Metolius Power Cam or Master Cam

I'm in the process of building a trad rack. I already have the BD C4 sizes .5-3 looking to get some smaller cams. I was wondering what the major difference between to the two are i know they cover the same range but other than i'm not sure what would be the best choice.

Yeah just ignore the previous post.. sorry all. I was definitely confused between U-shaped and rigid stems.

And for the record, my only point in mentioning the example of a perpendicular placement was to exaggerate the effect of a cam not being set perfectly in the direction of pull, not to suggest you should ever actually place like that.

The Master Cams are superior IMO. A single stem is more flexible and I believe the head is a bit narrower on the Master Cams. But they may be more expensive (not sure). If they are, go with what you can afford, dont worry about it too much, both will function. If you are planning on ever doing any aid climbing, get the Master Cams.

B.S. Luther wrote:I'm definitely not an expert here so take this with a grain of salt. The main difference is that power cams are rigid U-stems while master cams are flexible. That means when you place a rigid power cam, you have to be very careful to anticipate the direction of pull and set the cam accordingly. When you place a flexible master cam, even if there's some difference between the angle the cams set at and the angle your going to pull on it during a fall, the flexible stem will compensate by bending and transferring the force rather than twisting the lobs inside the crack and compromising the placement. Along the same line, flexible stemmed cams can be placed in horizontal cracks because, as long as the cam is set deeply enough, the stem will bend to transfer the force properly. With a rigid unit, you'd have to use a gunks tie-off and I don't even think that's possible on a power cam (I've only seen one on a rigid friend which has a place to tie off). The power cams are more durable though and in my opinion they handle really nicely. Because the trigger runs over 2 stems instead of one, and its rigid, it's just easier to activate the cams even when the trigger is somewhat consumed by the crack. I'm new to this stuff so I'm not sure how much sense that made. An easy way for me to picture the difference is just to picture a vertical splitter crack. Stick a rigid cam straight into and fall on it, and its obviously going to spin the cam inside the crack, right at the moment when you're counting on the lobes to bite into the rock and save your ass. Obviously not something you want to have happen.

Power cams are flexible cams. They are stiffer than Mastercams but can still be safely placed in a horizontal without a tie off.

Cams should not be placed perpendicular to the crack in a vertical crack like you mention. You should not count on the cam rotating or bending to compensate for a poor placement. Orient the stem in the anticipated direction of pull, which is usually down. This is independent of how flexible the stem is.

For small cams (finger size) I'd go with the mastercams. Narrow head width and flexible stem will allow for more placements.

B.S. Luther wrote: I'm new to this stuff

Not to be an ass...but that's pretty clear.

Powercams aren't rigid. In fact, IMO they are better for horizontals than mastercams.

The cam isn't just going to bend to compensate for force in a fall unless there's a rock or something in the way (which is why flexibility is good). Even the most flexible of cams will still twist if you set it perpendicular to a crack.

Mastercams are still better all around. Some complain about their "Kevlar" (which isn't kevlar, but for some reason everyone thinks it is) trigger wires being less durable, and they may be right, I haven't owned one long enough for it to matter yet. But for all around functionality they're better (well i shouldn't say better, more like easier to use). It's also going to depend on where you climb. In a place with lots of horizontals like the Gunks, i'd go with powercams. Just my opinion.

thanks everyone for all the info you really helped me out.

If you jam a cam straight into the back of a shallow crack so that the head can't rotate, a flexible stem would still allow the pull to be from straight down. Unfortunately this situation puts a huge torque on the axle and loads up only one pair of lobes in tension and will break the cam below its rated strength. Most of the pictures of modern cams with bent axles and twisted up lobes are a result of this kind of placement, especially with the "fragile" joints on Link cams. Letting the head rotate is a good thing.

If you want to get Metolius cams, get the Master Cams. They are really excellent, and are more versatile in the small sizes than the Power Cams, especially in tricky or funky placements. The Master Cams aren't perfect, but (IMO) they are still the best small cams currently available.

