I bought all the smaller totems (normal ones, not the basic) to try them out for trad climbing (comparing them to the C4s I've used before) and I loved them so much that I ended up getting the whole set :)
I will be going to buy 6 dragonflys, the red one is my favorite size! it's fitting really well on tiny finger cracks! Have to fall on that twice and it wasn't even scary falls(placement was super solid granite crack) Totems are really good offset placements, and they have different sizes than BD & DMM so you have more options for what kind of gear you can use. And those totems will stay in placements which BD and DMM will not. I would recommend buy All dragonflies 6, Totems black to green (5 smallest ones), #1 and bigger -> normal Balck diamond c4, lasting so much longer than ultralights, and weight different is not that much worth at least not for me. Thank you for great video!
Hey great info here, thanks. I think this is the only video on TH-cam I've ever seen where there is a good range of cams discussed, I had never heard of the Kailas cams but i'll take a look. Also I find it unusual for anyone in the US or Canada to recommend anything other than BD. I'm in the UK so there's a lot of people rave about DMM and WC, much appreciated.
I'm a fan of the Wild Country friends instead of the BD C4 in size 1-4, especially the extendable sling. For 0.75 and under, I greatly prefer bendy cams like the Z4 instead of the Friends or C4. Totems in black to red are amazing for free climbing, especially around Washington.
Hi Glen, I love my Dragonflies too! I mostly climb easier stuff right now, but there are lots of small cracks here at the Gunks. I usually carry down to even the red dragonfly with me and I've found some bomber placements!
I’m trying to understand how crack size correlates to difficulty? I’ve climbed loads of easy and moderate routes that take really small cams. Also I’ve never understood the train of thought that small cams are only for aid. I would much rather place a small cam that “might” hold than no cam at all. Other than that I thought it was a great video.
If it's a splitter crack and there are no face features then yes smaller = harder, but in plenty of places like Frenchman Coulee there are plenty of super thin cracks that can be climbed at grades 5.9-mid 10's because there are face features and stemming opportunities. Check out "Crackmaster Lambada" which goes at 5.10b and eats up a whole pile of cams in the 0.1-0.4 range and micro nuts too.
Hey I know this video is a year old, but how have you thought the Wild Country Friends compare? I have enjoyed the history of that company, but I don’t hear a lot about their cams 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ Just curious about your input on them!
That's a great question @thomascee! Here are my thoughts, as I own several Wild Country cams: 1. The WC springs and trigger wires are better than those on the newer BD cams. Older BD cams beat the quality of both, but are heavier. In fact, I still guide with a rack of BD cams I purchased in 2005. I've replaced all the slings, but have only needed to replace trigger wires on two cams and all springs are working great. 2. WC sizes are slightly bigger than BD sizes. For example, a tight placement for a BD #2 cam will not fit the #2 WC cam. 3. WC cams seem to have softer metal than newer BD cams. This is good and bad. The lobes on WC cams deform more easily, which means they stick a bit better in funky cracks, but they also wear-out faster. They also get permanently stuck much more easily when they are over-cammed than BD cams. I usually like softer aluminum alloys in my small cams, and harder alloys in larger cams. 4. The edges of WC cams have not been rounded. This makes them MUCH more likely to get permanently stuck in placements than BD cams. In fact, all but one of the WC cams I own I have collected from stuck placements (I currently own four), and I have found that my own Wildcountry placements get stuck more easily. As a result I don't guide with WC cams, because they are harder for clients to remove without getting them stuck. BD cams are much more common here in the States, but I'm still finding the majority of stuck placements in Yosemite where I guide in the summer are either Wildcountry or Totem standard cams. Overall impression: Wildcountry copied the BD patent when it expired, which makes them very comparable. However, I still prefer BD primarily because they are easier to place and remove without getting stuck, and probably because I am more used to their sizing. The ability to lengthen the sling seemed cool to me when I got my first WC cam, but I've found the feature not super useful due to how limited the extra extension is (I still carry the same amount of extension with me on climbs when using WC cams). If WC made their larger cams from a harder aluminum alloy and rounded the edges, I would recommend them just as much (if not more) than the newer BD cams, as I feel BD's quality has really dropped in recent years.
Alien Revolution and Totem Standards are made in Spain, so, actually here in Europe we have enought choice to say that not all of our gear is made in China anyway. Btw, the Totem Standard cams are considered the safest in the world because of their unique caracteristics. What worries me about BD cams is the fact that the metalic zone that is made to stick into the rock when you fall is actually painted in colours, DMM cams brag that they dont have this and this way the grip on the rock is significantly improved.
That anodized zone on bigger BD cams really doesn't cause any issue, no reason to be worried about it. It wears off after placing them several times anyways. Some of their smaller cams and the newer ULs went to non-anodized surfaces anyways. What is more important is the hardness of the alloy used. Aliens for example are very soft and have a ton of friction, but they also deform on really hard falls
I used Metolius for many years, and their cams do have quality construction. They aren't mentioned here as the best cams because their cam range is very limited and the metal that's used in the head of the cams is quite hard, which makes them prone to popping out when you fall on them or when used in precarious aid placements. I have had Metolius cams pop on me many times while climbing granite routes in particular.
