How do you place a cam to prevent it from walking

Brian in SLC wrote:Give it a strong tug when you find a secure placement, and, if walking might be an issue, sling it long. If its set hard, sometimes that's enough to keep it from moving.

Gunkiemike wrote: I don't believe there is any proof of this. Certainly there's nothing about the physics of torque and outward pressure due to the springs to support it. As with Tricams, you place the unit whichever way makes best use of the irregularities of the placement.

Yarp wrote: Setting cams? ummmmmm OK? I'm gonna go ahead and assume that was a joke and you don't really have that poor of an understanding of how cams work.

Spri wrote: Get a clue, sprayer.

To answer the OP the best way to learn is to do it a ton. Like if you have some time at the crag try placing them, all diferent sizes in various ways, tipped out to tight. You'll see that placing them in pods, constricting above and below, is about ideal. perfectly parallel or flaring is more dicey. The culprit is rope drag, sling em if you can. I find in the east that the cracks are not prone to walking cams (at least the easy ones I climb), but the cam will just rotate and still be bomber.

rgold had a really good point, sometimes you need to place an oppositional piece to restrict it from rotating. this is really key if the placement is essential to your safety and is tweaky. not nearly enough people do/think about this.