TCU's?????

i have been invited to come out west for the summer with some friends to go climbing. We plan to hit Red Rocks, Yosemite, JTree, and then im spending time on the beach... I have been told that i need to pick up some TCU's, seeing that i dont own any nor have i used them before. They arent needed where ive been and i carry Wild Country technical friends, a few zeros, and a couple tricams so my placements have always been covered...

I have been looking at Metolius and Black Diamond. I noticed that the Metolius cams seem to cover a larger range over the BD C3's and also come close to matching the technical friends individually. i have heard lots of pros to both brands, but like i said i carry Wild country and have never used TCU's so i come to you folks to get some advice and opinions. I also wondered if there was other brands that would work better for my situation...

Thanx in advance!

Seems to me that you just need cams, of various sizes, that you are comfortable with. I use almost exclusively Metolius, but that doesn't mean you should.

How big do your zeros go? How small do your tech friends go? Basically, do you have the sizes covered?

Most def... Z2-6 and TF 00-4 with doubles + WC#5 i got the overlapping zeros as doubles of my smaller friends. The real question i guess should be do i even need TCU's period. It would just be another 4-6 cams, are those three little lobes gonna make a difference in my route selection or in my desired placements...

Narrower head width is about all you might get with the TCUs over a 4CU of similar lobe size. That is all dependent on the brand of TCU you buy. Narrow head is good for slotting into shallower stuff.
Better get to JTree soon, it is starting to get uncomfortably hot out there (been looking at the forecast myself as I will be in that area soon).

Left myself wide open for mockery on other forums there, didn't I?

I've used TCU and the BD C3s and i like the trigger action and "feel" of C3's better. But that's just me, I have a partner that likes how the TCU's place better. It's an individual preference matter. Try them both out and see which ones you like better.

It sounds like you're needing to fill out your small sized caming units.

In my mind, TCU's and C3's are both great, but the debate would be between c3's and mastercams. Mastercams are 4 lobed units, which makes them more stable and more contact surface. On the otherhand, they are slightly wider through the head, so you have to rely on the flex stem.

C3's are bomber for slotted placedments and what I carry the most. However, it is really climb/area dependent. I know for example, that in ZIon, mastercams were the bomb over TCU's and C3's. So, try out everything and see what works best for you.

Cheers

Metolius tcus are really nice, especially for my home crag of eldorado canyon. The main difference between metolius tcus and other cams is that they work nicely in pin scars, shallow and sometimes flared placements. Although I think that they are not quite as stable as say, a BD camalot, they are much less bulky and will work best for technical and unusual placements.

Thanx for the info, im pretty sure ill manage without tcu's and just use someone elses when i finally need them!

Just got back from Joshua Tree and Red Rocks. Nuts are your best friend for those flaring Joshua Tree cracks. By default I typically pull cams from the rack first, but after my trip there it was Metolius curve nuts all the way. Spent some time in Red Rocks as well and the rack I used was BD C4s (doubles 0.4 to 3) and Aliens (green through gold).

Not sure about Yosemite...

You can use Metolious, Aliens, and BD C3's. They are all good pieces it just depends on your preference for cam body style and price. I have used them all and they are all excellent choices. The Metolious pieces are also the lightest out of the bunch if I remember right. The C3 trigger is stiffer than the others and has narrow head width comparable to the Aliens.

I think to some people TCUs just means small cams, regardless of the number of lobes. If that is the case here, then you're probably good.