Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 01:23am PT
|
Some illustrative shots from rc.com that indicate it ain't just about Gunks horizontals.
A red link cam placed near the start of the Lower Ski Track at J-Tree (the lower piece), at the spot where a link cam broke. The placement in the picture illustrates what not to do with link cams.
The same cam reoriented and now much safer in the same placement.
|
|
Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 01:53am PT
|
good illustration pic rgold, thx for the visual.
|
|
ct
climber
CO
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 03:45am PT
|
Sweet cams, but not without their limitations. I've owned five in total, two are permanently stuck deep in cracks in the backcountry. One because of a broken trigger wire issue (apparently now addressed), another because all lobes were fully engaged and that sucker wasn't going anywhere with 3 inches of metal inside the crack and no wiggle room.
Good cams, great concept, but not perfect. Be careful not to overcam and make sure to place in the correct orientation as noted above. Can't wait to see who takes this idea and brings it to the next level.
|
|
Rockjunky
Trad climber
METHDESTO CA
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 05:13am PT
|
i have a red one on my rack and am very skeptical when i place it. It seems to need more room to remove it than a BD cam... witch takes up the majority of my rack. So in the panic mode i still reach for the BD because i know i will be able to get it back. I think the red is good from #1-#.04 (BD size) and will come back out. still a kick ass range!
|
|
rick d
climber
ol pueblo, az
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 08:20am PT
|
My friend Dave placed a new one as the first piece off the deck. No falls, no hangs, nothing special happened during its use except the trigger wire slipped off the "nub" and I had to remove using only 3/4 action. I could not fix w/o tools at the belay and therefore I feel link cams are maybe the worst piece (next to rock and rollers) I have ever used.
have fun, I hate em.
|
|
MisterE
Social climber
Across Town From Easy Street
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 08:46am PT
|
Love them - just got to be smart about when and where they are used.
Skip has a photo collection of fixed link cams (don't ask me why), and it's quite a few - fortunately none of them are ours.
I find I use them most for setting up quick anchors.
|
|
Captain...or Skully
Social climber
Top of the 5.2-5.12 Boulder
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 08:48am PT
|
Maybe I'll buy a couple when(if) my friends wear out.
|
|
thedogfather
climber
Midwest
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 08:55am PT
|
I use a link cam in each size as my second piece when I carry doubles. I rack them so I always take the C4 first so that when I get to the belay, I will have more link cams left than C4s. They are great for setting up belays because of their greater range and it is easier to align them correctly when calmly setting up a belay vs panic mode.
|
|
Prod
Trad climber
Dodge Sprinter Dreaming
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 10:58am PT
|
Got the bigger one, gold color.
Like it a lot.
I will eventually gett a full set.
Prod.
|
|
Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 11:11am PT
|
The purple = the magic cam. Just the thing when you tink you might want doubles on an unknown finger size, but not on all of them.
I got a yellow for Xmas. The two cams pretty much cover the range of a standard rack.
I wouldn't like them as my main cam because of the rigidity issues, but they do sometimes work where other cams will not.
|
|
quietpartner
Trad climber
Moantannah
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 12:26pm PT
|
My climbing partner recently bootied a busted up link cam in a horizontal crack. It looked like several fragile joints weren't too happy.
The next embodiment of them will offer a bubble in the handle that tells you when it's perfectly vertical. Like a framing level. haha
|
|
Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 01:30pm PT
|
I've got a set. Been using them for a couple of years and seem to place one or more on almost every lead.
Maybe it's how I place them (not too near the small end of their range), but I have the opposite experience from what others have described above -- they tend to be faster to place and easier to clean than other cams. That makes them nice to have on both hard and easy climbs.
Like everything else on my rack they have pros and cons, of course.
|
|
August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 05:35pm PT
|
I have had two link cams for some time now that have seen some, but not a lot of use.
I think they would work fine for a panic piece if the crack is regular enough. On an irregular crack, that would be an iffier proposition.
I've been impressed with their utility aid climbing. I have put them in all sorts of weird pockets/cracks where the retracted cams were engaged with the rock and the force was to the side, etc. (all the things the experts tell you not to do). They have held great and I haven't [yet] broken one. I've eased on gently (no bounce testing). And the extended range is pretty sweet for crack jumaring.
Outside of aid climbing, they never became part of my standard rack.
|
|
mooser
Trad climber
seattle
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 05:53pm PT
|
I've got three of them, and am about to get two more. These things work great! The only drawback (besides the weight) is that the trigger tends to rotate more than I like, but it's no big deal.
|
|
GhoulweJ
Trad climber
Sacramento, CA
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 08:19pm PT
|
I own 12 Link cams. I love them.
They have saved my life 4 times I can specificaly remember.
Learn how to use them. Don't over cam them.
Great gear.
|
|
zeth0101
Trad climber
Salt Lake City
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 09:48pm PT
|
Just got my set of link cams today. should have had them on the 23rd when they got delivered but the ups guy put the box inside my bike trailer in my front yard so i didn't notice until just this morning when looking into my bike trailer. So far I love them yet have never placed one. I like the long stems on them which will aid in making deep placements if you want. I received an extra paper with a warning on it but it didn't state anything about the cams exactly. I'm curious to see how they hold in flaring sandstone. Main reason why I got them though is because I always bring too much gear with me on a climb and hopefully this will help to slim it down a bit. might be able to get away with one full rack when 2 is called for etc... plus they're as cool or even cooler then a high tech spaceship.
|
|
tooth
Trad climber
The Best Place On Earth
|
|
|
Dec 26, 2009 - 10:03pm PT
|
If you place them with more than one area of the jointed lobes touching the rock for each of the 4 lobes, you introduce forces not really possible with other cams... like this...
4........x.....7.....x....
where 4 is the location of force from the fall where the stem joins the lobes,
x are contact spots on rock
and 7 is the joint.
Push down on 4 (in a fall) and if both x's are touching rock, it will push up on 7.
The failure on intersection rock and others have always been sideways failures on the weakest part of the lobe, the joint at 7.
So like everyone said, unless you have that sucker pointed perfectly in the direction of the fall (impossible in so many pockets I have placed cams in) you are introducing stress to joints that were not designed for those forces.
I don't use them, I did own a couple, but I do use aliens which have a worse history.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!