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feanor007
Oct 15, 2004, 9:51 PM
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hay all you trad climbers, what is the differance between a Friend, a Technical Friend, a Cam and a TCU, are they just copyright/marketing statagies or do the names actually signify fundamental differances. just a silly sport climbers probaly dumb question.
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euroford
Oct 15, 2004, 10:02 PM
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those are all very diffrent designs. why don't you head over to rei.com or gearexpress.com or mountaintools.com and have a look at some of the diffrent designs/products on the market. if you have more specific questions please feel free to ask.
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texplorer
Oct 15, 2004, 10:39 PM
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In reply to: hay all you trad climbers, what is the differance between a Friend, a Technical Friend, a Cam and a TCU, are they just copyright/marketing statagies or do the names actually signify fundamental differances. just a silly sport climbers probaly dumb question.
Ok, here goes.
1) they are all "cams." This is general term.
2) Friends are the name of the wild country cams but sometimes people use the word friends to mean any kind of cam (Similar to why we call all tissues Kleenexes)
3) A friend is the old original design with a rigid stem. Light but less versitile than the new design tech friends which have a bendable stem (amoung other things). Generally tech friends are better unless your anal about weight or can't afford the tech friends.
4)A TCU is a cam but one that only has three lobes on it. They are usually in the smaller sizes of cams and Metolious probably has the most used brand of TCUs.
That's about it.
Buy Aliens (instead of TCU's) for your small cams and hook yourself up wit h the new Black Diamond cams when they come out with their new design in a month or so.
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coylec
Oct 15, 2004, 11:00 PM
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Don't buy into the alien hype and get TCUs -- nearly 1/2 the price, 100% of the functionality and i find them to be more stable placements.
coylec
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euroford
Oct 16, 2004, 1:10 AM
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aliens are good, but they have to be the single most overhyped piece of gear around. something about this website, its full of alien fanboys.
i like tcu's allot. zero's are my favorite small gear. aliens are nice, but its like poeple around here think they are the only game in town :roll:
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vegastradguy
Oct 16, 2004, 2:54 AM
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pfft....tcus, aliens, whatever.
bottom line: they all work.
get what you like....worry about what others like when you're not out climbin.....
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ben87
Oct 16, 2004, 3:43 AM
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in addition to having three lobes rather than the customary four, TCUs have a double stem. Aliens are nice. each have their advantages (and disadvantages). If you are carring doubles in the lower ranges, consider one of each. Camalots are preferred in the larger range -- though tech friends have their supporters, mostly on the basis of weight considerations. I've never used zeroes, but they seem nice.
**the answer to your question: yes, they are different things. there are a number of variables in cam construction that effect it's performance. pretty much every model of cam is a different arrangement. All of the cams discussed so far are great cams, some are better suited for certain tasks.
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feanor007
Oct 16, 2004, 8:37 PM
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thanks for the help. i'm almost afraid to ask this, but are rock empire cams even worth my money? they are rated well, but the comments suck. is the pagangear.com of 8 robots and 9 nuts, a nut tool and 9 biners worth $279 or would i be better off getting better stuff over time.
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lordjim
Oct 17, 2004, 2:38 PM
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I'd buy "better" stuff over time but that's just me. I was able to find good deals on lightly used gear when I was poorer. Check out some place online having a sale on the old style BD cams or pick up a rack of friends on the cheap. Go for cosmetic seconds on anything at like bdel.com or any of the other manafactuers that sell online direct. Trango classic wiregates are on the cheap but I haven't tried them out yet, they gates feel different, can't explain they just do. Buy them some place where you get discounts for buying 10 at a time. In otherwords I'd forgo the rockempire cams now. Or buy one in a size you think you'll use often and see how it feels. If you like, then buy the set.
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anykineclimb
Oct 17, 2004, 2:58 PM
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In reply to: aliens are good, but they have to be the single most overhyped piece of gear around. something about this website, its full of alien fanboys.
Nah, I'd have to say Camalots are even worse in the overhyped department. Expensive AND heavy
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dredsovrn
Oct 17, 2004, 3:55 PM
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They are all spring loaded camming devices. Just different versions.
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texplorer
Oct 18, 2004, 7:35 PM
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If you ever plan on climbing in Yosemite or for that matter climb anywhere there are pin scars aliens are the shizzle.
I have never spoken with a .11+ trad climber or valley aid climber that didn't appreciate the superiority of aliens. Hype. . . NO, they are simply better. Why else would they always be hard to find?
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treehugger
Oct 18, 2004, 7:50 PM
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In reply to: Why else would they always be hard to find?
Because they're made extremely slowly and in no significant quantity.
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