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rocmonkey
Nov 21, 2001, 10:46 AM
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Registered: Mar 26, 2001
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Anyone here who has had experience with all three these types of protection?
Give me your views and your preferences. I have worked with Flexi Friends and obviously prefer it above rigid stems, but how do friends compare to Cams.
And please don't give me the shop talk...I want personal views and experience...
breathe stone
RoC
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atg200
Nov 21, 2001, 4:55 PM
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Registered: Jul 27, 2001
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OK here goes. I have some of all the cams I mention, and I think I point out most of the others that exist that I have no experience with. I have about 40 cams and only a few are never used.
Rigid Stem Friends - Why don't you like these? Bomber and they can take a beating. I love these things in sizes 2.0-4.0. And yes, I've climbed a lot in the Gunks - rig them with a gunks tie off and they are great.
Flexible Friends - good pieces. The huge ones are great, the 5 and 6 are the best offwidth cams on the market. I carry the huge ones and a few 1.0-2.0s, though I prefer the rigids in the medium sizes.
Camalots - very nice, but not smart to get doubles on most sizes. these are my emergency pieces because of the expansion range, but the weight and cost makes it dumb to carry more than one set. The #2 camalot is my single favorite cam on the market and i have a double of that size. The big ones suck-great when placed, but horribly heavy.
Aliens - best small cams on the market. the offsets rule for aid climbing and free climbing pin scarred granite. don't bother with sizes bigger than the orange.
Metolius TCUs - very good pieces, but not as good as Aliens. get them for your second set of small cams.
Metolius FCUs - nothing special. i have a few, and don't like or dislike them.
Yates Big Dudes - not made any more, but if you can find used ones get them. Bomber big cams, and narrower than the huge friends so they are a good supplement. If you can't find any, get the huge camalots to supplement the friends instead.
Wired Bliss and HB Quadcams - dislike them. i especially hate the one finger trigger models.
Rock Empire, Clog Cams - never used them.
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climber1
Nov 21, 2001, 10:00 PM
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Registered: May 5, 2000
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my first slcds' were rigid stem friends, and I still have a three and a four. when the flexible cams came out I went to Metolius tcu's and fcu's. don't really like them. now switching over to camalots and aliens.
the worst cams on the market, IMHO, are the HB's. I really dislike the one finger trigger.
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atg200
Nov 22, 2001, 6:02 AM
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Registered: Jul 27, 2001
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pinscar,
yup, desert climber guilty as charged. i can't climb ringlocks either-i have some cool scars on my hands from trying on the first pitch of lightning bolt cracks.
haven't tried the fatcams or the offset friends yet, though both look interesting.
i have used the new style big wc friends, and i love them. they are quite light, and do feel a little flimsy compared to the camalots or big dudes. however, they are wider so in deep slots they feel very stable and seem less prone to walking or getting kicked. i like and use all three, though the camalots are my least favorite sheerly because of the weight.
rigid friends are my favorite in the desert. easy to clean, and grit cleans out much easier than the flexis.
andrew
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Flexi Friends vs. Rigid Stem Friends vs. Cams
