it's worth, I have a very low opinion of Metolius TCUs due to their less-than-ideal handling, lack of stability, and the fact that the trigger bars on the smallest units are wider than the lobes. I like Mastercams a lot more than TCUs. C3s are stiff, and I have partners whose units are a bit bent from falls or from placements that were out of line of the rope path and got yanked on pretty good that way, but they still function well. One limitation I've found is that they don't perform as well in pin scars and flaring cracks since they only have 3 lobes.

edit to add: Aliens are great.

Robin Leopold · · Denver, CO · Joined Dec 2006 · Points: 0

I agree with both Dustin and Will.

I have double C3s on my rack, and love them. The #2 has caught me on ripping whippers, even when tipped out.

However, I've had times where I would have given my left nut for an Alien, TCU, etc., because I couldn't place a C3; or a C3 was shaky at best.

The moral of the story is, C3s are great, but you gotsta diversify your rack!

Jay Eggleston · · Denver · Joined Feb 2003 · Points: 21,326

I love them. I have been caught by the "00" size twice.

matt davies · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 25

I also like the C3. I started climbing on TCU's down to a blue, then bought green and purple C3's for the smaller sizes, and I freakin' love the green. It held a fall that ripped an admittedly poorly placed blue TCU and barely kept me off the deck, for which I am eternally thankful. Said fall worked the TCU and as soon as I can get enough scratch I'm going to re[place it with a red C3.

Chris Plesko · · Westminster, CO · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 485

My main partner has them. I like them quite a bit. They are expensive though so I own TCUs at this point.

Andy Laakmann · · Bend, OR · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,990

Set one set of C3s, and one set of MasterCams or Aliens... perfecto. They are different pieces and compliment each other nicely.

Aerili · · Los Alamos, NM · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 1,875

I own a set. They aren't my favorite small cam but they work well for most cracks and are reliable. I have fallen on one and it still cleaned easily and came out looking totally untouched (but hey, I'm also relatively little).

Ditto on the other comments about being "stiff." My next small cam purchase will probably be either the long stem WC Zeros or the Mastercams (or a mix of both) because they feel more like Aliens and place more easily in a larger variety of cracks than the C3s.

John Maguire · · Boulder, CO · Joined Nov 2008 · Points: 195

I want to trade my like new red, #1 C3 for a blue and a yellow mastercam. Anyone interested?

Trevor · · Cottonwood Heights, UT · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 180

the 000 grey one has made quite the difference on a few aid routes i've done. holds weight no problem with only 2/3 lobes in the crack...if you aid climb, get at least the smallest one. the rest have their moments...

Scott O · · Anchorage · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 70

I've aided with them. They're pretty good, but I like the feel of the Metolius small cams better. Really it just comes down to personal preference.

Sirius · · Oakland, CA · Joined Nov 2003 · Points: 660

One problem with them is the fat plastic encasement around the trig wires. Blocks your ability to view quality of placement in harder clean aid - this matters when you have to step up onto them, sketched to hell, and unable to get a view of the way the cams are seated from below.

The encasement can get wedged in thin cracks. In this photo, the green C3 trigger and plastic casing has become wedged after my partner took a fall on p3 Serenity Crack. Hassle to get out, tweaks the overall alignment of the cam, etc.

"Wedged" C3 on Serenity Crack

These cams are also too expensive.

On the other hand, they are incredibly bomber in my experience. This piece, with the big bite out of one of its cams, held a 25 ft fall after an OP Link Cam failed (I mean failed, structurally, not popped):

The life-saver yellow C3, a little worse for the wear but still kicking.

chuck claude · · Flagstaff, Az · Joined Jul 2006 · Points: 225

I have 6 of the green c3s on my rack (and have done numerous 20fters on it), and some of the routes take all of them, plus my 00,s and a 000 ( and yes it is for trad routes)

John Richardson · · Greenfield, Ma · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 60

LOVE EM! - I've taken falls on them, and I caught a fall in Jtree where the cam tipped out and still held on two lobes - so nice...

The deal is they are a little expensive, but they are SOOO light.

//get em - you'll love em

Monty · · Golden, CO · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 3,520

they fit where other cams don't. I use mine a lot. The only issue I have with them is that if you have any trigger wire issues, they are a pain in the ass to fix.

claytown · · Boulder, CO · Joined Sep 2006 · Points: 1,210

Kinda like everything in trad climbing, ultimately it's going to be a judgement call on your part as to whether or not you prefer C3s. Me personally, I like Aliens best but I have a set of C3s and they work great as well. I often take a set of each since they fit slightly differently. I've taken whippers on all of them (except grey) and none have never pulled... a red one held that I didn't expect, and probably saved me from serious injury.

On the up side: they are awesome for pin scars, the smaller head allows for shallow placements and pro on funky cracks, solid construction

On the down side: they can get stuck more easily than some finger pieces, 4 lobes are nice on softer sandstone, the largest is slightly smaller than a yellow alien... I wish they had one or two larger sizes

All in all, they are a great piece of gear, and not only meant for aid climbing. They work really well for free climbing too.

Sirius · · Oakland, CA · Joined Nov 2003 · Points: 660
Sirius wrote:
after an OP Link Cam failed (I mean failed, structurally, not popped):


Will Anglin wrote: I want to see THAT picture!
OP Link Cams: not your friend, in my opinion.

Trouble

Trouble
Superclimber · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 1,310

I get bad vibe from the link cams.

Phil Lauffen · · Innsbruck, AT · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 3,098

Took a whip on the purple today (#0?) on great white crime.

I think the placement was eh..., one of the lobes was only 20% retracted. Held just fine though. They are very nice pieces in my opinion. The one problem is that repairing the trigger wires is, as stated, pretty obnoxious.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Trad Climbing
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