DMM Wallnuts vs BD Stoppers vs Metolius Curve Nuts vs Wild Country Rocks

There are a lot of choices when building a well stocked rack. A lot of choices means a lot of different items to evaluate. I would appreciate the opinion of other climbers regarding the following products, pro and con.

DMM Wallnuts
BD Stoppers
Metolius Curve Nuts
Wild Country Rocks

I have only used the dmm and BD. I find that the dmm's sit better for where I climb.

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dmm's are generally more difficult for an inexperienced second to clean, but i really like them. seems like they are really versatile. i generally carry a mixture of bd, wc, and dmm, which seems to work pretty well. i have been thinking about getting a set of the dmm offsets, but some of my partners already complain about how bountiful and heavy my nuts are,

Like Spiro, my only experience is with the BD Stoppers and DMM Wallnuts. I find the Wallnuts far superior; don't even carry my BDs any more. I guess I should sell them.

JL

DMM offsets..... my new best friends!

Aaron Greenwood wrote:I would appreciate the opinion of other climbers regarding the following products, pro and con.

I haven't used the Curve Nuts, though they look very spiffy.

I found the BD stoppers and the regular Wild Country Rocks to be very similar. Wallnuts feel (to me at least) like they place more securely and have a little more flexibility. (But I still have, and use, BDs for my doubles and triples of finger sized pieces). Still, borrow other people's and see if you even notice a difference. Some of my partners don't care at all.

In certain placements, DMM offsets are noticeably more secure.
In most placements, DMM offsets are noticeably more difficult to remove. I've got a bit of a love/hare relationship with them.

I tried the Metolius nuts and I do NOT like them. BD nuts are fine. Personally, I like the taper better on the Wild Country nuts, but that may be splitting hairs. My favorites are the DMM nuts--they seem to fit irregular cracks better than anything else on the market right now, although they can be a bit of a pain to get out, but you can't have your cake and eat it too. I rarely use my offsets, but when I do they are the only thing that will work there; it depends on the areas you climb at and whether they have a lot of flaring cracks there. Tricams can also make very secure stoppers when used as nuts in regular cracks and flares. Finally, for the small stuff, I like a mix of offsets and BD Bronze/steel nuts (which are sweet for their size). If I had to use only ONE kind, though, my pick would definitely be the DMM's.

BD stoppers, rocks, and ABC huevos are very similiar. The huevos and BD's are what I have, and they seem to work well and I think they are essentially identical.

Incidentally, if you're looking at the BD's, check out the ABC huevos because they're a bit cheaper and identical except for having a slightly longer stem, which I like.

I've used the DMM peanuts and alloy offests recently and they're sweet. I think I'm going to get a set of offsets and peanuts and carry them with the ABC huevos.

I usually carry at least close to a double set and the offets are a good compliment to the BD's/huevos.

The Rocks are a bit longer and taper down a bit more than BD stoppers. There are some rare instances where one is better than another, but I'd say neither are consitently better. Just dont buy 2 sets of one kind, get a different set if you double up.

I have a full set of the Metolius Curved Stopper and I supplement it with some Wild Country Rocks. In general I think the wild country rocks sit better due to being slightly longer.

i like the metolius curve nuts. All other things being equal, the BD design gives more stable placements for a wider range of angles of the constriction in the rock (parallel to the wire), but the metolius design gives more stability in a wider range of angles/textures front to back (perpendicular to the wire). I think straightforward placements that work for one type likely work well for the other, but there are definitely cases where one works and the other doesn't. Try them both out where you're likely to climb and see what seats best for you. Or, if you're like me, cobble together a rack out of whatever is cheapest and learn to use what you've got.

also note that not everyone subscribes to the idea of curving nut surfaces to accommodate a wider range of placements...
frostworksclimbing.com/sent…

Aaron Greenwood wrote:There are a lot of choices when building a well stocked rack. A lot of choices means a lot of different items to evaluate. I would appreciate the opinion of other climbers regarding the following products, pro and con. DMM Wallnuts BD Stoppers Metolius Curve Nuts Wild Country Rocks

Dude, great question! I've been debating which ones to get as a second set. I had pretty much settled on the WC Rocks, but now this thread has me leaning toward the DMMs. I already have BDs. Maybe I'll get the DMMs and a couple of the large Rocks.

One more vote for the DMM Wallnuts. I think the rounded corners make them easier to place (they don't get snagged on stuff while your moving them into their desired seating...)

