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majid_sabet
May 6, 2010, 8:34 PM
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I do not have a single Alien cam to my name but looking at used Alien cams on ebay, they move fast and they definitely bring up good cash for their used or new items so why is this beaten to death goat is so hot on ebay ?
(This post was edited by majid_sabet on May 6, 2010, 10:17 PM)
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cracklover
May 6, 2010, 8:53 PM
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Because they work really well.
In the small range, for a FCU, there is no better cam.
GO
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irregularpanda
May 6, 2010, 9:14 PM
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And because they are pliable, handle well, longer stems, longer slings, better for aid climbing, saved my life twice....shall I go on?
By the way, it's spelled definitely. In this sentence,
majid_sabet wrote: they defiantly bring up good cash
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majid_sabet
May 6, 2010, 10:19 PM
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irregularpanda wrote: And because they are pliable, handle well, longer stems, longer slings, better for aid climbing, saved my life twice....shall I go on? By the way, it's spelled definitely. In this sentence, majid_sabet wrote: they defiantly bring up good cash you are saying that alien cams are stubborn or belligerent, but still somehow produce a profit.
I do not know why but I look on used gear almost every day on ebay and i have noticed that climbers are pretty hard on bidding to get Alien cams and bring up good money in auctions.
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green_alien
May 6, 2010, 10:34 PM
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small parallel sizes cracks/features are hard to protect with nuts.
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sungam
May 6, 2010, 10:38 PM
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cuz they're the shit, yo.
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clc
May 6, 2010, 11:44 PM
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They are Not popular compared to normal cams. I don't know anybody who uses Aliens. And maybe they are for sale because they are shit?
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irregularpanda
May 6, 2010, 11:45 PM
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majid_sabet wrote: irregularpanda wrote: And because they are pliable, handle well, longer stems, longer slings, better for aid climbing, saved my life twice....shall I go on? By the way, it's spelled definitely. In this sentence, majid_sabet wrote: they defiantly bring up good cash you are saying that alien cams are stubborn or belligerent, but still somehow produce a profit. I do not know why but I look on used gear almost every day on ebay and i have noticed that climbers are pretty hard on bidding to get Alien cams and bring up good money in auctions.
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billcoe_
May 6, 2010, 11:50 PM
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cracklover wrote: Because they work really well. In the small range, for a FCU, there is no better cam.
Bingo, now that the factory has ceased production, grab any you can find as you may not ever get another chance. Alien lobes are made with a softer alum, so they grab into the rock well, but they wear faster than all other cams except Wired Bliss, which is made of the same alum. What that means is that Aliens will not be as easy to find used, like a Camalot or Metolius.
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patmay81
May 7, 2010, 12:12 AM
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clc wrote: They are Not popular compared to normal cams. I don't know anybody who uses Aliens. And maybe they are for sale because they are shit?
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bill413
May 7, 2010, 12:55 AM
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billcoe_ wrote: cracklover wrote: Because they work really well. In the small range, for a FCU, there is no better cam. Bingo, now that the factory has ceased production, grab any you can find as you may not ever get another chance. Alien lobes are made with a softer alum, so they grab into the rock well, but they wear faster than all other cams except Wired Bliss, which is made of the same alum. What that means is that Aliens will not be as easy to find used, like a Camalot or Metolius.
This is the only post that actually answers the OP question. The other attempts have been "they're popular because they are good; but I won't tell you why they are good."
In addition to how they "bite," how is their expansion range?
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socalclimber
May 7, 2010, 1:08 AM
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For me at least, the Offset Aliens are the ticket for aid climbing. I've managed to get good placements in old pin scars and odd flaring cracks when nothing else would work. I have close to two full sets of them and will NEVER GET RID OF THEM!
I have normal aliens as well, but I strictly bought them for aid climbing. I love them!
While the above has truth to it, I must confess I have used them free climbing, again, I got them into places where other cams just were not working as well.
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sungam
May 7, 2010, 9:25 AM
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billcoe_ wrote: cracklover wrote: Because they work really well. In the small range, for a FCU, there is no better cam. Bingo, now that the factory has ceased production, grab any you can find as you may not ever get another chance. Alien lobes are made with a softer alum, so they grab into the rock well, but they wear faster than all other cams except Wired Bliss, which is made of the same alum. What that means is that Aliens will not be as easy to find used, like a Camalot or Metolius.
