Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
|
|
Without exception, everyone who I've climbed with and has used my rack of them, thought they were great and wanted some.
|
|
couchmaster
climber
|
|
Great cams. Better than BD. These cams do not seem to get stuck when overcammed. It's not that my partners and I don't know how to get cams stuck, we do as my Metolius Supercams are commonly getting stuck due to overcamming. I haven't had to leave a Supercam behind, but sometimes they get right in there too much. Never has occurred with a Totem. (knock wood)
3 sets here, which I sometimes won't take on an easier route or a route I have wired just so that I can preserve them.
|
|
ghisino
climber
Italy/France
|
|
I have one set of totems and one of c4.
Only one situation where i prefer camalots: Perfectly parallel crack,no close rests, pumped, Just want to throw in a pièce and keep going. In this kind of scenarios i find totems a tad slower to place, mainly because of the vert flexible stem.
They are stellar anywhere else. Appreciated them in Yosemite pin scars and flares, loved them even more in Wadi rum: Relatively easy climbing with interesting and sometimes sketchy pro...uneven cracks, sandy sections, slabs with a few pockets that might accept a cam, zig-zag lines needing double ropes and some tought about walking pro and rope drag...in this case I wished I had a double set, and that totem made a couple of bigger sizes...
|
|
ninjah
Big Wall climber
a van down by the river
|
|
Totem Cams ARE the best cam available!!
Try em' you'll see!
|
|
the czar
climber
meyers, ca.
|
|
got em over at sports ltd in south lake tahoe, come put your dirty little hands on them!
|
|
dindolino32
climber
san francisco
|
|
|
Feb 10, 2015 - 08:58pm PT
|
yep... Best cams on the market right now. They stick in the placement, don't move and are bomber.
I find Bearbreeders input to be a little far fetched and searching for what's wrong with them. They don't walk, so I don't need to be worried about setting them as passive. If I were gonna take a whipper, I would want my best pieces under me, not the cheapest. They are a little more expensive, but they were worth it and mine don't show any wear. The stem is not too flexible, unless you are trying to shove a cam in without pulling the trigger, or are just jumaring up a crack. Every time my wife and I get sketched, we pull a totem out, place it and yell "It's totem time!" We are stoked cause we know that we got some bomber gear below us.
They stick in placements that no other cam can go. Straight in flared pin scars are just that tip of the iceberg. Get one and then prepare to buy the whole set.
|
|
Studly
Trad climber
WA
|
|
|
Feb 10, 2015 - 09:09pm PT
|
I've had my Totems for years now with heavy use, and they wear like iron. Meaning they still look almost brand new, and no issues whatsoever. Far superior to any other cam.
|
|
philip leng
Trad climber
Solihull, UK
|
|
|
Mar 13, 2015 - 09:02am PT
|
Been climbing for a long time in the UK and used the original rigid friends all the way up to Totems, and they are by far and a way the best placing cams I have used. I read the Outdoor Gear Lab review and could not believe the rating they gave them. The review was was contradictory and untrue in parts - heavier than C4s....no. Floppy stem - really? Flexible yes, but floppy, no. Say how well they stick and then give them a poor rating for it???? Was disappointed by this blatantly biased review and left me very sceptical about the whole site, which is a shame as it seemed like a great service. I am coming to The Valley in May and have tooled up with many Totems for El Cap as they are as people say the one to save for the awkward placement - get the C4 in first, save the Totems for the tricky spot.
|
|
ElbowHornet
Boulder climber
|
|
|
Mar 13, 2015 - 10:30am PT
|
hey there say fools
totems are fantastic not surprised, oh my precious me, the reviews are obviously biased here.
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
|
Mar 13, 2015 - 12:18pm PT
|
Interesting thread. Still have no experience with these cams, but would love to try em.
|
|
Matt's
climber
|
|
|
Mar 13, 2015 - 01:04pm PT
|
totems are everything they are cracked up to be. You can do routes like the nose without an offset cam rack (well, bring a blue/green alien still...)-- that's a huge game-changer in my opinion
can't wait for the blue-alien sized totem to be produced...
|
|
Highgloss
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
|
|
|
Mar 13, 2015 - 05:27pm PT
|
They look like incredible cams, however from a marketing and accessibility standpoint, the Totem website is a total joke. Flash based, hard to navigate and loaded with dead links and buzz words. Simplify and streamline please. Add some better videos and tons of pictures too!
|
|
kunlun_shan
Mountain climber
SF, CA
|
|
|
Mar 13, 2015 - 07:41pm PT
|
I agree about the website. No none Spanish version. But Totem doesn't really have to care about that right now. Their cams are so far ahead of everything else that they don't need to market much.
Their biggest problem at the moment probably is supplying demand.
|
|
Studly
Trad climber
WA
|
|
|
Mar 13, 2015 - 08:18pm PT
|
Totem cams are like pieces of candy, color coded and sweet. I heart my Totems, even dry hump them a little when nobody is looking. When you are runout and sketching, its Totems baby Totems.
|
|
john hansen
climber
|
|
|
Mar 13, 2015 - 08:26pm PT
|
Do Arnold and Tommy use them?
|
|
kunlun_shan
Mountain climber
SF, CA
|
|
|
Mar 13, 2015 - 09:06pm PT
|
Thanks!
I do agree w/Highgloss, that the website does not work very well. Their cams are incredible.
|
|
Climbnrok
Trad climber
LA
|
|
|
May 31, 2015 - 05:41pm PT
|
I'm a bit amazed the outdoorgearlab review is still up with the ranking unchanged after all this time and after all the resoundingly positive support for Totems. At this point the Totem review not only deserves a rewrite, but an apology.
|
|
donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
|
|
|
May 31, 2015 - 05:43pm PT
|
Never trust gear reviews....be your own judge.
|
|
Port
Trad climber
Norwalk, CT
|
|
For the past 6 months I've been replacing my original Aliens with the totem basic cams. In this time I've come to believe that totem has actually improved on the original Alien. In terms of walking, placement versatility, cam range, weight, and other criteria the totem basic is the same or superior.
So given this success I bought my first original Totem (yellow). It's been 4 weeks and I've come to believe the design is genius. The strangest thing about the cams is a lack of "axel". The wires (12 total for 4 lobes; 4 are trigger wires)seem to pull directly on the cam's lobes. I'm not an engineer but it seems this creates a cam that has almost zero tendency to walk. In shitty horizontals or shallow pockets the cams excel over C4s.
Eventually I will have one size of each. They are worth the extra cost.
- get the C4 in first, save the Totems for the tricky spot.
|
|
Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
|
|
Love em. Absolutely adore them. They are my go to cam.
Thanks to Heidi for the photo.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!