The Small Cam Rank/Comparison Page

There's a thread for each small cam separately, but itd be nice to compare them directly on one thread.

Im personally curious about pro from .2 and under, but .75 and under also seems appropriate for this thread. I'm in the market and have no real feedback yet other than the Black Totem (.2) lives up to it's hype.

Contenders:
Totem/Basic
Z4
WC Zero
Dragonfly
Alien
C3
X4
UL Mastercam
TCU

Prepare for completely conflicting answers.

Ill throw my hat in the ring for totems, C3s and Metolius cams to be the most useful and complementary.

My go to small cams for most type of rock are the original Metolius offsets.  They even work in Lake Louise quartzite.  But for sandstone I prefer Aliens and use  Ball Nuts for micro cracks. Never fallen on a Ball Nut but they have passed my bounce testing. Just received the new Dragonflys, no experience with them yet.  (I probably didn't really need them but I like to support DMM).

Personally I rack tcus from 00-2 and totems from black through yellow. I also will use the mastercams when I know I'll be climbing splitters. But for eldo funk I stick with the previously mentioned. I've used C3s, Aliens, dragonflies and x4s as well. Just prefer the TCU and totem for the fingers and thinner. And mastercams and totems for splitter/straight forward cracks. That being said I'll bring a mix match of the others depending on the routes demands for example I'll bring along the .1x4, and purple, red and green dragonfly.

Isac Fresquez wrote: Personally I rack tcus from 00-2 and totems from black through yellow. I also will use the mastercams when I know I'll be climbing splitters. But for eldo funk I stick with the previously mentioned. I've used C3s, Aliens, dragonflies and x4s as well. Just prefer the TCU and totem for the fingers and thinner. And mastercams and totems for splitter/straight forward cracks. That being said I'll bring a mix match of the others depending on the routes demands for example I'll bring along the .1x4, and purple, red and green dragonfly.

Do you like the TCU's becasue they're NOT narrow? What's the appeal?

M Alexander wrote: Prepare for completely conflicting answers.

Ill throw my hat in the ring for totems, C3s and Metolius cams to be the most useful and complementary.

UL Master or TCU? TCU's just seem outdated, but becasue they're so different from small cams of 2020, I'm sure they have their place. Seems like everything besides TCU's and Totems are just an Alien mod.

I've got a project line that is a ton of .2, .1, and 0, and it's pretty much a splitter. Not much variation going on in there.

Contenders:

Z4
Dragonfly
UL Mastercam
X4
WC Zero
TCU
Alien
C3
Totem/Basic

Joe Hunt wrote: Contenders:

Z4
Dragonfly
UL Mastercam
X4
WC Zero
TCU
Alien
C3
Totem/Basic

Is that your ranking? I'm confused.

Ma Ja wrote:

Do you like the TCU's becasue they're NOT narrow? What's the appeal?

The appeal of the Metolius TCU for me is that I got mine for less than $20 a piece. That's about it.

I have taken a ~18 footer onto #3 ball but in granite and didn’t die. Recommend them for sure, they do get stuck a bit easier when you fall on them but with a nut tool and determination they have always come out for me. 

Ma Ja wrote:

UL Master or TCU? TCU's just seem outdated, but becasue they're so different from small cams of 2020, I'm sure they have their place. Seems like everything besides TCU's and Totems are just an Alien mod.

I've got a project line that is a ton of .2, .1, and 0, and it's pretty much a splitter. Not much variation going on in there.

I carry both, TCUs can be bomber in weird spots like pinscars where nothing else is. 

Ma Ja wrote:

Is that your ranking? I'm confused.

Yes, but... 45 years ago we didn't have any and we were fine. 35 years ago we were happy to have any. 25 years ago we took them for granite. 15 years ago we started getting picky and seeing some were better than others. Now I think they are all pretty amazing in terms of quality and functionality. I just tend not to like the aliens and totems as much as some. Really like the BD and DMM stuff. :)

M Alexander wrote: 
Ill throw my hat in the ring for totems, C3s and Metolius cams to be the most useful and complementary.

I am in this camp as well. I like the 000 and 00 C3's alot, then to the 00 and 0 UL Metolius, black totem to blue totem. 

I will say i have used aliens too and like them, but don't find them durable enough to warrant buying them. I'll stick to borrowing my buddies :)

I'll play... I think small cams are a specific design group and one of the hardest to get right, and I've developed some pretty strong opinions on the subject over the years from experience.

- Totem Basics: The Original Gangster of the group. I've been made a believer, these things are badass and the Gold Standard in the small cam game (for now). If you can find one, buy it, especially the offsets. I almost always find a place for the blue/green offset in Eldo. They work in small placements where nothing else will, especially the offsets. For Eldo, Lumpy, Turkey Rocks etc, these are very hard to beat. It's a shame that the Basics aren't made in Spain any more.