I'm not knocking on the power cams- they are very good cams, but they do not really come into their own until you get to the mid-sizes (ring locks and up). They are just too wide and a bit too awkward to be really functional in thin cracks (except at the creek, where the power cams are great in all sizes)

The other option, beginning this fall, is the revamped Fixe Aliens. I'm cautiously optimistic that the new aliens have potential to be as good as the originals, albeit with some better quality control. If this is the case, they will be a very good choice. Note that they may be a bit tricky to find when they are first released.

Also, if you are into a few extended range pieces (nice supplement to a standard rack) look into the Supercams. They are the Cat's Payamas mannn.

rockclimbing.com/gear/Essen…

I researched a ton during my rack build a few months ago. There's lot of info via searching on here, RC & super.
Mastercams are awesome up to size 4 (I've got 0,1,2,3,3). The orange MC is my favorite cam in my short lead career. I've surprised myself by using the 0 & 1 already - I thought I had to be leading hard(er) stuff for those to be needed.
It will be interesting to see what the re-released Aliens do, though.

I like the TCU's better than both. The purple master cam's trigger is bigger than the cam head, so this one can get stuck if it walks. One got kinked as a directional for someone else TR'ing a route. The master cam's are also significantly heavier than the TCU/powercam. I also like the ability to pull the trigger with one finger and thumb on TCU/powercam. The bigger master cams are just too floppy when you want to place them. As far as performance, all the Metolius stuff is great, but I would go with power cam for anything black and larger, TCU's in the smaller. Just my opinion from having used both extensively. I do have the black and purple master cams and would love to trade them for a newish powercam/TCU.

On another note, does anyone know how to clean a master cam since they have the synthetic trigger cable? Not sure I want to put those cables into solvent.

Go with TCU's they are cheaper and lighter. They also fit into more cracks than powercams (although a bit wider than mastercams) and are lighter. Everybody loves TCU's (IMO)!

DBarton wrote:Go with TCU's they are cheaper and lighter. They also fit into more cracks than powercams (although a bit wider than mastercams) and are lighter. Everybody loves TCU's (IMO)!

Eh, not so much a fan of TCUs. I have them, but I'll be soon trying to get rid of them, I'm gonna try out the C3s in the really small sizes.

Current do everything cam rack:

00 and 0 TCU
Full set of Totem cams
Aliens green through red
C4s .75 to 3
DMM Dragons #4,5 and 6

And I have a couple mastercams I switch up in the rack every once in a while.

TCUs are adequate, definitely not a bad cam, but not the best IMO

TomCaldwell wrote:On another note, does anyone know how to clean a master cam since they have the synthetic trigger cable? Not sure I want to put those cables into solvent.

No need for solvents on any cam. Boiling water and a wax based lube works great.

My order of preference:

TCU > Mastercam > Powercam

thanks again everyone I think I might just go with the TCU's i'm not going to be aid climbing and the places i climb dont have pin scars so I feel like I dont need the Power Cam .

I have TCUs and Mastercams, and much prefer the Mastercams for normal trad climbing.

They have 4 lobes, but the head is narrower so they actually fit many pods and uneven cracks better.

The thumb loop and trigger bar on the Mastercam is more ergonomic, which makes it much easier to make a placement from an awkward or strenuous stance.

TCUs are still solid pieces, especially if you want to save some coin. But mine are just spares for when I need doubles/triples, or my go-to cams for super-light alpine missions. For the majority of climbing I take my Mastercams.

Auto-X Fil wrote:They have 4 lobes, but the head is narrower so they actually fit many pods and uneven cracks better.

For narrow pod placements, go with tri-cams. They end up being more versatile since they can be placed as nuts as well. This means you don't have to carry some of the large nut sizes. They also work similarly as offset cams, as they can be placed well in flared or uneven cracks. Not to mention the weight savings of carrying tri-cams instead of a double set of cams. I would say for many granite or quartzite locations, tri-cams should be a standard part of the rack.

I like tri-cams well enough, but wouldn't recommended them that broadly. The OP isn't looking for doubles, they are looking for a primary set of small camming devices, to cover tips to thin hands, and is specifically looking at Metolious already.

For moderate routes I use Tricams extensively, but when the climbing gets harder, it's a much tougher piece of protection to place. They are also a little pickier about what placements they work in, although as you noted - if you climb a place with a lot of pods, they are killer.