Skip to Content

Gear : Essential Equipment : Protection : Active : The Cam Doctor

< Previous | Next >

The Cam Doctor

Average Rating = 3.75/5 Average Rating : 3.75 out of 5
Item Details | Reviews (4)
Premier Sponsor:
The Cam Doctor
Manufacturer: Other

This item may be available at:

Go REI
Go EMS
Go Backcountry
Go Altrec
Go Moosejaw
Go Backcountry Outlet
Go REI Outlet
Go US Outdoor
Go RockCreek

Description

Tired of broken trigger wires? Sick of sending your cam back to the manufacturer, waiting for a month or more, then forking over $25 to fix the trigger wire. If so, and you're willing to do a little bit of tinkering, then The Cam Doctor is your answer.

The kit comes with all the necessary tools for fixing trigger wires for any camming device on the market. It includes a crimping tool/wire cutter, 3 different sizes of hard wires, high tensile strength cable, copper swages, and instructions. It even comes with special swages for fixing those pesky CCH Aliens.

Difficult to find in some stores, but it can be purchased through the company's website.


4 Reviews

GoWrite your own Review

Not perfect, but damn helpful 4 out of 5 stars

Review by: cracklover, 2007-02-02


I agree with those who say that the swaging tool is not the best for the job. With that said, the kit does do a decent job, and the price is right! I've fixed three cams, and am very happy with how they came out. The truth is, you don't need a perfect swage for a cam trigger wire.

Also, they accidentally sent the wrong swager when I ordered it online. I took a photo of it and sent that to the manufacturer. He apologized - said something about getting a bad batch and not noticing - and sent me the right one. All at no charge. Didn't ask for the other one back to send back to the company he bought from. So he basically ate the whole cost of the kit. Plus, he included some extra Alien wires for me at no charge.

Review 5 out of 5 stars

Review by: davidji, 2005-09-24


When I compared the cost of this kit vs. figuring out and buying correct wires & swages + a swager it was an easy decision. Other than maybe getting lucky on Ebay, I couldn't get a decent swager for any less than the kit.

The kit is pretty easy to use, at least for the Tech Friends I've done.

I haven't repaired Aliens. My kit came with tiny Alien wires & swages. I think they tell you in the instructions to use pliers instead of their swager with those tiny swages.

Review 1 out of 5 stars

Review by: snoboy, 2004-08-22


[nb: I bought this product just over a year ago, and it sounds like there may have been some "upgrades" to the kit since then.]

I felt that this is a product that claims a lot more than it delivers...

The swager included with the kit is not the proper tool for the swages that are included, and it is difficult to do even a servicable repair with such a ool. I am impressed that the user above was so happy with this kit.

It also claims to be usable for all all brands of cams except aliens.... well it seems that it also lacks the materials for some of the smaller BD Camalots. Perhaps this has changed since I bought mine last Spring, since the product description here mentions alien size swages, and 3 (not 2) sizes of hardwire. Even so, the tool was the deal breaker for me.

To be fair, I should add that I do make a (very) small amount of money for repairing cam triggers, using the proper tools and materials.

The ironic thing is that I actually use the swager that came with the kit, with a small modification, and the style of swages for which it is designed, to repair Aliens.

I think it would be a great idea if this kit had the proper tool included, although it would surely raise the cost by quite a bit, it would do a so much better job. If I had not found the use for the Aliens, then I would have been demanding my money back for this kit.

Review 5 out of 5 stars

Review by: jcinco, 2004-06-18


This is a great product. I came across the Cam Doctor while trying to find shipping information for CCH. The trigger wire on my red Alien had broken a mere 10 days for my departure to the Needles in the Sierra Nevada. The red alien has always been my money piece, and I desperately wanted to fix it before my trip. While wandering into Neptune's in Boulder to get the CCH address, one of the salesmen showed me the Cam Doctor. The Cam Doctor has enough swages and cable to fix around 10 cams. A $40 investment seemed like a bargain compared to the $25 per pop, and one month waiting time, when you put the job in the hands of the manufacturer.

For most cams, it takes about 45 minutes per repair. The instructions seem a little overwhelming at first, but it all makes sense after a repair or two. Best to start by practicing on larger cams first, which are easier to repair. So far I've fixed 5 cam triggers, consisting of two Kong cams (#3 and #4 camalot sized), an orange Metolius TCU, a #2.5 forged Friend, and the red Alien. After the repair, these cams are all basically as good as new. My orange TCU, which I've always had problems with, now works better than when it was originally purchased!

My only complaint is in the difficulty in fixing Aliens. I preface this by saying that my kit didn't come with the small wires and swages for Aliens, so it is likely that the repairs work better with those components. It seems that the Cam Doctors that are purchased online come with these extra pieces. For my red alien repair, the crimping tool was too large for the process of swaging the wires due to the tightness of the CCH design. The wires, stem, cam lobes are all simply too close together to accomodate the swaging tool. I was able to complete the swage by using the wire cutter, but this might not be optimal in the long run.

In any case, any trad climber who climbs frequently has to eventually deal with broken trigger wires. I've had several cams with broken triggers sitting around for years. If you're willing to devote some time to a little tinkering, then you should give the Cam Doctor a try.

[edit: I recently spoke to the company via email, and they mailed me the swages and small pins for Alien repairs for free. Excellent customer service.]


Write a Review