- Dragonfly: looks like a fantastic cam, and a much improved Alien. I think these are the premiere small cam range on the market right now. They have the right balance of stiffness and flexibility that I think is ideal in a small cam designed for this application. I have yet to place one, but I've played with them a bunch and researched the hell out of them. They're top of my list of cams to buy right now. I think that the engineering and feature set on them is superb and the perfect mix for the size and application. DMM's engineering, machining, manufacturing and quality control are second to none. I'm a huge DMM fan and have trusted their gear for years and I've never been let down. Here's a great video from one of DMM's design engineers on the Dragonfly 2. Note what he was referring to on the swage and "buckling to one side" - I think this is where the Dragonfly excels over the Alien Revolution, and makes it the best small cam range on the market today. I highly recommend watching the video, he goes though details most people never thought of.

- Metolius Ultralights: The 00, 00/0, 0, 0/1, and 1 are gifts from the Heavens and proof that God does indeed Love us and want us to be Happy. Everything over the red I don't care for as the stems are a little too flexible for my taste. When I dream of the moment of Nirvana, when my spiritual body ascends planes, it looks a lot like the activating force moment of a Metolius 00 Ultralight cam. The head/stem/yoke/trigger design of these smaller sizes is a thing of beauty, crafted by Savant-Like Gurus whose mastery of small cracks is clearly unparalleled.  

- Alien (Revolution): Not a fan, really. I have the blue one, equivalent to about a X4 .2 or so, and I don't care for it that much. It's stem is so flexible that when I pull the trigger back the entire cam wants to flex back toward by hand. It makes placing it require more finger dexterity and finesse to get the trigger pull weight right balanced as you move it into position. The original CCH Aliens didn't have this issue as much, but they still did to some degree. Outside of that they have a great shape, great head and I really like the extendable sling, although the bar-tack makes it so you have to be careful which side you pull to extend it.

- WC Zero: The other small cam I'm interested in checking out. I don't know that much about them other than the reviews I've seen, but they look fantastic and I've always been a fan of Wild Country in general.

- C3: I haven't used these that much (intentionally), but I wasn't that impressed. I know several people who have broken the plastic cam stem. I don't like the plastic cam stem either, I think it's width and shape overall makes it's usefulness limited. When these were actively produced they were some of the best in the game, especially that 000, but their issues were well known.

- X4: Not at all a fan, they have lost my support after using them for a few years. I have or have had almost all of this set, with the exception of the green and purple ones (although I have the purple/green offset). They're HEAVY. I don't like the head shape, the distance between the butt (thumb loop) and the trigger bar/finger tabs/. the width and thickness of the yoke, or the hardness of the head alloy. That said they are particularly useful in horizontal cracks or placements where you would be concerned about lateral force applied to the stem. They are almost impossible to accidentally trigger as well, and don't walk particularly bad either. I understand Gunks climbers love them.

- TCU: old tech. Walks like Michael Jackson and Johnny Cash had a love child. Hard to place, large heads, can be very hard to clean. Not my favorite at all. In their day though they were fantastic, but their day has passed.  

- Z4: WHAT A JOKE! I haven't placed one, and I don't plan on it. First off is the obvious: they're made in Taiwan. That to me a HUGE red-flag, as BD is not able to do their own quality control. Did they go cheap on this batch of aluminum? I don't want to be the one to find out. However, I think the design overall is a joke. The plastic on the stem is intended to make it stiffen when the trigger is pulled, but that doesn't really work as well as the marketing folks think it does. It still flexes side to side when the trigger is pulled - not as much as the Alien Revolution, but certainly more than a Dragonfly or a Totem Basic. No extendable sling makes it require a draw for a lot of placements. I don't like my small cams to move at all once I place them, so I runner almost all of them out, which is why I strongly prefer an extendable sling. The yoke is too close to the head, the twisting cable design is ineffective at stopping buckling and makes the triggering action rough. The oversized butt area where the too-large-for-the-cam thumb loop connects with the stem makes it awkward to hold and place. This seems like a cam designed by people who think that all cracks are created equal, as it has no real specialization or feature set aimed at the small crack application.

Metolius ultralight masters all the way.  So ridiculously light, and incredibly good at what they do.  Price is way better than any of the BD stuff, and still made in the states to boot.  Gotta support the "local" manufacters.  Oh, their service is top notch as well!

Totem is probably better function in some placements, but I havent placed mine enough yet to know.  They are bulkier.  Still, would rate these so high just because of how much positive I hear about them until I get my own experience.  

