Zero Camming Devices

Felt a little too much like toys. Got rid of them for aliens, now I trust my gear. Rough action, too delicate. The extendable sling is nice though...

I only have the #5 and #6 so I cant attest for the entire line. However since putting these on my rack in November I have found a placement for one or both of these on almost every route I have been on since. I feel that they are bomber in certain places where any other small cam would sketch me out. The flexibility is ridiculous. The only down side is the price..... but thats the down side to almost any type of cam.

I like the flexibility of these cams. I picked up the Z3 and the Z4... I would recommend all of the sizes up from the Z3 for trad. All in all, I would say that I like them as much as aliens, but they are more flexible. They just don't feel as solid though, so it's a bit of a trade off in my opinion. However, I took my first real fall on trad on a Z6, and it held beautifully. 15 ft fall, 45 feet of rope out in good granite. No deformation, etc, on cam.

i hate these things. ive used a lot of them in the free climbing sizes (yellow, red, etc). they're too short so you can't place them deep and still clean them easily. the lobes are thin so less contact with rock. the stems are so flexible that if they get gummy or bent out of shape you will bend the stem instead of retracting the cams. the trigger wires are finicky and constantly get bent into lobes and each other causing weirdness and badness. the trigger bar is too darn tiny. ive heard the new version will have a bigger trigger car and longer stem, but i still woudlnt buy them for free climbing. the only people i know who have them were either dazed and confused when they bought them, and wish they hadnt, or they are euros who just cant get their hands on aliens to save their life. if you're freeclimbing spend the money on aliens instead, ok? or trangos. or metolius TCUs.

I love my Z6 and Z5. You can pretty much stick them anywhere and have a good placement. More flexible than anything out there, but you can still clean them with ease. No negatives imho. The z3 and z4 have smaller width heads than the equivalent aliens, enhancing their placement values.



Update:

I fell on my Z5, about a 10 footer with maybe 35 feet of rope out in solid granite. It was a good placement, and held perfect. Lobes haven't deformed at all. Bodes well for their durability. Will be picking up the 3 and 4 in the near future
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