Trip Report
Totem Cams - The Aid Review

by hoipolloi
Wednesday September 14, 2011 8:37pm
So I just finished writing this review about Totem Cams. I think these guys are getting a name because of their 'Basic Cam' which is Alien-esq. However, I think their original design is really interesting and I actually love it. I focused on using these for aid climbing, as that was where I had a lot of questions and saw them as possibly being really useful.

Let me know if you guys have questions.

Totem Cams: The Aid Review

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Credit: hoipolloi
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Credit: hoipolloi
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hoipolloi 		About the Author

Comments
Prezwoodz

climber
Anchorage
  Sep 14, 2011 - 09:28pm PT
Thanks for the review! It was really great to read and convinced us, we'll be buying some Totem cams soon!
dhayan

climber
culver city, ca
  Sep 14, 2011 - 11:18pm PT
Excellent review, thanks!
Captain...or Skully

climber
Boise, ID
  Sep 14, 2011 - 11:49pm PT
Damn good review, HP. They look and sound(!) like a cool tool.
Checkin' them out over here, Boss.
Cheers!
Plaidman

Trad climber
West Slope of Powell Butte, Portland, Oregon, USA
  Sep 15, 2011 - 12:33am PT
Fantastic review. I liked the part about loading the inside lobes by orienting the carabiner correctly through the thumb loops to load the inside set of lobes more fully. Great insight and way to work the tool.
jfailing

Trad climber
PDX
  Sep 15, 2011 - 09:31am PT
Great review Dave - a thorough testing indeed! Must be raining up in the meadows to see you posting on the internet...

A question - what specific advantage do you get by clipping one carabiner through both loops on the stem? Is it so you can solidly get an extra few inches up in the aiders?
Peter Haan

Trad climber
Wyoming
  Sep 15, 2011 - 09:35am PT
Awesome and thanks for posting up!
Josh Higgins

Trad climber
San Diego
  Sep 15, 2011 - 11:35am PT
Awesome review! Thanks for finally taking these things on some hard aid and writing it up. I've been seriously considering getting a 2nd set of these things and replacing my C4s in that size range completely. Since I received my first set in the mail, they've gone with me on every trad climb I've done since. It's hard to describe how well they set in funky placements, and how solid they are, in a review.

Josh

Edit: Thanks for the plug of my blog and review of the cams in your review, but your link is off. You linked to an old blog I wrote while traveling SE Asia that isn't really climbing related. The climbing trip reports and gear reviews are at pullharder.org, and the Totem Cam review I wrote last year is at http://pullharder.org/2010/09/05/totem-cam-review/
hoipolloi

climber
A friends backyard with the neighbors wifi
Author's Reply  Sep 15, 2011 - 02:02pm PT
Thanks for the comments guys. I really recommend supporting this company, I don't think you'll be disappointed!



Josh- I will update that link right now.
Splater

climber
Grey Matter
  Sep 15, 2011 - 04:37pm PT
How do you tell what flares they will hold in and when they won't?

Any pics of flares or slippery placements where they hold and other cams won't?

there are some examples at
http://www.totemcams.com/blog/archives/319
http://www.totemcams.com/blog/archives/909
http://www.totemcams.com/blog/archives/670

but it would be interesting to see what happens with other brand cams placed in those same spots.
hoipolloi

climber
A friends backyard with the neighbors wifi
Author's Reply  Sep 19, 2011 - 05:23pm PT
Splatter-

In regards to your question about how do you tell what flares they will hold in and what they won't, for me, when Aid climbing, I bounce test the crap out of them. If the cam flys out of the crack and hits you in the face, it didn't hold. I have yet to completely blow a Totem out when bouncing (I have had some shift, pop, crunch and scare the crap out of me leaving me unsure if they will hold or not, when it does that, I get off of them and fidget till its better).

I have some photos of some pretty flared placements in that review. The 12th photo is of a placement on Mescalito that I couldn't make any other cam stick in. It was about a 3/4" deep, 2" long angle scar. It was at a steep right leaning angle. I might have been able to cam hook it, would have been scary and real poor (I was standing on a fixed rurp thing with a blowing out cable to clip).

Ill try to get some side by side comparison shots next time I am out using them.
couchmaster

climber
  Sep 20, 2011 - 04:26pm PT
but it would be interesting to see what happens with other brand cams placed in those same spots.

A bunch of us took the early ones out and compared them to every small cam made which ended up as a review where I wasn't all that impressed. I later realized it was because they had been over hyped.

The interesting thing is that Totem later stopped anodizing the ends of the lobes like Wild country and BD still do, claiming that they get better friction. In fact, I sceduled an open invatation to all locals to head out and compare them side by side with a bunch of other cams where the Totems seemed to do better. Totem is now making an Alien version they call the basic, which comes in regular and offset lobes. Plaidman is in Yosemite as I type this with some, look for him and try them out if you are around.

What I found is true for myself and about everyone else as well, is that the more anyone uses the Totem cams, the more they like them.
snowhazed

Trad climber
Oaksterdam, CA
  Sep 20, 2011 - 04:38pm PT
yeah dave!
tolman_paul

Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
  Sep 21, 2011 - 06:16pm PT
So what sizes would be the most useful for clean aid, I'm guessing the 3 smallest ones?
hoipolloi

climber
A friends backyard with the neighbors wifi
Author's Reply  Nov 30, 2011 - 12:38pm PT
Tolman_Paul - Yeah, I would say the 3 smallest sizes are the 'best' but the green one is also pretty awesome, and at this point I love the red as well.

I was just climbing in Vedawoo and a lot of sh#t is flared and funky here. The Totems have been really useful and given me a lot more confidence than C4's do on a lot of routes.
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