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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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The world doesn't revolve around the Pink Tri-cam--because the Black one has replaced it ;-)
edit: To address the issue posted upthread: in the free climbing arena, there isn't any one piece of gear that would prevent somebody from climbing a traditional pitch. Dresden can get by most of the times with knots, and would look at slcd's as a Frankenstein step backward to the simplistic Tri-cam design...
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Dapper Dan
Trad climber
Menlo Park
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Well said tradman , everyone loves to get a boner over tricams , I feel they are almost trendy is some climbing circles . Sold mine on ebay for more than I paid for 'em .
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Gaurenteed if SLCD/s vanished CLEAN free and aid climbing standards would plumit. Fact.. cams revolutinized climbing just as much as stoppers did. All tricams did was create the cult of the pink tricam;) what do you think the speed record on the nose would be without SLCD's?
Face it, Tricams are not nessicary, just a cute little gadget that some folks like to fiddle with more than others ;)
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PellucidWombat
Mountain climber
Berkeley, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 4, 2011 - 09:33pm PT
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These days I see tricams mostly as niche/specialty gear. That doesn't mean they're not worth bringing on a rack, but that if you know how to use them well and when/how they're useful, they are worth bringing along for select circumstances.
For moderate alpine climbs I've been experimenting with racks and so far I really like the idea of bringing one set of Metolius Power Cams reinforced with a rack of tri-cams and a set of nuts. 3CUs & 4CUs are brought in sizes not covered by Metolius if I suspect I need those sizes, or #1 & #2 link cams are brought if I just want a sweeping redundancy of the mid-size cams for 1-2 more placments. This setup is seeming pretty nice so far! Right now I'm just wondering how much I should get into the tri-cams or what sizes are worth experimenting with.
I like the comment about using the large sizes for mixed winter stuff, btw. I need to educate myself more on where cams are not a good idea in snowy/icy climbs and the best work-arounds.
Since I'm lazy about weight at the crag and care more for expediency, there I load up on BD 4CUs for maximum camming range and redundancy between sizes, and have only been experimenting with tri-cams at belays if I suspect that I want to sew up a pitch.
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perswig
climber
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Tricams, like tele, require soul as well as technique.
Not needed to climb, but still kinda fun.
Dale
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PellucidWombat
Mountain climber
Berkeley, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 4, 2011 - 09:50pm PT
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Don't forget the Ball Nutz! :-)
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Dale you just made my point for me bigtime ;) that blue bogus tricam with the screamer on it is a perfect example of the tricam love being so enamoured by the tricam that they miss the obvious SLCD placement that would have been bomber without the screamer:)
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Like I said earlier. I have the pink and red on my rack and despite leading up to 11b trad Isa has only tried to place one tricam in the 13 1/2 years we have been climbing together. Boy did she bitch me out in her euro/ Liechtenstein accent while she was trying to get that thing stuck in the rock ;)
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perswig
climber
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Ha!
Nick, that first pic was from a day Troy and I spent leading everything with only a rack of tri-cams. The route is an obscure .9 outside Camden.
Relax, it's only climbing, and it's supposed to be as fun as you can make it.
Dale
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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I am relaxed Dale. Note all the smilie faces. Just like poking fun at the tricam cult;)
Hop it warms up soon. headding up to the leap to try and put a new rt up solo W the grigri? Not an expert on leading w the grigri so probobly gonna die..
Wheeler tomorrow with a pertner so I better not screw up today....
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Norwegian
Trad climber
Placerville, California
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my first route at Donner Summit was Nova Express. At the time i was confident on Tahoe 10a, but not solid.
in my youthful glee, i ignored the advice to ease into the grades when you visit a new area.
so up i go first route of the morning.
all is going well, although im working pretty hard.
about 60 feet up i place a pink tricam in the cammed position, clip it and battle upwards another 10 or so feet.
im wheezing and pumped and fumble with my next piece for too long.
i get it placed and pull up a couple of loops of slack to clip it.
compromised dexterity authored the next moment and i bumble the clip and drop the slack.
i haul it up once again but there is no way i can thread the cord through the biner.
so im off on a 25' footer onto the tricam as my belayer is still rubbing the sleep from his eyes
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Rankin
Social climber
Greensboro, North Carolina
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Depends on the rock. In granite, there is almost zero reason to place them on lead. However they can be quite useful for anchors because one can save cams for the business.
Tricams are certainly more than a cult following. In quartzite areas such as Moore's Wall, I place them on lead every once in a while. Unlike parallel vertical crack systems, where gear can often be found more easily, tri-cams can present the most bomber gear available. I took a 40-50 foot whipper in July onto a yellow TCU. Two feet below it was an unbelievable pink tricam placement. I'm glad the TCU held, but there was zero doubt in my mind with that pinkie buried below it.
Certainly SLCDs are the way to go 99% of the time, but I want the best gear available if I'm forced to run it out.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Sounds like your yellow TCU was the best gear available.
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Rankin
Social climber
Greensboro, North Carolina
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Nope. Both were the best gear available. I want confidence in my gear when I run it.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Held a 50footer. sounds good to me.. Backing it up is also a good idea. My point however is, had you never heard of tricams you would still have climbed that route safely...
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Rankin
Social climber
Greensboro, North Carolina
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No, but who knows? Obviously tricams are dispensable because so few people climb with them. So what?! Do you know any route in the world that cannot be climbed safely without a yellow alien?
That's not the point. Trad climbing is not always plug and go. Sometimes it involves stepping high above the gear with potential for a huge ripper. Sure, I could place a wobbly nut with less surface contact and a greater risk of sliding out, or a questionable cam instead. But why? Just so I can make fun of people that climb with tricams. F%#* that! I want the best gear available.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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The Key piece on P4 of Lost soles is a yellow alien, Yellow HB or Purple BD 4CU that is smaller than the pink .. Again 99% of the time the real cam has a more stable better placement. why carry redundant gear that you actually never need as it is already covered by your rack of SLCD's
Not reallY suer but I still carry the red and pink even though I would get by just fine without them....
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Larry
Trad climber
Bisbee
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At 3kN, the .125 is below my threshold for free climbing pro.
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ec
climber
ca
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.5 - 1.5"
Hardly 'irrelevant' as far as hardware goes, IMO.
BITD prior to the availabilty of a large SLCD, D H used to have one of the unwieldy #7's. 'damn thing saved our asses a couple of times. I used to call it the 'split rim' as it looked as if cut from an old tire rim.
Whatever one chooses to use that works is O.K. No need to belittle your bros for their choices of toys...
- ec
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Just argueing semantics. If they went away nothing would change. If cams went away the change would be dramitic..
Just did a nice 5.9 FA this afternoon rope solo w the gri gri.. nary a tri cam used but I did drill 2 bolts ;) Small stoppers green Camalot, orange TCU Green alien, large stoppers one large hex, #2 and #3 camalot.... :)
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