Wild Country Friends question

i just recently bought my first set of cams which i am very excited about using.I bought a set of wild country friends Forged series(i think its the last style before the new style)and i noticed that there are like 3 holes on the stem on each cam.im VERY curious about what the reason for these holes are.They also have webbing coming out of each hole.anyone help a newbie trad climber with why they are there

I have used it befor, it has been called the "Gunks tie off" which means if you are placing the cam in a horizontal crack you would want the the sling closest to the edge/lip of the crack clipped into the rope as opposed to the sling at the end of the stem. This helps prevent the stem from breaking in a lead fall. if you goolge Gunks tie off you will see pics which may help you better understand if i haven't been clear enough. Hope this helps

Pooler

You prolly don't want webbing coming out of each hole- one is plenty. Make sure the tie off hangs close to the lip in a horizontal placement. Otherwise you really screw up the stem.

so let me get this right.is i have a crack i place a friend in.i want the webbing part to be near the lip of the crack?does this apply if i place the cam deeper into a crack also?

no, it's not a concern for cams placed deep in a crack. The goal of having multiple contact points along the stem is so you can apply a load (you falling on the cam) as close to the point of contact between stem and rock as possible. This minimizes the forces on the rigid stem that might otherwise bend the metal. This only applies to situations where the stem of the cam extends past the lip of a horizontal crack because if the cam is far back in a crack, then the stem is not in contact with an edge that might bend it if you fell. I hope this helps, you may be best served to google the above-mentioned gunks tie-off and look at pictures of various scenarios if you are still unsure.

You want to clip into the sling closest to lip which ever one it is. If you can get it in deep enough to use the sling at the end use that one, but be careful with a plcement like that it can be a pain to get out. Also are the slings in the middle sewn or tied, because I agree with Josh in that you don't want all those slings on the cam at the same time they get all tangeled up. usually I will use 7mm cord and only tie off the center hole when I know there will be horizantal placements other wise I don't keep them on the cam. if the slings in the center are sewn I don't know how that will work they may not tangle you will have to see.

i did look it up and i do understand now.i would like to thank you guys for the info.its funny that if you look online there are a bunch of people that love the friend and others that just cant stand them.Anyone got there on opinion on this subject?

They work fine. They are heavy, the triggers are tricky sometimes, and you have to deal with the whole horizontal placement thing, but they will still catch a fall as well as any new style cam if placed right. all and all if your budget is the issue I would recommend them to anyone.

Wild Country article (w/photos) -

Gunks Tie-Off

pooler wrote:They are heavy

Not really.

#2 Camalot 155g
#3 Camalot 201g
#4 Camalot 289g

#2.5 Forged Friend 116g
#3 Forged Friend 143g
#3.5 Forged Friend 168g
#4 Forged Friend 216g

For supplementing a rack in those sizes, adding a set of Forged Friends is a nice way to have some cams, without the weight. They just don't have as much range.

If you're climbing (and protecting) a long hand crack, forged friends are a fair bit lighter if you need a gob of them.

should have said heavier, over all Brian is right not much difference

pooler wrote:should have said heavier, over all Brian is right not much difference

not much difference. but even then, I would probably call them lighter.

I don't know why people bother with the sewn sling on rigid friends at all. Just cut that sucker off, sling the inner hole with long-ish cord, and climb on. I second the advice above about slinging them with the wide lobes down.

What about vertical cracks?can you use them in verticals?if not what would happen if placed in a vertical crack

Zac Robinson wrote: not much difference. but even then, I would probably call them lighter.

I heard you were good at math...!

I think they work best in vertical cracks. You don't need the tie off in verticals much.

Gunks tie off

Ideal horizontal placement... I assume they are used, so you should probably replace the cord on them anyway. Cut off all of it, and only replace the loop closest to the cams. Maybe use 5.5mm Titan cord?

problem

Sometimes on deep placements the biner you clip it with might be on the edge. This is bad and might break the biner (although the shoe box will probably fail first). If you can't avoid it, you could thread the end hold with a skinny sling...

avoiding biner on the edge

I have used rigid Friends since Jardine was selling them in Camp 4. They are light ,durable and tough. Wish WC still made them.

They were $17 at the time.

john strand wrote:I have used rigid Friends since Jardine was selling them in Camp 4. They are light ,durable and tough. Wish WC still made them. They were $17 at the time.

Funny I paid $14/ea for my set a few months ago, used of course. They've been a great way to double my cams for cheap!