New BD Cams (alien-esque)?

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Wade Icey

Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
Jul 12, 2012 - 08:25pm PT
GDavis- how far did you have to walk through the snow?
Rankin

Social climber
Greensboro, North Carolina
Jul 12, 2012 - 08:28pm PT
why can't BD put kevlar on the C4's? those wire cables always get fukked up

They could definitely use an upgrade there, but hey, replacing trigger wire should be in every serious climber's skill set. However, it does look like there is kevlar on the blue unit in OP's picture.
ms55401

Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
Jul 12, 2012 - 08:28pm PT
How bout that 17% unemployment rate in Alpine County? Maybe things are better in a big city like SF where you can get a job making games to grow imaginary vegetables on your smart phone so you can make friends.

maybe the funniest non-RW/non-Farouk post I've yet read here
kennyt

climber
Woodfords,California
Jul 12, 2012 - 08:29pm PT
Some of my old chouinard cams say manufactured in rok is that republic of Korea?
kennyt

climber
Woodfords,California
Jul 12, 2012 - 08:36pm PT
There has always been alot of unemployed people in Alpine county mostly by choice.
Some Random Guy

Trad climber
San Francisco
Jul 12, 2012 - 09:15pm PT
It also looks like they are using a dyneema sling too, I remember reading somewhere that they thought the cable pinched skinny slings too much and they would only use nylon slings on their cams.

The article you remember is probably from their QC Lab blog. The narrower slings caused failure at ~10 Kn and kinking of the cable at 3-4 Kn. Maybe that load rating is sufficient for these pieces.

Is it just because it's not opaque, or does the tubing around the thumb loop look beefier? Also, does the red sling look doubled up?

it's not only the width of the sling but how it is attached. notice how bd doubles the sling around the cable. these new cams have that feature too. that is what makes the sling stronger around the cable and helps partially prevent the cable from pinching and also the pinched cable from cutting the sling. makes me feel safer :) although now i wonder about falling on cams that don't have this feature like my master cams.......is that sling gonna kink the cable and then the cable cut the sling if i take a whipper on it? sh#t?!?!?!
Some Random Guy

Trad climber
San Francisco
Jul 12, 2012 - 09:23pm PT
I'm more worried about the Chinese metals used to make the cams.

I mean, for f*cks sake, the Bay Bridge was made with Chinese Steel, and sh#t fell apart in 2009.

the piece that failed was fabricated in america 100%. it was a reinforcement piece used to patch a crack. someone i know was right behind the car that that piece landed on when it came off. it's the new span that is still being built that is chinese steel........time will tell on that one.......
GDavis

Social climber
SOL CAL
Jul 12, 2012 - 09:25pm PT
Well I bet the BD cams are made of the exact same material, so there.
Elcapinyoazz

Social climber
Joshua Tree
Jul 12, 2012 - 11:04pm PT
I used to sweet old dried paint chips off warehouse floors in Pamona in summer when I was 15 to make some cash, used to bus tables and work 16 hour days that I only could count as 8 being a projectionist building shitty movies in BFE. No ACLU to my rescue, just shitty jobs that we all get if we are lucky

briham89

Big Wall climber
los gatos. ca
Jul 13, 2012 - 01:57am PT
^hahahahaha this is becoming entertaining. Btw nice south park video clip gdavis, classic
apogee

climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
Jul 13, 2012 - 02:01am PT
People shop at WalMart, too.
Red Wing

climber
Truckee
Jul 13, 2012 - 10:33am PT
These are pretty cool units, very well thought out. They are more flexible than a Master Cam. As the first photo shows, the larger sizes are dual axle. But the real design innovation was how BD increases the range of the smaller units. BD addresses the challenge of increasing the range of the smaller units by offsetting the axle. The smaller sizes have the range of a dual axle without having to accommodate two separate rods of metal in the head of the unit. Thus, it is compact, strong, and you get more range than any unit sized "Green Alien" through "Red Alien". My prediction is that people are going to be very pleased with the units.
surfstar

climber
Santa Barbara, CA
Jul 13, 2012 - 10:46am PT
When they retail for $80+, would you rather have two cams that cover the same range, or a single wider range cam?

Red Wing

climber
Truckee
Jul 13, 2012 - 11:12am PT
Well surfstar, in this case I would rather have two cams that cover a wider range. These units will be rather affordable... : )
climbingcook

Trad climber
sf
Jul 13, 2012 - 11:31am PT
When they retail for $80+, would you rather have two cams that cover the same range, or a single wider range cam?

This sort of logic has always mystified me. You need however many pieces you need for a climb. The range isn't anywhere near as important. If you want to bring doubles from .4 to 3, that doesn't mean your partner is going to be psyched if you show up with four link cams thinking it will do the job.
adatesman

climber
philadelphia, pa
Jul 13, 2012 - 11:36am PT
BD addresses the challenge of increasing the range of the smaller units by offsetting the axle. The smaller sizes have the range of a dual axle without having to accommodate two separate rods of metal in the head of the unit.

Any chance of more detail on this, or a pic?
Red Wing

climber
Truckee
Jul 13, 2012 - 11:52am PT
The axle design is hard to describe here, and I don't want to spread junk info. Its a totally new and original design concept. I give them a lot of credit for figuring this out.
adatesman

climber
philadelphia, pa
Jul 13, 2012 - 12:15pm PT
Similar to this, perhaps? (can't snag a pic of it from my phone)

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6042069.html
Rankin

Social climber
Greensboro, North Carolina
Jul 13, 2012 - 12:21pm PT
Doesn't look that similar to me. I believe that is a u-stem system.
adatesman

climber
philadelphia, pa
Jul 13, 2012 - 12:34pm PT
Yeah, it's a u-stem but I'm talking about how the axle has eccentrics on it (which is what the patent is about). The eccentrics allow the lobes to rotate on different centers as if they were on a dual axle, but still be on a single shared axle. Would work just as well on a single stem as a u-stem.

Found a way to grab pics...
Messages 41 - 60 of total 88 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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