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boominjeep
Aug 28, 2005, 4:09 PM
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A local gear shop had all the older camalots for 50% off so I figured shit. why not buy a few. Havn't had a chance to climb on 'em yet.
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slobmonster
Aug 28, 2005, 5:13 PM
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There is a significant design flaw in the "old" Camalots: they no longer cost as much. Return your cams, and make sure you pay full retail from here on out.
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musicman
Aug 28, 2005, 5:27 PM
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haha :lol:
there is nothing wrong with the old camalots. the new ones just are...well...better i guess. I've noticed that on the bigger sized camalots the thumb loop (new cams) makes it easier to place them, i found it harder to keep my thumb on the old ones. Nothing major, if i was you i'd go buy a bunch of old 1/2 off ones. sounds like a great deal.
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el_jerko
Aug 28, 2005, 7:32 PM
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There have now been two "new" Camalots since I got my first ones and I sure as heck am not getting rid of any of the "old" ones. Used them yesterday for example...
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tattooed_climber
Aug 28, 2005, 7:39 PM
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there's alot of threads on this....do a search
the 'last generation' of Camalots was just heavier and have not as large of a range per cam.....the C4 generation also have some newer features making them alot better than the last generation
my little tip of advice is only buy the last generation cams in the smaller sizes....if you Need the larger sizes (#3 and up i'd say) go for the c4s, their range and the fact they are hell of a lot lighters will be a big aid in crankin up harder trad lines
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docontherock
Aug 28, 2005, 8:00 PM
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In reply to: There is a significant design flaw in the "old" Camalots: they no longer cost as much. Return your cams, and make sure you pay full retail from here on out.
Better yet, mail them directly to me for 10% more than you paid for them and I'll make sure they are put in a place where this tragic design flaw won't hurt anyone....
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muslmutt
Aug 28, 2005, 8:52 PM
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Hell whenI saw the title to this post I thought he ment Chouinard era camalots. Mine are still going strong by the way. Damn I feel old.
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realdeal39
Aug 28, 2005, 10:05 PM
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It is a little known fact that once a company has a newer or upgraded version of a product they send out ninjas to skillfully put tiny microfractures into all outdated gear and sometimes even cut the wires on the old gear. The old camelots are a death trap and should be avoided at all cost. Shell out a little more for the C4's.
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climbbaja
Sep 24, 2005, 8:12 AM
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In reply to: Anything wrong with the Old Camalots?
:shock: Yes, there is! :shock:
See this link to Supertopo:
http://www.supertopo.com/...73&f=0&b=0#msg101666
My Chouinard Camalot #3 has a dangerous crack. (And it's not a "microfracture"). This is serious news and I'm going to immediately retire the dozen or so first-generation Camalots that I own.
This is the first news I've seen of this structural product defect.
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climbsomething
Sep 24, 2005, 8:17 AM
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They can so totally fail if you don't know how to place them. That's sketch, yo.
But if you're smoove, you can take a 25-footer onto a #3 and come out of it smellin' like a rose 8-)
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climbbaja
Sep 24, 2005, 8:55 AM
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climbsomething,
Did you read the Supertopo thread? I am not writing about an issue with proper placement. There is a structural defect which will result in catastrophic failure of the unit when loaded.
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anykineclimb
Sep 24, 2005, 12:18 PM
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what kind of moron uses gear that's 20+ years old?????????
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lofstromc
Sep 24, 2005, 1:52 PM
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I have some camalots I bought around four years ago, I don't know when they were made. I've inspected them and found four digit numbers on them, such as 6800, 6900 or 5193. Are these day month year numbers or something else?
I've climbing on them for all these years and have had no problems (obviously), but this post raised some doubts.
Can anyone tell me how I can tell if the ones I have qualify as "old", specifically, what are the years of camalot that are suspect?
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climboard
Sep 24, 2005, 2:52 PM
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In reply to: I have some camalots I bought around four years ago, I don't know when they were made. I've inspected them and found four digit numbers on them, such as 6800, 6900 or 5193. Are these day month year numbers or something else? I've climbing on them for all these years and have had no problems (obviously), but this post raised some doubts. Can anyone tell me how I can tell if the ones I have qualify as "old", specifically, what are the years of camalot that are suspect?
