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sanarteaga
Feb 26, 2010, 3:13 AM
Post #1 of 22
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Ok... So I am doubling my small SLCD and I have decided to buy master cams 00, 0 and 1. However I have not decided what to buy for my "biggest small piece" (aprox. 15 to 20mm, finger size). Options are: Master Cam #2 (47USD @ alpenglow) Camalot C4 #0.4 (47USD @ alpenglow) Camalot C3 #2 (55USD @ alpenglow) (won't buy aliens... or anything else) What would you recommend? What are the pros and cons of one and other? I mainly do free climbing on sandstone... And will be doing some aid on yosemite soon.
(This post was edited by sanarteaga on Feb 26, 2010, 3:16 AM)
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Rudmin
Feb 26, 2010, 3:45 AM
Post #2 of 22
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Alpenglow had that Master cam for $43 not too long ago.
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johnwesely
Feb 26, 2010, 3:50 AM
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Go with the Mastercam.
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forkliftdaddy
Feb 26, 2010, 4:11 AM
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What cams do you already own?
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jakedatc
Feb 26, 2010, 4:40 AM
Post #5 of 22
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i'm a fan of mastercams and tcus below .75 that is me i have MC 4, 3, yellow tcu, yellow alien, green alien. and am eventually going to get a 0 purple tcu or mastercam to my tiny oh shit cam
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boymeetsrock
Feb 26, 2010, 4:49 AM
Post #6 of 22
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I have the #2 mastercam and the 0.04 C4. I would reach for the mastercam first almost every time. Edit to add: my choice is due to head with and flexibility. The semi stiff action of the mastercam gives the feel of a 'snug' placement too.
(This post was edited by boymeetsrock on Feb 26, 2010, 5:00 AM)
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hafilax
Feb 26, 2010, 6:08 AM
Post #7 of 22
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Mastercam
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vegastradguy
Feb 26, 2010, 6:17 AM
Post #8 of 22
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sanarteaga wrote: Ok... So I am doubling my small SLCD and I have decided to buy master cams 00, 0 and 1. However I have not decided what to buy for my "biggest small piece" (aprox. 15 to 20mm, finger size). Options are: Master Cam #2 (47USD @ alpenglow) Camalot C4 #0.4 (47USD @ alpenglow) Camalot C3 #2 (55USD @ alpenglow) (won't buy aliens... or anything else) What would you recommend? What are the pros and cons of one and other? I mainly do free climbing on sandstone... And will be doing some aid on yosemite soon. the C3 #2 is equivalent to the C4 #0.3, its also roughly equivalent to the Blue Mastercam. If i had to pick between the Mastercam and .4 camalot....sandstone and yosemite...probably the mastercam, although i tend to carry both. the Yellow Mastercam is slightly smaller than the .4 camalot, so if you carry the mastercams up to yellow and then the .5 camalot and up, there'll be a small gap in the big fingers size....
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Samiam277
Feb 26, 2010, 6:56 AM
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Yeah like Vegas said, the C3 #2 lines up with the blue Mastercam and a 0.3 C4. Consequently, the C3 is the one I would choose. I have a 0.3 C4 and a #2 C3, and I have used Mastercams a fair amount. The C3 is by far my favorite. They are the narrowest, yet also the most bomber once placed. If you are looking for the equivalent of the yellow Metolius or 0.4 C4, I would probably go with the C4.
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tedman
Feb 26, 2010, 5:00 PM
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sure about the #2 C3 (yellow) and the #1 (blue) mastercam lining up? I feel like the yellow c3 and the yellow #2 mastercam line up better... both great for those finger cracks. But yeah +1 on the mastercams at or below .75 c4 range. So thats red/orange/yellow/blue/purple Just a bit narrower than the c4s which helps in alot of shallow cracks you find.
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MS1
Feb 26, 2010, 5:29 PM
Post #11 of 22
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Courtesy of REI:
In reply to: Mastercams: # Size 1 Blue = 12.5 - 18mm / 8 kN / 68g # Size 2 Yellow = 15.5 - 22.5mm / 10 kN / 70g C3s: # Size 1 (red) = 12.0 - 18.8mm / 10kN / 62g # Size 2 (yellow) = 14.2 - 22.6mm / 10kN / 66g So the yellow c3 and the yellow mastercam have a nearly identical published range. (Edit b/c of formatting stupidity.)
(This post was edited by MS1 on Feb 26, 2010, 5:31 PM)
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vegastradguy
Feb 26, 2010, 11:55 PM
Post #12 of 22
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MS1 wrote: Courtesy of REI: In reply to: Mastercams: # Size 1 Blue = 12.5 - 18mm / 8 kN / 68g # Size 2 Yellow = 15.5 - 22.5mm / 10 kN / 70g C3s: # Size 1 (red) = 12.0 - 18.8mm / 10kN / 62g # Size 2 (yellow) = 14.2 - 22.6mm / 10kN / 66g So the yellow c3 and the yellow mastercam have a nearly identical published range. (Edit b/c of formatting stupidity.) Courtesy REI for the .4 camalot- .4 = 15.5 - 26.7mm / 10kN / 83g quite a bit of overlap in general on that size for whatever reason.
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camhead
Feb 27, 2010, 12:02 AM
Post #13 of 22
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There is no right or wrong answer, and my choice between a Metolius TCU or a C4 would depend on the type of rock you'll be climbing on. Get the c4 if you are going to be climbing on soft sandstone that has a lot of parallel cracks, or even for hard granite that also has a lot of smooth, parallel cracks. If you are going to be placing in more incipient seams or pods, go with the Metolius. No opinion on the c3.
