trad rack question

i am starting to build a trad rack,i have a good start with a 1-3 Wild Country rigid stem friends.my question is should i sick with buy some more WC friends or should i branch off to some BD's or what not.when i bought my WC's i asked for some help on the site and got good response.so i figured i would love to hear what you guys have to say again.

thanks

I'm a n00b trad leader and have a solid rack of friends from #1.5-4 w/ half sizes, plus the #1.25 and a double of #2.5. I've also snagged #.75-2 BD c4s (everything on sale of course) and #1-3 mastercams for the small end.

I love the friends for their lightweight and that it does take more cams to cover the same range (I'd rather have an extra cam or two to place as a scared n00b). The c4s and friends compliment each other VERY well, so you can use either as your base rack and double up with the other brand (or Metolius or whatever else you like). My cheapness won out and I went with the tech friends on closeouts. See if gearx will match their Memorial Day sale for ya and stock up on their tech friends sets (half and whole sizes) if they do.

c4s do have the smoothest triggers and greatest range. Also if the thumb loop means a lot to you, go with them. Really can't go wrong either way, pick one for whichever reason grabs you and you'll be stoked.

My 2 cents:

Camalots and Master Cams. They slide in nicely where friends won't...

Have fun out there!

Your probably not going to find any rigid stems, they are obsolete. If you like Friends then get the Forged ones. Your rack will be heavier than a comparable C4 set. It also comes down to preference. The thumb-hole in the Camalots is handy when placing them. The sling on the Friends is the thumb hole so it can be a little bit harder sometimes. I started on Friends and they have saved my skin many times. But, I hardly place them anymore and have replaced them with C3/4's and Metolius C3's in smaller sizes. DMM makes awesome nuts as far as that part of your rack.

yeah the rigids that i bought were used and i have seen that they are hard to find.weight isnt a issue for me(im a big dude lol).i have a set of nuts from Gear 4 rocks(the plastice nuts)which i love.i know people have there views on this company but i havent found a single problem

I love the stiff Friends , always have. Light, strong and durable. i would go for Wired Bliss for small stuff now-- very good stuff and great price.

HI-JACK

shop.gear4rocks.com/en/gear…

I was surprised to read about plastic stoppers. Anyway, this is my prominent concern from the prose referenced above:

"However, we were not able to remove the nut. Unfortunately, none of the pictures we took of the nut after I fell on it turned out. From what we could see it looked like it had slid down a few millimeters and had jammed hard into the crack. We weren’t able to reach it with a nut tool due to the geometry of the crack. "

I am set however with two biners FULL of a double rack of stoppers plus 20 years of bootied items. I guess the plastic will be good for the next generation! One thing about the report of not getting the stopper back was that it looked pretty buried to begin with (which I would do as well if I was 'testing' a piece). Anyway, thanks for the education.

Steve

Ty Harlacker wrote:Your (sic) probably not going to find any rigid stems, they are obsolete. If you like Friends then get the Forged ones.

Clarification on two counts. One, forged friends are rigid stems. And two, rigid stems are not obsolete. They are the cockroaches of SLCDs (in a good sense).

Steve Murphy wrote:They are the cockroaches of SLCDs (in a good sense).

Did you really just say that? Am I fucking seeing things? I don't know if I should be amazed or spit out my beer because i'm too drunk.

Steve Murphy wrote: Clarification on two counts. One, forged friends are rigid stems. And two, rigid stems are not obsolete. They are the cockroaches of SLCDs (in a good sense).

Up until about a year ago, Wild Country's web site listed rigid stem friends for sale. They billed them as "classic" or "legacy" or something like that and the page had a long testimonial to the longevity and quality of the rigid stem cams written by Steve House.

They were cheap, and I picked up a couple just for fun at Nomad's in Idyllwild 'cause they were in the clearance basket for $25. I think they'll outlive me. The big sizes are okay, but the small sizes are a bitch to clean if you place them too deep. If you can find them, stick to the sizes that cam no smaller than the thickness of the stem, unless you don't mind making shallow placements and/or having a pissed off second.

Did WC finally stop making the rigid stems?

I agree with Mark V: Camalots have always served me well. The double axle will not collapse and they are less likely to “walk” into a crack they have been placed in; never had any concerns with the trigger or range of motion. I climb predominately in North Conway and have found them more than adequate.

Have fun out there!

camalots or dragons

everyone knows the colours ... or almost everyone

If I were in your shoes, (which I was a year ago) I would fill up your set of WC. First off, with the Heliums coming out, tech friends are wicked cheap. Having an entire set is very helpful, most of the routes I climb take 8 different sized pieces, especially the easier routes. And I would suggest Metolius or a brand besides Black Diamond. I love my Metolius Powercams/tcus, and probably the best part of not having BD is when me and a buddy climb together. Then our rack turns out to have a full set of BD, a full set of Metolius, and a couple odd friends.

Also, consider adding hexes. They are obsolete and trickier to place than a cam at first, but you get used to it. I find that I place my hexes a lot more than cams on easy stuff(5.5-5.8). I bought a set used for 35$ or so, and I love them. Awesome for anchors, long leads, and I wouldn't mind so much bailing one of them instead of my 50$ slcd.

Hey there,
Thought I'd throw my two cents in addition to some good info. You may find that as you spend time leading your prefferences in gear will be dictated by the type of rock and length of route. Not to say that these are the only factors.

I never leave the ground with out my tri-cams (pink through blue). Nothing protects a horizontal crack quite like a well placed tri-cam.

On long routes that take a double rack I am always psyched to save weight with metolious U-stems. When your sinking money into a rack think long term. These are also currently some of the less expensive peices. Not near as dirtbag as the forged friends but waaaay lighter.

TCU's are great to double up that rack of tri-cams.

In the mean time fiddle with as much of your friends gear as you can. Climb as wide a variety of rock as you can. Definately have more fun than you can.

Get after it and good on ya!

Coati has good points. If you are going to go for U-stem cams, be sure to check out Wired Bliss. They are inexpensive, high-quality cams that are build to last. I have a set and think that they are awesome. I think that they are running some kind of 4th of July special sale.

That being said, you cannot go wrong with BD C4s. I have used a partners Tech Friends and found them adequate. Forged Friends are tanks. Dragons have some real mixed reviews. IMHO, Master Cams are not that great. YMMV. There are a lot of choices, and all of them have pros and cons.

Before you buy, use your friends stuff. Look at what other climbers have when you are out at the crag. Talk with as many people as you can about their gear preferences. Don't be in too much of a hurry to spend your money until you know what you like.

Wired Bliss is having a SALE.

facebook.com/WiredBlissCams

wiredblissusa.com

wiredbliss@usa.com

All American Holiday and All American Company

Small to finger sized metolious offsets are soo sick
I have never used aliens to compare but I love them my c4s c3s and my metolious tcus. And forged friends are great in the hand sized prices. Thats my 2cents.