Yellow and up it is close to being a wash with a slight edge to aliens. I understood that the Mastercam camming angle was indeed smaller than that of the Camalots but the same as that of WC Friends and DMM Dragons. Where we found some flaw in the design on these cams is that the middle cam lobes are too close together creating somewhat of an unstable placement prone to walking with the movement of the rope. Quite apart from the fact that it might snap, rendering the cam totally useless, it also meant that the cord would slip around the trigger bar making placing the thing a real pain. It's nice to have a mix of different brands of cams, I think all the big name cams are fine. Master cams aren't perfect but in my mind they are a solid small cam. Rock Climbing Zion | Jon, thank you for your review. Mastercams are less flexible than Aliens, but with a sling, who cares. My only issue with them is that the lack of range. Jon Griffith's first climbing days were in the Avon Gorge at Bristol. ), and the *newest* cam to come out (Spring 2013) - the. The smaller units are maybe what interests people the most. cams, I think about other cam designs (Metolius Fat Cams, TCUs, & offset TCUs, Black Diamond C3's, Aliens, etc. The bigger sizes are too flaccid so I'd say blue-orange is my master cam rack. The u-stems are flexible enough for horizontal placements, while also providing a high clip-in point for aid climbing and the cam head is compact enough to fit into some awkward and tight placements. Rockfax The downside versus the old metolius tcus is that the quad cams will not pivot in an upward pull. Gene, I think Nate was referring to the argument stated in both threads that 5.12 and beyond climbers don't like mastercams. The Official Trip Report, Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 11, 2016 - 10:44am PT, Topic Author's Reply - Aug 11, 2016 - 11:29am PT, Topic Author's Reply - Aug 12, 2016 - 11:19am PT. Indeed, when I first started to build my rack, the "made in Oregon" helped me to decide. Just about any name brand cam on the market is going to safely hold a fall when properly placed, even on 5.hard terrain. 2.) American Alpine Institute - Climbing Blog, Rock Climb Red Rocks - Las Vegas, Nevada, Climbing Events December and January 2012, Win a Free Copy of Andy Kirkpatrick's Cold Wars, National Geographic: Adventurer of the Year Award. There is no right or wrong here as it's just a case of personal preference. I've got aliens that are 12 years old, probably 30 days/year? I'm re-posting my question in a new thread since the folks in the know are probably (and rightfully) not reading the thread I posted it in originally. How can we improve GearLab? I am a manufacturing engineer, but my asessments are based on climbing regularly and placing gear and not dyanmic testing or working in the lab with them. It seemed a very weak point and one that wasn't going to last very long on the rough Chamonix granite and unfortunately it proved so. Having scoured the internet for similar horror stories it seems that I got a bad batch and that the versions released on the market live up to the high standard of manufacturing that Metolius are known for. As another of the UKC gear reviewers, I've had this problem as well; I'm going to be writing the DMM Dragon review, and I can compare them to the 4CUs that I've had for 4 years, and the Friends, flexi friends and quadcams I've had for 15 or more years - but I've never owned Camalots and I bet lots of people will want to know how they compare to them! Ultralight Powercams are Metolius' response to climbers' constant and ubiquitous call for lighter climbing gear. As a result, an includes discounted products from Rockfax. My partner took a 7 foot fall on it on Lazybum in the valley, held fine. Let us know! The BD C4s took the cam market by storm and there are die hard fans all over the world, including myself, but recently I've been really appreciating the extra holding power of the Metolius cams. By I did an initial review here - read down a few posts, I saw I posted on the Strength ratings as well. Basically rendered it useless in 2 climbs. As mentioned before, we weren't actively cognizant of using the rangefinder, but we think that it does register in our brains when placing the piece. layton, November 16, 2011 in The Gear Critic. The point of micro cams is that they can fit into tiny placements: with miniscule cracks you don't have much margin for space so the narrower the head the better. I don't have all the generations of the Metolius cams, but here are the three I do have: Yep, you can call me a nerd for geekin out on cams, but hey, I use Instead, Metolius Cams always seem to have gaps. This past weekend, I found myself going through all my rock climbing gear to clean, sort, and decide what's still good for use. The triggers are small and slippery. Beta | Forum | Trip Reports | I'll concede that I know there are placements that C3s excell because they are narrower, but the vast majority of my placements on smaller sizes don't require a super narrow head. 1.) For a small finger sized cam, I love the "u" shaped 4 cam metolius units. I also prefer aliens (that work) except in snowy/icy conditions. The light and compact design makes them ideal for back country adventures, or any application where traveling light is key. them a lot, and I think it's pretty cool. I have several friends that climb 5.12+ trad, and they LOVE their Metolius cams for crack climbing, so I don't think there is some group concensus that 5.12 crack climbers don't like Metolius cams. We found Powercams to be admirable performers as far as durability goes, and the u-stem is flexible enough for horizontal placements. Climbing is dangerous. There were no issues with this, so it was decided to add this to the new range of cams to make the most of the benefits. Mastercams in my opinion are unwieldy and hard to place in a panic. I however avoid woven sheaths Cams in general as much as possible for others reasons From Colin Haley Colin Haley equipment for alpinism, "Avoid cams with woven-sheathed cables (Aliens) for alpine climbing, as they can freeze up and become useless, dead weight.". With regard to all backcountry travel and climbing, you must make your own assessments and decisions, and you assume all risks in applying them. And a rough survey of 'well-assembled' aliens showed many had randomly mis-drilled axle holes which rendered their holding power an inconsistent crap shoot. (Ed's note: Aliens are now difficult to find because the company Colorado Custom Hardware Inc. is up for sale). First, name dropping for who uses what and for what reasons isn't really a convincing argument. I bought two of the 3 cam version back in 1982 when they were selling them out of a pickup in Yosemite. When you click on links to buy products we may earn money to support. The