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DMM Dragons

Original Post
rking101 King · · Evanston, WY · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 120

I bought a set of these sexy cams, #s 1-6. I will be getting the 0 and 00 and some doubles soon.

I'm new to trad but thought I would post a review of my new cams.

They appear well made and feel like quality (you know what I mean). The trigger is smooth. The thumb bar feels good. I haven't had a problem placing them at all with the thumb bar instead of a thumb loop. The longer sling is nice the only problem is you have to clip the bar tack side. If you clip the other side of the sling to extend it the bar tack wont slide through the holes in the thumb bar. When you go to rerack them it is easy and smooth. They have the same color as the BD C4's cams so your partner wont have to struggle to find the right piece to place.

I have taken only one fall so far. It was only 6ft (It scared the hell outa me, being my first fall on gear) It was on a #2 green Dragon. It didn't even move and afterwards, when I looked at it for any faults, there were none.

I hope this helps some one looking at cams. It took me 4 weeks of reading reviews and looking at cams. Best advice I can give though is buy what you want.

Ric

mountainhick · · Black Hawk, CO · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 120

A couple guys I hooked up with at the creek had a set of these, all brand new. I think it was the green that had something really wrong with it. It had no trauma, no falls or anything, just malfunctioned. The cam lobes were not rotating freely and got stuck. I don't remember the exact problem, but do remember we could see what was causing it at the time. I think it had to do with the springs/roll pins between the cams and there being too much play across the length of the axles, so the cams slid sideways on the axle, something passed behind something else and got stuck so the cams would not expand/retract correctly.

They just seemed more or less like tweaked close knock offs of C4 camalots but more flimsy, and with the malfunction, well, I'm not buying.

Superclimber · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 1,310
Ben Hicks wrote:They just seemed more or less like tweaked close knock offs of C4 camalots but more flimsy, and with the malfunction, well, I'm not buying.
Glad somebody else noticed this too. I thought they felt flimsy and found them to be mor prone to walking than the C4s. Other than the slings, I really didn't like them very much.
patto · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 25

Seriously how are they more flimsy?

johnthethird · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2012 · Points: 5

I have the largest 4 dragons, and a few BD's. The extendable sling, I cold take it or leave it. Other than that, IMO, they're the same as BD's.

Except with a smaller cam angle, which is what sold me.

rking101 King · · Evanston, WY · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 120

@ Jake Thanks for all the info and input this is my 1st review and 1st set of cams so im sure im missing lots of good info that people should know.

You know what i mean- Ever get to a new crag and touch the rock and know its going to be a great day? You know what i mean lol .

A little more info.

They have a 13.75 camming angle. They have stiff springs to help prevent walking. The 1-6 Dragons have a 14kn active and passive strengh.

Don MacKenzie · · Seattle, WA · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 25

I'm a big fan of the thumb loop on my C4s (sizes 1-3), and how they feel when placed. I'm a big fan of the extendable sling on my old DMM 4CU, and the build quality. So when I was faced with getting a new cam in the 0.75 C4 range, I was torn between the C4 and the Dragon.

In the end I opted for the Dragon, just to try something new. I am glad I did. I love the build quality, smooth action, and secure feeling of the placements. I don't miss the thumb loop at all, at least not at this size. The extendable sling is a great source of flexibility. I trust this cam as much as any other on my rack.

rking101 King · · Evanston, WY · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 120

A few pics of the Green Dragon #2 (Same as BD .75) it has taken a few falls now and been placed lots.
Specs- Weight 106 grams. Passive and Active strengh 14kn.
Range 24-41mm. Overall Lenght with sling extended 15.5in w\o carbiner.

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

Pic 4

Pic 5

bearbreeder · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 3,065

Ive used my dragons for over a season now ... They work perfectly fine ... I havent had any issues with them getting stuck, i just place the correct size

I find the sling very useful as it saves the weight of a short draw

The camming angle is better than the camalots, i dont know how much of a difference this makes, but on limestone, ill take theoretical extra holding power i can get

My main gripe is the price, so ive been looking for them on sale

Ive fallen on mine, and they hold perfectly fine

Imo they are basically a camalot without a thumb loop but can save you a shortie

At the end of the day its the climber that matters, not the specific brand of cam ;)

Scott McMahon · · Boulder, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,425
Jake Jones wrote:Holy jeez man! Do you rack all your cams with big ass solid gate D biners?
haha I think these are all the cams he has so far, so until his rack grows I'm sure he'll be fine.

That's pretty funny tho. Good catch.
rking101 King · · Evanston, WY · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 120

Lol i seen that coming bought online for a great price from gear express didnt look at the size of them they will be changed next payday

My rack is 6 cams. 4 tri cams. Set of nuts. 4 hexes. Then the random stuff draws and lockers. Slings webbing and few extra carbiners

Anonymous · · Unknown Hometown · Joined unknown · Points: 0
CJC wrote: do you do anything than troll the internet 24/7?
Pretty sure this got covered in the "what do people do for a living" thread. I think Jake is like me and works a desk job that is quite slow.
johnthethird · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2012 · Points: 5
bearbreeder wrote: My main gripe is the price, so ive been looking for them on sale
Online retailers in the US have them on sale fairly often. Ive never paid more than 62$ even for the #6, which I have doubles of.

You'll likely get dinged pretty good for shipping them to canada.
rking101 King · · Evanston, WY · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 120

I buy all my gear at gear exspess since they are in the slc area

K-Tanz · · Phoenix, AZ · Joined Sep 2010 · Points: 211

I just bought a #6 Dragon cause, to be honest, I wanted to see what a big cam that wasn't a BD was like and the price was the same as the #4 BD.

I really wanted to love this thing and absolutely love DMM carabiners. I haven't had a chance to place it yet but initially here's my thoughts. Please note I HAVE NOT placed this yet so this will be superficial.

The action on the BD is smoother. The Dragon is smooth and even but side by side the BD just has a smoother action. The extendable sling is great and I want them on all of my cams. The thing is gorgeous and the attention to detail is (seemingly) undeniable and the craftsmanship is gorgeous.

I say seemingly undeniable because after pulling the trigger for twenty minutes in the car one of the lobes decided to stop rebounding back to neutral. The thing just sticks down retracted and won't go back unless I push it with my finger back up with its friends. This is literally twenty minutes after leaving the gear shop. They are going to warranty it but this was not a great first impression. I thought about lubing it but then thought screw that I shouldn't need to lube something right out of the box.

So if you get one that doesn't stick, it's on sale, and you want something that's not a C4 go for it. I would say that it's no nicer than the BD, just prettier.

Glass Tupperware · · Atlanta · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 45

I have the number three and four dragons to complement my rack of c4's. The extendable runners are nice if you're at a crux move, but otherwise I normally throw a runner on anyway. They are also noticeably lighter and they don't feel any more flimsy to me.

Having said that, the trigger wires on my number 4 frequently get bent, preventing me from opening/closing the cam (initially happened after taking a whipper on it). It's easy enough to bend them back into shape, but it's annoying if it happens mid pitch.

Overall, they're neat to show off and I'm glad I have them, but I like them just as much as my c4's.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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