CAM-EXTRACTOR

CaptainMo wrote: you're wrong pulling the trigger only cams the unit into place... go trad climbing and you should be able to figure it out. This is basic shit.

I'll give it a go when I get home. Good old cam in the parking garage crack trick. If this thread had existed when I was trad climbing on Saturday, I would have tried it then.

Nice edit, btw. Thankfully I saw it soon enough to be slightly irritated.

Nut tool and a pair of wired stoppers...

Or, a light hammer and a long piton. Maybe a long screw driver.

Stuck cams don't last long in the local hills...

chufftard wrote:Hexes don't need extracting.

Correct. Should either be left in situ or at home on the mantle...

Ha ha.

CAM-EXTRACTOR

CAM-EXTRACTOR, now available. $10

Oh and it opens beers too.

Princess Mia wrote:Looks like another great item to bring along....... With a couple of PASs, a laminated copy of FOTH, three cordalettes, a trigger kit, a large tube of sunscreen, camera, ten lockers, just in case.....

All in a sweet Osprey pack. :o)

Scott McMahon wrote: All in a sweet Osprey pack. :o)

.........while on a hot date climbing a sketchy 5.6........

:-D

Dumb. Sling the trigger and yank. Bam I just saved $110. Just dumb.

Just carry a second nut tool if you're that worried about it, or have your belayer send one down the rope. Plug another solid piece and hang from it. Use a nut tool in each hand to do the same thing.

The economics of this don't make any sense.

You are asking for $110 + $7 shipping for this device.
If you wait for them to go on sale, Black Diamond C4s are almost always available at <$45 including shipping for a new cam (I've gotten many under $40... I am assuming people aren't getting #6 cams stuck because they cannot reach the trigger). That means that you would need to be able to retrieve at least 3 NEW cams that you could not otherwise retrieve without this tool (ie, using a nut tool, using slings or nut wires around the trigger, etc.). Since most cams that get stuck aren't brand new, really you would probably need to retrieve 4 or 5 stuck cams before you are even at break even.

Not to mention you have to carry around another device on your harness that doesn't have any other use.
I would recommend learning how to remove cams with the tools on hand (nut tool, slings, nut wires). In the rare case that the cam is truly stuck, leave it and go buy a shiny new one, and you will still be well ahead.

(Oh, and god forbid the cheap looking strap on that tool breaks... it looks like it is the only way to attach it to your harness... and if you drop it, you are out the equivalent of 3 cams!)

I still have an old leeper "friend of a friend" that was occasionally used for reachy aid placements. And yes, it works for more than just friends. Would be happy to part with it for a mere 110 bucks...

buy 2 and get a free set of "Hand Jammies" lol

Be honest - this was like a senior school project, right? And now you're trying to sell it?

I can think of one user group who might use this. I'm thinking of the old crustys who solo all the routes on the Wind Tower about 30 minutes before dark on Sunday evening. These people are not there for the climbing, they are there to booty gear left by gumbies for a profit. I could see the benefit of this device if you are soloing and can only take one hand off the rock. Still, I could only imagine that crowd paying maybe $15 max, else they would hurt their booty profit margin.

Let me address Julius' earlier comment... Unfortunately getting premium products machined in the United States isn't cheap. We did everything we could to get the price down and at $110 we were aware it would be an issue that would be raised. The highest quality materials were used and it's built to last. With that in mind, let me break down the "economics." Take that device to Indian Creek one weekend Julius. The first half of the morning you'll rescue enough cams to pay for the cam-extractor. The remaining day and a half you'll most likely rescue enough cams to pay for your trip and provide you with lunch money (depending on where you enjoy dining out) for the following week. That's ONE weekend. We all lose A cam at some point, multiply that times the thousands and thousands of climbers out there and it adds up to A LOT of lost cams out there : )

Sonoran Climbing Gear wrote:Let me address Julius' earlier comment... Unfortunately getting premium products machined in the United States isn't cheap. We did everything we could to get the price down and at $110 we were aware it would be an issue that would be raised. The highest quality materials were used and it's built to last. With that in mind, let me break down the "economics." Take that device to Indian Creek one weekend Julius. The first half of the morning you'll rescue enough cams to pay for the cam-extractor. The remaining day and a half you'll most likely rescue enough cams to pay for your trip and provide you with lunch money (depending on where you enjoy dining out) for the following week. That's ONE weekend. We all lose A cam at some point, multiply that times the thousands and thousands of climbers out there and it adds up to A LOT of lost cams out there : )

Perhaps more market research was warranted before this went into production then. As an informal poll, how many people have had to ditch a cam because it walked too deep? By the responses in this thread it doesn't seem like many, and even if they have maybe just one or two. The economics simply won't pan out for the individual. Maybe a group of climbing friends could go in on one or something, but I doubt it.

I have been climbing for twenty years. In that time, I have left one cam behind, as a bail piece.

I read all of this thread on accident. Can I get my 10 minutes back?

interesting idea.

i'd keep my $$ though and enjoy the memories and future opportunities of the double nut tool/lassoing/taping nut tools to sticks/peeing strategies that i've perfected over the years

All I can say is wow, that sense of community is finally coming back to MP. I'll take three. One to train my dog, one to train my partner, and one to train my wife. Who doesn't have $300 to spend on random shit? I once bought break dancing pants!

Sonoran Climbing Gear wrote:Take that device to Indian Creek one weekend Julius. The first half of the morning you'll rescue enough cams to pay for the cam-extractor. The remaining day and a half you'll most likely rescue enough cams to pay for your trip and provide you with lunch money (depending on where you enjoy dining out) for the following week. That's ONE weekend. We all lose A cam at some point, multiply that times the thousands and thousands of climbers out there and it adds up to A LOT of lost cams out there : )

are there that many stuck cams in indian creek? i must be getting on the wrong routes.