new engineering that allows you to load a Totem cam on just one side(2 lobes) and hang off it(no guarantee it will hold a lead fall set like that but good for aid), should tell you something about their holding power in other then perfect placements and also their resistance to walking when both sides of the cam are engaged. -Powercams on the right, new Mastercam on left. Totems wear as well as any of the other cams. I don't find it to be more a problem than any other small cam. Two Days in and Around and On The Flake. These are the closest competitors in design (small 4 cam devices). When I contacted Metolius I was told that it was not an issue that they had seen before - it often happens that when you review gear you get prototype kit meaning that there are often modifications before it is released on the market. I wrote this review quite a while ago so I cant remember the figures I had gotten from all the companies off the top of my head but I will get back to you on all their camming angles jon, Please support the following outdoor retailers who support. Not massively convinced that this would do the job I took them out again for a good alpine beating and surprisingly enough they are still completely intact after all this time. UKClimbing Limited. Please help UKClimbing continue to provide varied and free content by becoming a UKC Supporter, or UKC Supporter Plus which How many days have you climbed on your totems? From top-end bouldering to multipitch trad, we have something forevery style and every climber. Messages 1 - 18 of total 18 in this topic, Yosemite Valley, California USA, Apr 30, 2019, Yosemite Valley, California USA, Apr 18, 2019, Yosemite Valley, California USA, Apr 17, 2019, Yosemite Valley, California USA, Mar 31, 2019, The Kohala Ditch Trail: 36ish hrs on foot to and from the headwaters. 2) sizes from #4 (red) and larger "stick" some when you first pull the trigger. Green-Red Alien are their sweet spot. Points: 50, Latest Next, up are the C3's. Another area where we found the Powercams lacking was in that they had one of the lowest ranges of all the cams that we tested. The Totem Basics are a near spot on version of the CCH Alien with some tweaks and improvements that make it better overall. How can we improve SuperTopo? Weekend Warrior - Videos to get you STOKED!!! To me, they are alien copies with no advantages and several downsides. Add on top of this the range finder, which Metolius has on all its cams nowadays, and you can feel really secure with your placements. Way more burly and long lasting then Aliens (which I loved), but thats not saying much. another point? In practice, the Master Cams worked really well and felt even more secure than the Power Cams that I had tested earlier (OK, pretty unfair to compare as there is one less lobe on the Power Cam). We really liked the fact that the cams are so light and compact compared to other cams that we tested. However I wanted a cam that works long term and I didn't want to have to worry about resetting the cam lobes every time I wanted to place it. The larger ones stick and are hard to engage without bending the floppy stem. Hopefully the Spaniards do a better job of it. There hasn't been one "name dropping" on this thread. Ol' Blue has fit into more little tips cracks than I can remember, and held more falls than I'd like to admit. Building a rack of cams can be confusing and expensive A camming device is often referred to as a "camming unit" the world's most carefully tested and objective gear reviews. flaneur: As Toby has said I dont actually own either the Zero or the Alien cams. Myself repeating Highlander with a set of Mastercams, VII 7 Ben O'connor Croft. If that's the case, what do like more about tcus. You will usually need to sling them due to the relatively rigid stems. Optimator" yesterday using master cams in the tips section. I've never had one snap or heard of it being any widespread problem since they fixed the degreasing issue of the first few runs. Climbing, skiing and mountaineering are dangerous sports. Since they use the smaller 13.25 cam angle they have a smaller range. I alway concidered a C3 a "specialty piece". I watched a guy send the ". The finish and handling seem nice though, like all metolius products. No cherry-picked units sent by manufacturers. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. All trademarks property of their respective owners Looked like the Fixe has a much higher breaking strength. The cam-angle statements that backup those claims aren't disingenuous - the Master Cam cam lobes are cut from the same cam stock as their TCUs. interesting articles, comprehensive gear reviews, breathtaking photographs and a vast and useful logbook system. After good use in both summer and winter conditions in the Alps I've really enjoyed having these on my rack. Metolius has created a very lightweight camming unit that will serve you well on lightweight backcountry adventures and big walls alike. I read that Totem tweaked the range to make the grey obsolete, but when I add up the numbers, it still looks like Fixe wins. I HATE the spacing between BLUE and Yellow. Below a Green Alien the Master Cams and other designs are better. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. In Smith tuff or pods of Basalt nothing is better. I find them perma frozen in cracks everywhere. Weight wise the C4s are on the heavier side but this is due to their dual axle design and therefore they have a larger camming range. From Yosemite to the desert Southwest, to the Northeast and Southeast, it seems like everyone is out craggin' in Rocktober. Home | Climbing Areas | Free Rock Climbing Sierra At first I really missed my aliens, but after the withdrawl, I haven't looked back. For whatever reason the blue master cam just seems to get jammed oddly in a marginal placement too often. 1. It's a workhorse, to be sure. The green alien is far far better then any other cam in that size. They have stood the test of time. I hope it went well. I think Mastercams aren't terrible, but I can't see ever preferring them to aliens. and -Three generations of #1 Metolius Cams. It's unfortunate, but obviously we can only do comparisons to stuff we do own and have used plenty. They promptly sent out a new set, which have a protection around the weak part of the Kevlar cord (which happens to be where it threads through the trigger bar). I have the size zero purple master cam and like it a lot. Granted I don't lead 5.12 and I haven't broken one (which would shake my faith in them, as blowing a couple placements on a C3), but I feel like I've climbed enough, and had to make some pretty creative placements from "marginal stances". If We also found that the u-stem cams are much easier to clean with a nut tool if they get wedged in there.
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