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sungam
Feb 16, 2006, 9:06 PM
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hexes- worth getting? right now i have a full set of cams and nuts between me and my partner, but i was wondering if it was worth investing in a full set of hexes, or just the larger szes which nuts don't cover?
Thanks for the comments.
-Magnus
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up_for_a_good_time
Feb 16, 2006, 9:36 PM
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I really like passive gear, especially hexes. For the first year of leading outside, my trad rack consisted of only a set of BD stoppers, CAMP tricams (up to 3 or 3.5) and a full set of hexes. The good thing about hexes are the many different ways you can use them. I would recommend them, but then again you already have a full set of cams. As long as you have stoppers or nuts to add to your cams, you're probably ok. You never know though. Hexes are the hotness.
Climb with passive gear. It adds pucker to your rear.
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brent_e
Feb 16, 2006, 9:37 PM
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In reply to: hexes- worth getting? right now i have a full set of cams and nuts between me and my partner, but i was wondering if it was worth investing in a full set of hexes, or just the larger szes which nuts don't cover? Thanks for the comments. -Magnus
Hi Magnus,
does anyone else use hex's at the crags you generally climb at? aka, do you need hex's?
remember, if you buy the larger ones (any brand....preferable BD) and sling them with cord/webbing, they make a great hammer or tool to scare punks - more useful than a sock fulla change.
Brent
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elvislegs
Feb 16, 2006, 9:42 PM
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noisy, slow, relics. save your money for more cams.
And now for a bunch of hex users piling on about how 'you can place them wehre nothing else can go', and 'they make a fun noise', and on and on and on...
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3cclimber
Feb 16, 2006, 9:43 PM
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I have a set of BD stoppers and then have BD hex's #7, #8, #9 which compleate a wide range of cracks but I really wouldn't go with anything smaller than a #6 hex they just are too hard to place in cracks compaired to stoppers.
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scrappydoo
Feb 16, 2006, 10:21 PM
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Magnus,
Generally, I'd say skip the hexes, unless you want to learn Trad the old school way (which has it's [limited] benefits).
I'd say get some larger hexes if you're going to be doing alpine routes: they're significantly lighter than large cams, have almost the same range, and its a lot easier to sacrifice them as bail pieces than an $80 #4 Camalot.
Other reasons to own hexes:
1. Nothing else on your rack makes you sound like an honest-to-God Trad climber than the cowbell-like "bong!" sound of a hex
2. Best weapon for clubbing small rodents trying to get to yer lunch- well, them and prana beanie-wearing boulderers (just on principle).
3. Chicks dig big tools
4. Make great tire chocks at steeply sloped trailhead lots
5. [Other uses?-- climbers are an inventive group]
More seriously: If you get hexes, get one's slung with webbing, not cable-- cable's heavier and more likely to wiggle out a hex than webbing.
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forkliftdaddy
Feb 16, 2006, 10:33 PM
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IMO in certain places a hex can be better than anything else. I carry 4 medium hexes (in BD sizes they are 6-9) and often use them. But then I'm not scared away by the sound. :wink:
Oh, and I prefer wired hexes, specifically wired Rockcentrics. Folks (who often no longer carry hexes) will wax poetic about their cord strung hexes. Not me.
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granite_grrl
Feb 17, 2006, 12:02 AM
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Depends where you climb, what rock you're on. There are place I love them, other places I simply won't bother.
Its also preference...my boyfriend will never bother with them anywhere (except for setting up topropes...if you do a lot of this you may find you use them more).
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ledavis23
Feb 17, 2006, 12:33 AM
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If you do get hexes, get the best ones out there: Wild Country Rockcentrics slung on Dyneema. They'll cost you a whopping $85 at www.mgear.com
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nevenneve
Feb 17, 2006, 12:43 AM
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If the rock you climb resembles polished marble, hexes can be a much better choice than cams. I personally like using them to cut down on wear and tear on my cams. As far as inventiveness, emergency scotch glass with a little tape.
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kricir
Feb 17, 2006, 12:44 AM
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I really like tri-cams over hexes, get tri-cams! They actually have an expansion range, unlike hexes, and can be used in pockets and such where a hex would fall out.