Totem basics blue to red (hybrids included); 2 largest mastercam offset cams (¾ & 4/5); and 00-1 mastercams are the best small cams money can buy.  These days, totem basics are rebranded as nucos (and still made in Spain).  

Ma Ja wrote:

Do you like the TCU's becasue they're NOT narrow? What's the appeal?

Pros in my opinion/experience: They're more than narrow enough. I've fiddled them into pods, and cracks in eldo that a standard 4 lobe unit couldn't go. They're light as all hell and compact, if you need to double up on em it's no problem. And yes the design is "old school" but there is a reason they're still around and still being produced, They work. Also, I haven't had issues with them walking, just place em well. And extend when needed (just like any other cam) and last but not least you get brilliant customer service from metolius.

Cons: If you're climbing splitters dont buy tcus simple as that, that's where four lobe units shine.
Also I feel the tcus are only useful in a limited size range (00-2) that's where the totems come into play to overlap and cover finger sized cracks/pods. Lastly, if you really drive one in deep and tight they are a bitch to get out, especially the 0.

In closing: if you're climbing mostly bomber splitters/ consistent cracks any 4 lobe unit is gonna do the job, they all have there baggage whether it be shitty customer service, lacking durability, cost, scarcity, etc. To provide a short snap shot of this baggage per cam read as follows (again my opinion/experience)

Aliens: generally bomber, flexible, bite well and narrow heads, good range of sizes. If you get those I'd recommend going with the older style cch aliens NOT the revo ones. The older style ones are still being made and can be found online or at rock and resole in boulder. CONS: durability, customer service is pure shit, bad rap from recalls in the past.

X4s: Really good in the .1 and .2 size. I've beat the hell out of my .1 and its held up beautifully and has a brilliant range of placement ability as does the .2 now .3 and above get kinda bent oddly when used heavily and the .75 is super floppy. If you're comfortable with the BD size range and know it well, I'd say the x4s aren't a bad choice. Especially now that you can score em for cheap, definitely weren't worth 80$

Mastercams: consistent quality, light, durable, excellent customer service. AFORDABLE. Cons not as flexible, not too aider friendly. And personally hate the 00 mastercam the head that the axel runs through is bigger than the cam in its tightest to nearly tightest range and it sticks out past the lobes. Better off with the powercam or tcu in that same size(Also kinda happens with the 0 purple sometimes) best through size 1-4

Dragonflies: there's plenty of recent threads that have tons of info on these cams so I'll just say this.
The two smallest cams are 6kn buy em and go climb the thin and whip with confidence. though you might need to buy replacements quicker than youd like. DMM makes good shit. But missed the mark with these a bit.

C3: Again shit ton of info on em, they're good as well and definitely get the job done. Unfortunately rarity as made them sky rocket in price.

Z4s: only own the .5 I've climbed on it one day so far, initial impressions is that it's a rip off of several different cams. Long story short in sizes .75 to .3 they're an improvement on the x4s in many awesome ways. And so far I'm impressed, but not running out to buy a rack of em yet, until they're durability is proven.

WC zeros: no idea

Totems: get black through purple. Forget the bigger ones unless you aid climb. And if you want to try to save money. Just get the black, blue and yellow. Those are the sizes the totems shine for free climbing.
 
All that being said, if you're gonna climb a lot get what's affordable. All these cams in some way or another are going to succumb to normal wear and odd freak accident wear. Go with a company whose size range feels most natural and comfortable to you. Try em out first if you can and go from there.

Forgot to mention the totem basics but totally agree with Sean Brady on those. If I had to choose only one itd be the totem basics, I owned the red and yellow and used the ever loving hell out of em, unfortunately they fell under the recall window. So I sent em back. If you can get your hands on em you wont regret it.

Can anyone hone in on the Black Totem/Red C3 and smaller? Looks like the smallest Totem Basic is the blue, and that's the same size. The 00, and 0 UL Mastercams are the stand out to me right now.

Joe Hunt wrote:

Yes, but... 45 years ago we didn't have any and we were fine. 35 years ago we were happy to have any. 25 years ago we took them for granite. 15 years ago we started getting picky and seeing some were better than others. Now I think they are all pretty amazing in terms of quality and functionality. I just tend not to like the aliens and totems as much as some. Really like the BD and DMM stuff. :)

Was this a pun? Or are you a Rick and Morty fan

I rack: Met Master 00, 0 and 1, BD TCU Yellow, Totem Black and Blue, Tricam Black and Pink.  Anything else has to survive Thunder Dome against a racked cam to make it of the shelf.

Totems are a must have.  Tricams are like MacGiver’s personal Leatherman.  So that leaves four spots.  I cannot convince myself the Mastercams are inferior to Dragonflies.  And that Yellow TCU just gets placed all the time.