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PellucidWombat
Mountain climber
Berkeley, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 2, 2011 - 05:32pm PT
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The more I climb with my tri-cams the more I've come to love them. They save me from using cams at belays and they are great for a super-light alpine rack. I also like them a lot more than hexes.
I've mostly been using doubles of pink & more often now doubles of red and I'm finally starting to find my black one useful as I've brought them on alpine climbs and made an effort to spot where they are useful and can be used instead of cams.
I'm tempted to get some more tri-cams to have doubles in a full range that is useful for saving/substituting cams, but I was wondering if certain sizes are less useful vs. using nuts or cams. Does anyone have any recommendations on how small or large I should go with integrating tri-cams into my rack?
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Where do you do most of your climbing? I've found the small sizes particularly useful (and often close to irreplaceable) in formations with holes, such as Power Dome at Courtright.
John
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PellucidWombat
Mountain climber
Berkeley, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 2, 2011 - 05:49pm PT
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I got my originals when I was climbing in the 'Gunks, but I've been doing most of my cragging in Yosemite Valley, and most of my alpine in the High Sierra. Sometimes they are better than cams in certain placements, but where I've really found them useful is as smaller and ultra light-weight replacements for cams in placements where I have a good enough stance to fiddle with them (e.g. low 5th class terrain & belays).
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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All of them!
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PellucidWombat
Mountain climber
Berkeley, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 2, 2011 - 05:51pm PT
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I have heard that the larger sizes tend to not sit in the rock as well, so I imagine whether it is bulk or performance, at some size I am probably better off carrying an extra cam instead of using a tri-cam?
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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Trikes are the most creative and versatile gear ever produced.
I have probably used them more and longer than 99% of the TacoClan. (WooHoo I am finally of the 1%) When placed with thought they are absolutely bomb proof. In all these years of use I have never lost one to being stuck.
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kev
climber
A pile of dirt.
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When placed with thought they are absolutely bomb proof
Ain't that the truth...
Gotta love the pink.
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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Why do you hate your second so much?
Edit: Philo, if only my partners climbed with such competent seconds!
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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Murcy I don't climb with incompetent people who are barely capable of plugging and un-plugging cams. My partners are smart enough to remove trikes without histrionics..
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Pink, then red. Even when I climbed in the SE all the time I didn't even rack larger than the red, but carried doubles of pink and red.
Haven't use the newer smaller ones (black?), pink was the smallest for a very long time.
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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Always take my pink and red tri-cam. I have the new small ones, and haven't placed them very often.
Climbed with a young man recently that loves his tri-cams and found all kinds of interesting places to use them. That really struck me as I don't see too many young, newer climbers using them.
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thekidcormier
Trad climber
squamish, b.c.
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They're all good, so versatile and unique, my rack has singles of little white(0.125 3kn active, 2 kn passive) up to big blue. The range on big blue overlaps the range of both #1 and #2 camalots, very useful!
-Luke
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domngo
climber
Canada
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love the pink and red, like....
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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they are fine for wankin arround on easy stuff but fergetaboudit if you are at and beyond your limit on the steep stuff! That is when you plug in that pre slung cam, clip and go!
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wayne burleson
climber
Amherst, MA
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Perhaps no better way to get a bunch of trads all warm and fuzzy than to bring up the topic of Tri-cams... I never quite got it but climbed with those that did..
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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they are fine for wankin arround on easy stuff but fergetaboudit if you are at and beyond your limit on the steep stuff! Sorry but I must respectfully disagree.
With practice you can place them one handed as easily as any pro even when it's spicy and dicy.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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I carry two half-sizes, a #1 and a #1 1/2. Great directional nuts!
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TruckeeJC
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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A pink tricam that has been filed down about 1/8-inch is also a great, cheap, bomber piece. Don't file too much or it loses its mechanical advantage. Spray paint the camming head to differentiate it from the other pink. I started climbing at Looking Glass Rock in NC, and all, or 99%, protection is in horizontal sloping cracks. tricams to purple with a few doubles were common on everyone's racks there in the 90s when I lived there. Also tricams are awesome, bomber cheap bail gear for big climbs like in Alaska.
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