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malcolm777b
May 7, 2010, 2:55 PM
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angry wrote: irregularpanda wrote: you are saying that alien cams are stubborn or belligerent, but still somehow produce a profit. Actually, that describes the late Dave W to a T. To answer the OP Majid, imagine in Ghandi, Michael Jordon, and Teddy Roosevelt all impregnated Joan of Ark but instead of a baby, she V-pooped (I think that's a technical term) out a cam design. That is the Alien.
This is quite possibly the most informative post ever on RC.
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patto
May 7, 2010, 2:58 PM
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sungam wrote: They don't grab the best, I reckon. The camming angle is fracking enormous.
Exactly. Soft cams lobes might be advantagous in grainy granite but who has problems with grip in grainy granite? Slimely limestone or smooth slate and quartzite the only way to ensure good grip is a lower cam angle. Beside softer lobes further increase camming angle on deformation. Independent test results do not indicate that aliens grip very well.
Flexible? Sure in your palm they are more flexible but all cams are extremely flexible in the relevant range of loading. WC Zeros are on another level entirely with the tiny head stem length.
Narrow? Yep they are for a four cam unit. They have this done nicely.
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cracklover
May 7, 2010, 3:50 PM
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bill413 wrote: billcoe_ wrote: cracklover wrote: Because they work really well. In the small range, for a FCU, there is no better cam. Bingo, now that the factory has ceased production, grab any you can find as you may not ever get another chance. Alien lobes are made with a softer alum, so they grab into the rock well, but they wear faster than all other cams except Wired Bliss, which is made of the same alum. What that means is that Aliens will not be as easy to find used, like a Camalot or Metolius. This is the only post that actually answers the OP question. The other attempts have been "they're popular because they are good; but I won't tell you why they are good." In addition to how they "bite," how is their expansion range?
Simply the best. Because of their camming angle, which is higher than all the other major cams, they have more range. In a small cam, this is absolutely key (for me).
The tradeoff is that this means they have less holding power. However, I've never found that to be a problem, perhaps because of the soft aluminum they're made from.
The integrated trigger/stem is also genius.
GO
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malcolm777b
May 7, 2010, 5:25 PM
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patto wrote: sungam wrote: They don't grab the best, I reckon. The camming angle is fracking enormous. Exactly. Soft cams lobes might be advantagous in grainy granite but who has problems with grip in grainy granite? Slimely limestone or smooth slate and quartzite the only way to ensure good grip is a lower cam angle. Beside softer lobes further increase camming angle on deformation. Independent test results do not indicate that aliens grip very well.
Hmmmm...I wonder why they are considered the standard in the gunks?
(This post was edited by malcolm777b on May 7, 2010, 5:30 PM)
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napoleon_in_rags
May 7, 2010, 5:33 PM
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patto wrote: sungam wrote: They don't grab the best, I reckon. The camming angle is fracking enormous. Exactly. Soft cams lobes might be advantagous in grainy granite but who has problems with grip in grainy granite? Slimely limestone or smooth slate and quartzite the only way to ensure good grip is a lower cam angle. Beside softer lobes further increase camming angle on deformation. Independent test results do not indicate that aliens grip very well. Flexible? Sure in your palm they are more flexible but all cams are extremely flexible in the relevant range of loading. WC Zeros are on another level entirely with the tiny head stem length. Narrow? Yep they are for a four cam unit. They have this done nicely.
Independent Tests? Showing aliens don't grip? Please supply a link.
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jcrew
May 7, 2010, 5:50 PM
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i thought they had a bad rep. after the defect/recall?
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welle
May 7, 2010, 6:42 PM
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Because they routinely take R out of R-rated climbs...
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sungam
May 7, 2010, 7:37 PM
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People do talk of them not biting soft sandstone as well as Metolious. I do like them the best still, though.
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ptlong
May 7, 2010, 10:46 PM
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welle wrote: Because they routinely take R out of R-rated climbs...
...and put the A4 back into C2!
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curt
May 8, 2010, 12:10 AM
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angry wrote: irregularpanda wrote: you are saying that alien cams are stubborn or belligerent, but still somehow produce a profit. Actually, that describes the late Dave W to a T. To answer the OP Majid, imagine in Ghandi, Michael Jordon, and Teddy Roosevelt all impregnated Joan of Ark but instead of a baby, she V-pooped (I think that's a technical term) out a cam design. That is the Alien.
Except, to complete your analogy, every third or fourth Alien pooped out has Down Syndrome--kind of like with Sara Palin.
Curt
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