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David Brigham
climber
Scotland, UK
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 26, 2011 - 06:16am PT
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Hi guys
Heading over to the valley in June form UK. Wondering what you guys thought were the best size Metolius offset Mastercams to bring along? Looking to do the big free routes and hopefully get on El Cap.
Thanks
Dave
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David Brigham
climber
Scotland, UK
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 26, 2011 - 06:59am PT
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Is there a particular size that are good for pin scars was what I was really thinking?
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426
climber
Buzzard Point, TN
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Jan 26, 2011 - 07:47am PT
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Yellow/blue, "a poor man's" green/yellow alien is a great size/// on trade route
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Morgan
Trad climber
East Coast
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Jan 26, 2011 - 11:58am PT
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Black/Red (been using it a lot for free climbing, too)
Yellow/Blue, for sure
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Adamame
Big Wall climber
Santa Cruz
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Jan 26, 2011 - 12:01pm PT
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Been carrying doubles of all but the largest size up The Captain, they work great and get used a ton. And remember, pin scars do come in every size, especially on trade routes.
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squatch
Boulder climber
santa cruz, CA
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Jan 26, 2011 - 04:30pm PT
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On Mescalito and the routes adjacent, the three smallest sizes are amazing with the grey/purple being the most useful. i wished i had three or four of this size.
have fun!
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Jan 26, 2011 - 05:02pm PT
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My standard Yosemite rack starts with two of each Master Cam and one of each Offset Master Cam. The popularity of the route in the past will dictate how scarred it is, although I don't find that scars are the only places offsets shine.
I love those things.
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Slabby D
Trad climber
B'ham WA
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Jan 26, 2011 - 05:11pm PT
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How are other people fairing with the durability of their Mastercams?
I purchased a handful of both offset and regular Mastercams last spring. Well I'm satisifed with their placement, unfortunately they have not proven to be durable.
I've had two camstops snap off on me! Both on a purple cam (one regular, one offset). Both times wiggling them out of tight placements (one had not even been weighted).
Metolius has a responsive (and apparently active) warranty/repair department so thats good, but it doesn't do much good when your cam breaks 1/3 the way up a wall.
A careful look at the purple cams reveals that one of the grooves milled onto the face of the purple cam intersects the camstop resulting in even less metal where there was already very little. Disappointing that Metolius would have such an apparent flaw in their product and not yet fix it.
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Slakkey
Big Wall climber
From Back to Big Wall Baby
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Jan 26, 2011 - 05:19pm PT
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I agree at least one full set of Offset Mastercams and then a couple of extra in the 2 - 3 range for sure. Alot does depend on the route The yellow Blue come in very handy.
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hoipolloi
climber
A friends backyard with the neighbors wifi
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Jan 26, 2011 - 05:31pm PT
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Ok here we go.
I have climbed extensively with the offset Master cams. I have had them on my rack from C1 to A4. I love them. They work as good as offset aliens, sometimes (don't freak out) they work even better. They have a narrower head and are slightly different sizes, so they sometimes fit better, sometimes worse.
The problem
I recently took a BRAND NEW Purple/Blue up on ZM. At the end of the second day, I glance over at my buddies rack and notice it looks buggered. It had broken, again. Thats right, again. This was the 4th purple/blue I have broken.
The 4th! They all break in exactly the same way. The tiny cam stop on the purple lobe snaps off. Once this has snapped off, the spring mechanism fails and the lobes umbrella and don't work any more.
I would love to hear if others have had this issue. I know that it is due to the tiny cam stop design (a major failure of a design). I have broken 3 on the first route they went on and one lasted for 2 routes.
This is a major issue...it needs to be addressed. So far Metolius has been very kind in replaceing them, however it has really screwed us on route. I will keep taking them with me, and hopefully Metlius will catch on and redesign the cam stop and spring issue, because its f*#ked. Because of this they are unreliable...but bomber, until they break...
Anyone else done this yet?
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Jan 26, 2011 - 05:32pm PT
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I've owned all of mine for three Yosemite seasons now. So far so good, I've had no problems with them. Aside from my recent El Cap routes though, I couldn't say that I've used them extensively.
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Slabby D
Trad climber
B'ham WA
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Jan 26, 2011 - 06:01pm PT
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Hoipoii see above. I've broken two purples.
Exact same problem! Purple is the only size where face groove intersects camstop. Seems like an easy fix. Why don't they?!
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Jan 26, 2011 - 06:01pm PT
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Just before last fall's wall season, I got a complete set of six or seven Offset Master cams. Had I known that they came in such large sizes, I never would have ordered the entire set, because I didn't think there would be much benefit to having two different lobe sizes in the larger cams.
Boy, was I ever wrong! All of the sizes are fantastic, tremendously useful.
Not only that, but I thought for sure they would not be as good as Hybrid Aliens. So far as I am concerned, in most situations I actually prefer them over the Hybrid Aliens, because they fit as well or even better, seem to have more "bite", and are much burlier.
I was very surprised indeed that I ended up liking the things so much, because I didn't think anything would compare to Aliens.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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hoipolloi
climber
A friends backyard with the neighbors wifi
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Jan 26, 2011 - 06:19pm PT
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Slabby, So glad to hear that I am not alone. I am about to mail 2 back to Metolius with a letter.
PTPP- I agree with you completely. I would like to get the larger ones. I think they would be great for many different clean climbing applications.
I want the Purple/blue issue resolved, that size is my favorite...always seems to save my ass in a pinch and make me feel better about the gear above.
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Slakkey
Big Wall climber
From Back to Big Wall Baby
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Jan 26, 2011 - 06:32pm PT
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I also agree that they in many cases are better than Aliens. As for them breaking Like Mark i have had good luck so far. Last fall in the valley out of curiosity I put my regular purple #0 Mastercam to the test and bounce tested the hell out of it. It stayed bomber and no breakage Like I said maybe just lucky but I really like both the regular mastercams and especially the offsets for yosemite climbing
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David Brigham
climber
Scotland, UK
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 27, 2011 - 07:09am PT
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Cheers guys, very helpful.
Got a few of the normal Mastercams and am more than likely to invest in some offset Mastercams now.
Excited
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