I bought all the smaller totems (normal ones, not the basic) to try them out for trad climbing (comparing them to the C4s I've used before) and I loved them so much that I ended up getting the whole set :)
I will be going to buy 6 dragonflys, the red one is my favorite size! it's fitting really well on tiny finger cracks! Have to fall on that twice and it wasn't even scary falls(placement was super solid granite crack)
Totems are really good offset placements, and they have different sizes than BD & DMM so you have more options for what kind of gear you can use.
And those totems will stay in placements which BD and DMM will not.
I would recommend buy All dragonflies 6, Totems black to green (5 smallest ones), #1 and bigger -> normal Balck diamond c4, lasting so much longer than ultralights, and weight different is not that much worth at least not for me.
Thank you for great video!
Hey great info here, thanks. I think this is the only video on TH-cam I've ever seen where there is a good range of cams discussed, I had never heard of the Kailas cams but i'll take a look. Also I find it unusual for anyone in the US or Canada to recommend anything other than BD. I'm in the UK so there's a lot of people rave about DMM and WC, much appreciated.
I'm a fan of the Wild Country friends instead of the BD C4 in size 1-4, especially the extendable sling. For 0.75 and under, I greatly prefer bendy cams like the Z4 instead of the Friends or C4. Totems in black to red are amazing for free climbing, especially around Washington.
Hi Glen, I love my Dragonflies too! I mostly climb easier stuff right now, but there are lots of small cracks here at the Gunks. I usually carry down to even the red dragonfly with me and I've found some bomber placements!
Nice info, would've appreciated the camera being much closer tho
did you really just say a double rack of ultralights is a "great beginner rack" ? Dude what
I’m trying to understand how crack size correlates to difficulty? I’ve climbed loads of easy and moderate routes that take really small cams. Also I’ve never understood the train of thought that small cams are only for aid. I would much rather place a small cam that “might” hold than no cam at all.
Other than that I thought it was a great video.
If it's a splitter crack and there are no face features then yes smaller = harder, but in plenty of places like Frenchman Coulee there are plenty of super thin cracks that can be climbed at grades 5.9-mid 10's because there are face features and stemming opportunities. Check out "Crackmaster Lambada" which goes at 5.10b and eats up a whole pile of cams in the 0.1-0.4 range and micro nuts too.
Hey I know this video is a year old, but how have you thought the Wild Country Friends compare? I have enjoyed the history of that company, but I don’t hear a lot about their cams 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ Just curious about your input on them!
That's a great question @thomascee! Here are my thoughts, as I own several Wild Country cams:
1. The WC springs and trigger wires are better than those on the newer BD cams. Older BD cams beat the quality of both, but are heavier. In fact, I still guide with a rack of BD cams I purchased in 2005. I've replaced all the slings, but have only needed to replace trigger wires on two cams and all springs are working great.
2. WC sizes are slightly bigger than BD sizes. For example, a tight placement for a BD #2 cam will not fit the #2 WC cam.
3. WC cams seem to have softer metal than newer BD cams. This is good and bad. The lobes on WC cams deform more easily, which means they stick a bit better in funky cracks, but they also wear-out faster. They also get permanently stuck much more easily when they are over-cammed than BD cams. I usually like softer aluminum alloys in my small cams, and harder alloys in larger cams.
4. The edges of WC cams have not been rounded. This makes them MUCH more likely to get permanently stuck in placements than BD cams. In fact, all but one of the WC cams I own I have collected from stuck placements (I currently own four), and I have found that my own Wildcountry placements get stuck more easily. As a result I don't guide with WC cams, because they are harder for clients to remove without getting them stuck. BD cams are much more common here in the States, but I'm still finding the majority of stuck placements in Yosemite where I guide in the summer are either Wildcountry or Totem standard cams.
Overall impression:
Wildcountry copied the BD patent when it expired, which makes them very comparable. However, I still prefer BD primarily because they are easier to place and remove without getting stuck, and probably because I am more used to their sizing. The ability to lengthen the sling seemed cool to me when I got my first WC cam, but I've found the feature not super useful due to how limited the extra extension is (I still carry the same amount of extension with me on climbs when using WC cams). If WC made their larger cams from a harder aluminum alloy and rounded the edges, I would recommend them just as much (if not more) than the newer BD cams, as I feel BD's quality has really dropped in recent years.
Shame you didn't review the the DMM Dragons
Alien Revolution and Totem Standards are made in Spain, so, actually here in Europe we have enought choice to say that not all of our gear is made in China anyway. Btw, the Totem Standard cams are considered the safest in the world because of their unique caracteristics. What worries me about BD cams is the fact that the metalic zone that is made to stick into the rock when you fall is actually painted in colours, DMM cams brag that they dont have this and this way the grip on the rock is significantly improved.
That anodized zone on bigger BD cams really doesn't cause any issue, no reason to be worried about it. It wears off after placing them several times anyways. Some of their smaller cams and the newer ULs went to non-anodized surfaces anyways. What is more important is the hardness of the alloy used. Aliens for example are very soft and have a ton of friction, but they also deform on really hard falls
Why not 0.3/0.4 x4 offset? Insted of 0.3/0.2 or 0,3?
No mention of Metolius, any reason for that?
I used Metolius for many years, and their cams do have quality construction. They aren't mentioned here as the best cams because their cam range is very limited and the metal that's used in the head of the cams is quite hard, which makes them prone to popping out when you fall on them or when used in precarious aid placements. I have had Metolius cams pop on me many times while climbing granite routes in particular.
If you have cracks big enough to stick cams in, why would you pull on your gear?
im pretty sure that DMM , are made in wales ...
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