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cortezmachine
Feb 17, 2006, 12:53 AM
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cams cams cams cams. what a bunch of yuppies
im well into the 11's in trad climbing (so far) and i only carry 6-7 cams (for multi pitch).
i ALWAYS bring medium to large hexes and use them on most routes i climb. too many cams is just heavy, and if youre well initiated you can most certainly replace a few cams with hexes
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theman
Feb 17, 2006, 1:12 AM
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In reply to: As far as inventiveness, emergency scotch glass with a little tape.
can you not drink out of the bottle?
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moose_droppings
Feb 17, 2006, 1:13 AM
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Medium sized ones are great in horizontal cracks. I don't seem to place the bigger ones to often around here.
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brent_e
Feb 17, 2006, 2:33 AM
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that'll take a cam nicely, too, i'm sure. as well as 4 stacked #13 nuts.
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clymber
Feb 17, 2006, 2:34 AM
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hexs are a love hate thing....to me i think they rule...once you learn how to place them and all the ways they can be used they are great...you can slot them like a nut use them as a cam and in the rare case that you need to bail off of something they are a hell of alot cheaper then a cam....
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thor4life144
Feb 17, 2006, 3:03 AM
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Like said, depends on the placemetns around your local rock. I personally am in absoult LOVE with my tri-cams. Their the best of both worlds.
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grinspoon
Feb 17, 2006, 3:34 AM
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In reply to: that'll take a cam nicely, too, i'm sure. as well as 4 stacked #13 nuts.
This is true, but there's something so satisfying about sinking a bomber passive piece. I suck at placing passive gear (as I'm sure alot of people do) because I rather just plug a cam. I think we all should learn better nutcraft..use more passive gear..it's lighter and cheaper.
And who the hell carries 4 #13 nuts?! :lol:
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brent_e
Feb 17, 2006, 4:41 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: that'll take a cam nicely, too, i'm sure. as well as 4 stacked #13 nuts. This is true, but there's something so satisfying about sinking a bomber passive piece. I suck at placing passive gear (as I'm sure alot of people do) because I rather just plug a cam. I think we all should learn better nutcraft..use more passive gear..it's lighter and cheaper. And who the hell carries 4 #13 nuts?! :lol:
passive stuff does inspire confidence on occasion. The slimestone around here seems to take hex's nicely, and in most cases hex's and not cams.
lighter and cheaper, indeed. and there is more cowbell!
and re: the #13's.....have you read the "ask the n00b" thread?!?! :D
Best
Brent
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dudemanbu
Feb 17, 2006, 4:54 AM
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I've climbed a good number of routes and thought to myself, either at the top when constructing an anchor, or on the route when i've placed my last piece in that size "I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!"
If that's not an endorsement i don't know what is.
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pipsqueekspire
Feb 17, 2006, 6:38 AM
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Did anyone else notice that that picture is kinda a crappy hex placement? Where is your camming action?!?! You should have turned it about 45 degrees to get the nice rolling action. Ironic that you are posting about the bomberness of the hex yet you just placed a NUT in that picture.....
that's just me... I love hexes alpine because of the weight but I would save your money for tricams or real cams before buying a whole set of hexes. The only ones I like are BD 9 and up. Mine are still slung on 9mm!
Have fun!
-pip
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granite_grrl
Feb 17, 2006, 12:12 PM
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In reply to: Ironic that you are posting about the bomberness of the hex yet you just placed a NUT in that picture.....
Sure its placed like a nut....but its a really big nut! (you ain't placing no regular stoppers there). Bomber is bomber.
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schnoz
Feb 17, 2006, 1:19 PM
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The quick answer: It depends.
A lot of the climbing near me is much easier to protect with hexes than with cams. There aren't many parallel cracks that cams work well in. Hexes work wonders in those same placements.
That said, I've been climbing in different areas where the hexes just weren't working nearly as well as cams.
Can't beat a #9 hexcentric as a hammer getting a stubborn nut out that was fallen on hard, though!
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