I like the BD nuts too. I have never bought any, just use some of the one's I've harvested. In the last two years I've found at least one every time I go to Lumpy. And almost always the blue #9. Anyway, I like their shape. I don't like WC Rocks because they are so long. More surface area is probably stronger, but I think the BDs are easier to place because of their shortness. They are also the least expensive...

I have one partner that has Metolius curved nuts. No way I'd use those things. I'd rather carry a pocket full of gravel to sling as chock stones.

I like WC rocks the most. They are a bit lighter than BD's and I like the long sides for added rock contact. My partner uses DMM nuts and I am starting to like them more. Each brand of nut works differently depending on the crack. If you can, climb with people who have a variety of nuts and see what you like.

Check out the article "Top Nuts" on Andy-Kirkpatrick.com

I've got a mix of stuff, but in large sizes I loooooove my WC. I'm not a fan of hexes and the green, red, blue, and gold (especially the gold) are the ticket. Small stuff... Whatever fits is what I like.

I'll preface this by saying that the backbone of my nut rack is a set of Chouinard nuts from the late 70s. Any other nuts on my rack I've acquired as booty or bought to replace pieces I've dropped/lost/bailed off of. I've also climbed on other people's gear.

I do not like Metolius nuts. The curves don't seem wholly practical and sharp edges place oddly.

Wild Country Rocks and Black Diamond Stoppers are equally good. They're fairly inexpensive and have enough curve to place well in a variety of situations. One thing I've come to appreciate is their versatility when placed endwise in cracks, especially slightly flaring ones. I've got a handful on my rack that I've acquired as booty and I like them well enough.

DMM has my heart when it comes to pro. Their Wallnuts are great. They 'bite' the rock so much that they make me want to run it out 40 ft. every time I place one of the two that I have on my rack. I also have a set of DMM Peenuts, which are tapered not-quite-micro nuts, and I use those constantly (I climb primarily at Lumpy Ridge on granite).

One other type of nut I've used is the Frost Sentinel. They're old-school tapered nuts with flat edges, and, while not as fancy as Wallnuts or even Stoppers/Rocks, they do the job well. My along with my Chouinards, I'll say there have been placements where I've reached for a tapered, flat nut instead of the curvier Stoppers or Wallnuts on my rack.

I really like the old Chouinard stoppers the best as well. Nothing fancy about them but they do trick just fine. I actively look for them to buy.

I hate cleaning the DMM Wallnuts. I love climbing above them. But I won't buy them: nuts are nuts! Actually I do need to buy some more micro-nuts/RPs, now that I think about it; I keep finding good placements that are too small for anything I have. Dangit.

The majority of my nuts are WC Rocks. The remainder are piecemeal booty/whatever was cheap, and those tend to be mostly BD stoppers. Not exactly a direct replacement/substitute, but close enough.

I HATE it when people say "that crack takes a #2 nut" or even worse, "a blue BD." WTF is a #2 nut? WTF is a blue BD? My mind doesn't think in those terms. I look at a constriction, look my rack, and find the piece that fits. All of my nuts are from before they started coloring them anyway. I think in terms of numerical sizes and colors in camalots, but in nuts?

/tangent. lol

Justin Cantrall wrote: I HATE it when people say "that crack takes a #2 nut" or even worse, "a blue BD." WTF is a #2 nut? WTF is a blue BD? My mind doesn't think in those terms. I look at a constriction, look my rack, and find the piece that fits. All of my nuts are from before they started coloring them anyway. I think in terms of numerical sizes and colors in camalots, but in nuts? /tangent. lol

word.

i appreciate your tangents, justin.

Aaron Martinuzzi wrote:One other type of nut I've used is the Frost Sentinel. They're old-school tapered nuts with flat edges, and, while not as fancy as Wallnuts or even Stoppers/Rocks, they do the job well. My along with my Chouinards, I'll say there have been placements where I've reached for a tapered, flat nut instead of the curvier Stoppers or Wallnuts on my rack.

I've heard that the extra long cable Frost nuts are great. True for you?

Right now I'm using Metolius nuts. I used to have WC, but they got stolen. I've found that I prefer the more straight tapered design of the Metolius nuts than the "curve" that most nuts seem to have these days. The UL nuts by Metolius are WAY expensive though... so I'll probably buy Frost nuts next time around.