Passive Pro

When I started building my rack I could only afford a set of stoppers and a set of Rockcentrics. As a result I feel like I've gotten pretty OK at placing passive pro.

Since then I have gotten a set of cams, but still find myself placing hexes if I can over a cam. But one of the guys I climb with a lot HATES hexes. When he cleans them he refuses to put them on his harness.

Just out of curiosity, how many of you guys still have hexes on your rack? Do you place your wires much, or only when a cam doesn't fit? Would you be in a Y2K type predicament if all your cams stopped working?

I don't use hexes, but I use stoppers and tricams constantly.

Tom Grummon wrote:When he cleans them he refuses to put them on his harness

I just sold my hexes. Still use tri-cams and stoppers. Cams don't replace stopers in most situations. Cams are usually faster to place and faster to clean then hexs. More importantly, they don't sound like cow bells. In the end, they are all safe, so use what you like.

I take a few of the larger hexes when alpine climbing. They allow me to have “doubles” on my rack without too much extra weight. They are also very good bail pieces as a hex only costs $10 compared to a cam. That’s really the only time they get used unless I’m playing around at my local trad practice area (Sespe Gorge in Ojai.) Most of the time I’m trying to push my grade in places like JTree and Tuolumne and want doubles of cams. There’s nothing wrong with hexes, some people have just gotten spoiled by using nothing but cams with a few nuts here and there.

I started my rack out the same way and got some practice placing passive pro. Invaluable experience. I mostly do wires, but hexes occasionally. The big difference I've noticed betweeen a hex and a cam of the same size, is that if the hex is placed solid, it doesn't seem to walk like cams do sometimes as a result of rope movement, etc. The variable range of cams sure is nice. I also try to save the cams for anchors for this reason. If I see a good placement for a wire, I'll plug one of those first.

When I see a good nut placement, I plug a nut. To me, a good nut placement beats a good cam placement any day (especially those DMM offsets in an inward-flaring crack...mmm). That said, I probably use cams for about 60% of my placements, because I trust a cam in a slightly-less-than-ideal placement over a nut in a slightly-less-than-ideal placement (that is, a cam has a slightly wider margin of error) and they tend to go in faster. I do sometimes carry hexes (torque nuts), but mostly use them for anchors when I can (save the cams for the climb). Slung hexes do allow for some pretty creative placements that you can't really get with any other gear. Cheap bail gear, too.

nut placements skills are crucial IMO ... the better you are at those, the less weight youll need to carry, and perhaps save the cams for the cruxes

i never saw the point in hexes, tricams work better for the smaller sizes, and unless yr doing alpine, large cams are better as you can bump em up on offwidths ... try placing a hex one handed on a pumpy stance ... and youll quickly find something else

the people who i see with hexes and rave about em are usually on more moderate alpine/ice/mixed routes where they make more sense ... or climb at a quite moderate level where the stances are good

there a reason why some believe that friend were the secret weapon when they were introduced ;)

Boissal wrote: So... does he toss them off the route for you to retrieve in the brush later?

Typically you can get away without hexes. But for me, lately I've begun racking 2 of them on my rack, usually mid to larger sized. I do this for anchoring to not eat up my cam, the weight, and also the crappy irregular crack that just dont take cams well. Variety is the spice of life... and climbing.

Ben B. wrote: Sounds like a doosh. Nothing wrong with hexes... Guys don't like them because they're old school, and placement-for-placement, cams can go pretty much anywhere hexes can. But their weight-to-usefulness ratio is actually really high- You can more than double the amount of pro you can carry for the same weight, replacing cams with hexes, on long alpine routes where every ounce counts.

I have an old set of slung hexes. I don't carry them often, usually only when we're climbing on just my rack (my partner isn't contributing any gear) and I want to have doubles in large sizes. That said, even though i hardly carry them, I feel more confident about a well placed hex than any other gear.

Edit to add - However, I only carry 7-10 (BD, slung), the smaller wired ones are crap, tricams and nuts are more usefull in those sizes.

I started climbing before SLCDs using a rack of stoppers and wavy Clog hexes that seemed to fall out at every opportunity! I upgraded to some fancy Chouinard hexes, but I always hated hexes and loved stoppers. We used some big stoppers in the 70's slung with 8 mm perlon. When rigid Friends came out my climbing partners and I each bought one of a different size. I never looked back, I still hate hexes. However, I will still reach for a small stopper over a small cam most of the time. I often carry a few Tricams to double up usually using them at belays.
I do confess to some curiosity about modern curved hexes like the Metolius, but have not tried them.

My Standard Rack consists of nuts and cams with a few small tricams. That being said I still keep a a set of hexes around for when I want to go lighter. Its fun to mix it up and climb not using cams sometimes. I think Hexes are invaluable when it comes to teaching large placements. I think if you get hexes down cam placements are easier to see.
Dallen

In my experience:

1) Not all hexes are created equal. The flat sided BD hexes are the least versatile in my opinion. +1 for wired WC Rockcentrics.

2) The type of rock you climb on will dictate the usefulness of hexes. Highly featured cracks are poor for cams because they will walk out of the intended placement. Hexes tend to stay put in such rock.

3) Harder cracks generally want more cams because they are less featured and you need something fast.

4) The larger hexes are most useful and are a great way to keep your rack weight down for long routes.

Tell your partner to lighten up.

It very much depends on the route for me but I place my offset stoppers and tricams a TON. I seem to "save" my cams for when I need something, but I don't really climb hard enough that I'm ever in that spot. I also try to build my anchors out of passive gear more often than not.

Just as an example, we did a longer ~1000' route in the flatirons 2 weeks ago and I think I only placed maybe 5 cams total, the rest were tricams and stoppers. I like it that way.

Cruxic and Derek +1

When I started trad I only had passive protection. You get some funny looks from all those "new school hipsters" but in my opinion its way better to learn to place passive protection than just jam a cam in whenever.

Tell your bro if he doesn't like your gear, then he can bring his own stuff and lead the climbs. I'm sure you wont be threatening to drop his shit, or maybe you should.... cause he sounds like a dousche.

To all the hex/tricam haters out there.....

I have a fever.... and you know what the cure is?

More Cowbell.

I don't really care to carry hexes for anything other than alpine, but when I do. I use them for the belay.

Love tricams...have yet to place a single stopper in the flatirons. Someday maybe.

on my rack I keep the BD 7-10 hexes to save weight on the bigger sized cams. They always feel better to me then a cam does so if I can get one in easy I do so. Also if I ever have to bail I know what im leaving.

I know I can't place a hex as fast as a cam, that was readily apparent a few weeks ago at turkey rocks when I had already placed my #3 and was only left with a hex for the crux (poor planning I know, I was just too excited to place my shiny new #3). But I'm glad I at least had a hex, seeing as I don't have doubles.

David Sahalie wrote:i don't see people with racks of hexes at the IC. jus sayin.