The ones with the cracks are 1st generation Camalots from 1987-1992 or so. They have dual stems and a small trigger that sits in between the stems.
The second generation are the single stem units.
The four digit code is a batch number and IIRC the first number is the year it was manufactured and the next three represent the day it was manufactured, so 5193 would mean it was manufactured on the 193rd day of 1995 or 2005.
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lofstromc
Sep 24, 2005, 3:19 PM
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Thanks Climboard!
I live in VA, like you.
If you need some climbing partners, PM me.
I do.
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dirtineye
Sep 24, 2005, 6:44 PM
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Pre-1996 camelsnots, bad.
Others, good.
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muslmutt
Oct 4, 2005, 3:23 AM
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Just checked my older camalots out of 7 one had 3 serious cracks in it. Making this the most useful post I've read in a while. The translation of the four digit code was good too. But my old camalots only have three digits. Do the same rules apply? Thanks.
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fear
Oct 4, 2005, 4:12 AM
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My climbing partner just found cracks in his ancient #2 Chouinard Camalot. JUST like the cracks posted on Supertopo... One side was very, very bad. Right where the U-Cable is swaged to the body of the unit. Kinda scary.
So INSPECT YOUR GEAR....
Anyone know of someone who does measured pull tests of equipment like this? If not I'll just break this thing myself and see where it finally fails...
-Fear
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billcoe_
Oct 18, 2005, 4:30 AM
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Dirtineye answered it for me: if you owm the origonal Chouinard U-stems it's part time to upgrade. The 3rd gen BDs were signifigantly better from a safety standpoint. I'll add, the last camalots, the C3 were claimed to be the best out there in their day.
Their day was only yesterday, just a bit ago.
The new Camalot may better, but the last model still rocks and is near the top of the pack.
(assuming that you liked the BD's0
b
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jt512
Oct 18, 2005, 4:07 PM
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In reply to: what kind of moron uses gear that's 20+ years old?????????
An old moron.
-Jay
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stymingersfink
Oct 19, 2005, 9:28 PM
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In reply to: My climbing partner just found cracks in his ancient #2 Chouinard Camalot. JUST like the cracks posted on Supertopo... One side was very, very bad. Right where the U-Cable is swaged to the body of the unit. Kinda scary. So INSPECT YOUR GEAR.... Anyone know of someone who does measured pull tests of equipment like this? If not I'll just break this thing myself and see where it finally fails... -Fear
BD has tested retired BD gear when you ask the right person nicely. Don't expect to get it back, though.
I collect old and retired hardware with a specific interest in coon-yard era camalots and first generation dual stem Black Diamond camalots. Old 'biners are cool too....
Anybody lookin to add to my collection? We can work out a fair deal, I'm sure. PM me, or post up
PS. the 3-digit testing code usually is marked "T" + month + last two digits of year. example T391 would be "Tested" "March" "1991"
Hmm. now that i think about it, what about oct-dec? did they just not make cams that late in the year? Can't say as I've seen one marked accordingly, so maybe i'm bullshitting.
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petsfed
Oct 19, 2005, 9:58 PM
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In reply to: the 'last generation' of Camalots was just heavier and have not as large of a range per cam.....the C4 generation also have some newer features making them alot better than the last generation
The new ranges don't do much for me. The end of the 3.5 camalot was a sad day though. If any of you have them and want to get rid of them, pm me with prices and I'll get back to you.
Even so, I still climb with original friends, and they get the job done very well.
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guyzo
Oct 27, 2005, 11:47 PM
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You could rig the old ones with shoelace/3mm cord and work them when you had mittens/gloves on...not a bad thing when its -10 outside. And Yes I do have 20 year old gear ...that I use all the time, hexes don't wear out. :roll: :roll: :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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philfell
Oct 28, 2005, 1:26 AM
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Just checked the old u-stems I still have..... No cracks yet.
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