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granite_grrl
Feb 27, 2010, 12:59 AM
Post #14 of 22
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I really like TCUs and Mastercams personally. I find the headwidth of the Camalots way too wide once you get below a 0.75 (and in fact the smallest Camalot I carry is the #1). I have the .5 C4 and stopped carrying it long ago because of headwidth, the .4 is going to be as bad or worse. I have used the C3s enough to say I really really really don't like them. The spring it too stiff and that plastic trigger thing is too wide....but there are people out there that lot the C3s. Personal choice I suppose. And of course Camhead brings up the whole point about rock type, which is another factor to consider I guess. To the OP: have you had a chance to play with any of these and start forming your own opinions? If not, this is usually a good place to start.
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vegastradguy
Feb 27, 2010, 2:12 AM
Post #15 of 22
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granite_grrl wrote: I really like TCUs and Mastercams personally. I find the headwidth of the Camalots way too wide once you get below a 0.75 (and in fact the smallest Camalot I carry is the #1). thats interesting- must be a local phenomenon- i much prefer C4s to most anything else down to .4, and even .3 most of the time- i carry mastercams and c3s for my tiny cams and sometimes up to fingers and bigger, but only if i think headwidth is going to be an issue which is rarely, if ever.
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granite_grrl
Feb 27, 2010, 2:21 AM
Post #16 of 22
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vegastradguy wrote: granite_grrl wrote: I really like TCUs and Mastercams personally. I find the headwidth of the Camalots way too wide once you get below a 0.75 (and in fact the smallest Camalot I carry is the #1). thats interesting- must be a local phenomenon- i much prefer C4s to most anything else down to .4, and even .3 most of the time- i carry mastercams and c3s for my tiny cams and sometimes up to fingers and bigger, but only if i think headwidth is going to be an issue which is rarely, if ever. It probably has a lot to do with what you get used to when you start climbing, though perhaps it's a regional thing too.
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sanarteaga
Feb 27, 2010, 11:22 PM
Post #17 of 22
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Registered: Mar 23, 2008
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thanks everyone for your beta! i think i will swing towards the mastercam (will buy 00 to 2)... then if I feel there is an actual gap at finger size get a c4 0.4.
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qtm
Feb 28, 2010, 4:53 AM
Post #18 of 22
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granite_grrl wrote: vegastradguy wrote: granite_grrl wrote: I really like TCUs and Mastercams personally. I find the headwidth of the Camalots way too wide once you get below a 0.75 (and in fact the smallest Camalot I carry is the #1). thats interesting- must be a local phenomenon- i much prefer C4s to most anything else down to .4, and even .3 most of the time- i carry mastercams and c3s for my tiny cams and sometimes up to fingers and bigger, but only if i think headwidth is going to be an issue which is rarely, if ever. It probably has a lot to do with what you get used to when you start climbing, though perhaps it's a regional thing too. I have C4 (.3 and .4), MC (Y & B), and C3 (R & G). I prefer the C4s over the MCs, mostly because the range is nearly the same as the aliens they're replacing. I do place the MCs, but I'll reach for the C4s first. Maybe that will change with time as I get used to the range of the MCs. I haven't placed the C3s much, they seem much less stable, but maybe it's just that I'm not used to placing TCUs.
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mhix13
Mar 1, 2010, 2:57 AM
Post #19 of 22
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*recent convert from sport* *less than 1 year trad. leading* MHO: Don't have small C4s (mine start at 0.75). I've got 1-4 and I like those sizes in the mastercams. My doubles are 00-4 Metolius TCUs and i like the masters better. #2 is gr8! I've got a 0 c3 and was going to try a 00 mastercam (to double down to 00) but it was superstiff and didn't feel as good holding/retracting the cam as a c3 at that size (side by side it looks like the same amount of metal-rock surface area but the c3 is not as wide)... so I'm gonna get that 00 c3. try em out in a gear shop. Hold em and see how they feel. Try to imagine how that particular size would place in the rock.
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boadman
Mar 1, 2010, 8:28 PM
Post #20 of 22
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vegastradguy wrote: granite_grrl wrote: I really like TCUs and Mastercams personally. I find the headwidth of the Camalots way too wide once you get below a 0.75 (and in fact the smallest Camalot I carry is the #1). thats interesting- must be a local phenomenon- i much prefer C4s to most anything else down to .4, and even .3 most of the time- i carry mastercams and c3s for my tiny cams and sometimes up to fingers and bigger, but only if i think headwidth is going to be an issue which is rarely, if ever. I totally agree with Granitegrrl, I think it's because the majority of the granite that I climb has pin scars and little pods in the small sizes rather than parallel cracks. The C4s don't fit, and the C3s are sketchy in pin scars.
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petsfed
Mar 1, 2010, 9:05 PM
Post #21 of 22
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Registered: Sep 25, 2002
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I prefer Mastercams over C3s (but I don't like mastercams, so its kind of moot). The .4 C4 isn't bad, but has a really wide head, so for an all around small cam, I'd go with the Mastercam.
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scottydo
Mar 3, 2010, 6:56 AM
Post #22 of 22
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i have all three of those and I like the master cam the best. i'd say the c3 #2 is a close second
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