Fat Cams-- worth it?

I'll be in Red Rock and Zion next month. I already have a set of BD C4s from 0.3-3, a complete set of X4s, and plenty of passive gear, but there are some good sale prices on Metolius Fat Cams right now.

What is people's experience with them on sandstone vs. the cams mentioned above? Are they better enough to be worth getting? I haven't found much mention of them in forum searches here.

If it makes any difference, it won't be my one and only visit to these places or to other sandstone areas.

I am by no means a desert rat, but I used them while out in moab this past summer on fisher towers and was VERY happy to have them if only a mental thing. In R.R. I felt fine with C4s and master camps.

They are awesome ! i use them in all rock types and rarely had issue placing cuz of wider profile. where are the current sales going on ? I need more of them.

i live in zion... they will be a waste of your money. narrow heads are the ticket here. in the CREEK they are okay because you are climbing a perfect crack. In zion I use small offsets and ball nuts as a specialty item on hard routes far more than i would use a fat cam. I have one that I bootyied, I would never buy one.

John and Rob-- thanks. Hearing from veterans of both places was exactly what I was hoping. I think I'll save the money and stick with what I have and reevaluate if and when I move out there and find myself climbing there a lot more.

Mike, they are 20-30% off on Backcountry.com. You can get sizes 2-7 for $310 with free two-day shipping.

glad to help. honestly aliens and C4's are my go to units just about anywhere.

No experience in Zion so I can't speak to their usefulness there. However I would say they are an amazing piece for the Creek for two reasons.

First, more piece of mind. Not that C4s or Aliens will magically explode out of good placements in the Creek though, I've fallen on them heaps and had no issues.

Second reason to get Fat Cams for the Creek is a little more important and less obvious I think. Soft rock degrades faster, and having a wider surface area dissipates the force of a fall onto more rock and lessens erosion. Look at any popular climb and you'll see scarring from climbing, whether it's Incredible Hand Crack widening from tight #2 Camalots to baggy 2's or little blown out scars on the inside of the crack from cam lobes like on Rock Lobster. I'm not saying everyone who climbs at the Creek should replace their whole rack with Fat Cams. I would argue that using a Fat Cam in a placement is the responsible thing to do if you know you're likely to fall there. Indian Creek is a fragile resource and we should do everything we can to help protect it.