The C3's return!!??

Just saw it on BD's Instagram, they teased to suggest the C3's may be returning, happy to see it but hoping for a decent update.

Everyone who invested their savings in C3 futures is panicking. Time to buy Magnetrons!

Local shop has them in dozens behind the counter already.. wondering if they’ve been continued again or if there was just some hidden trigger treasure unearthed from the depths of some warehouse 

https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/product/camalot-c3/

Can't add to bag yet. Supposedly 3/1/24 @ 11:00am CST?

Black diamond taking a page out of the diamond industry playbook.

B Max wrote:

Local shop has them in dozens behind the counter already.. wondering if they’ve been continued again or if there was just some hidden trigger treasure unearthed from the depths of some warehouse 

Man, you really nailed the "unearthed from the depths..." verbiage.

Any reason to get these over Z4s?

They can’t be added to the bag, sus!!

Slim Pickens wrote:

Any reason to get these over Z4s?

Because they’re better. :)

So all us jackals are going to have to keep trying every hour or so, b/c the deal (apparently) is that they haven’t “loaded” these to the website yet, even though the webpage for them looks ready to go and all. Lady told me to try again tomorrow, hahaha, yea right lady, I’ll be trying every single hour!

Slim Pickens wrote:

Man, you really nailed the "unearthed from the depths..." verbiage.

Any reason to get these over Z4s?

 I don’t like the Z4’s in .2 and below. The trigger action feels kinda mushy and feels like you are barely getting any purchase unless you really overcam and force the issue.

the C3’s are real stiff and i prefer them in really splitter, below tips sizes. Easier to just shove it in and keep moving. 

Serious question: Is there anything that the C3s can do that you can't get from totems, aliens, WC zeros, etc?
I started climbing late and the C3s were already out, so I never missed them since I never used them

I continue to be amazed that people love these cams and will pay a premium for them.  They were never that great in the first place. Poor trigger action, stiff laterally, would wonk hard if you loaded them wrong.

I would say the smallest sizes were good when they were first released, over 15 years ago.  The two or three smallest ones were the best in that size at the time. But everyone else has since caught up.

There's a reason these were discontinued. I'll be interested to see if the new ones are improved.  

Soiled 800-fill Down Boxers wrote:

I'll be interested to see if the new ones are improved.  

If the description on the (now taken down) product page is to be believed, they’re literally just old unsold stock that have been reslung. No update. 

drew A wrote:

If the description on the (now taken down) product page is to be believed, they’re literally just old unsold stock that have been reslung. No update. 

Thanks. I just opened IG to look, and a rock and snow post was up first - looks like they have a stack of the C3s in stock already. I didn't see any 000s. They do look the same. 

Soiled 800-fill Down Boxers wrote:

I continue to be amazed that people love these cams and will pay a premium for them.  They were never that great in the first place. Poor trigger action, stiff laterally, would wonk hard if you loaded them wrong.…The two or three smallest ones were the best in that size at the time. But everyone else has since caught up.

Compared to what? The piss poor crap that is the Z4 0, .1, & .2? Those are the worst triggers on the market, except maybe the WC tiny zero friends. Tiny Dragonflys are good but still not as good  as C3 triggers, and I’d much rather fall on a C3 than a dragonfly, 10/10. Also you can two lobe a C3, just like a totem… you are rolling some wonky dice to try that w/ a Z4 (I have done it once with a dragonfly green, to be fair). Until totems are manufactured smaller then .2 size, there’s nothing better on the market, and that’s probably a 90% consensus.

You are free to have your own opinion of course but I'd disagree with most of that and 90% consensus is a joke.  

Oh daaaang they’re totally playing you all like a bunch of boulderers frothing over the newest drop of Mellow beanies
Keep your eyes peeled for the limited run round stock Attache Gucci collab

Soiled 800-fill Down Boxers wrote:

I continue to be amazed that people love these cams and will pay a premium for them.  They were never that great in the first place. Poor trigger action, stiff laterally, would wonk hard if you loaded them wrong.

I would say the smallest sizes were good when they were first released, over 15 years ago.  The two or three smallest ones were the best in that size at the time. But everyone else has since caught up.

There's a reason these were discontinued. I'll be interested to see if the new ones are improved.  

They still find their way onto the rack of a lot of the most cutting edge thin crack ascents of the modern time.

Lonnie and Carlos both used em on magic line. Most of the videos of asteroid crack sport a few C3’s.

They may be less versatile than many of the recent tiny cams, but there are plenty of situations where C3’s seem to be the best choice.

 They work, all camming devices work, get whatever you like, and you'll be happy with your choice. 

The three smallest C3's are great.  The stiffness makes them easier to maneuver into irregular placements, and---according to BD testing---provides better performance when jammed straight in to a vertical crack and so not aligned with the load.  I bought one or two extras when they stopped production so I'm set for now.

Jason Pirolo wrote:

They still find their way onto the rack of a lot of the most cutting edge thin crack ascents of the modern time.

Lonnie and Carlos both used em on magic line. Most of the videos of asteroid crack sport a few C3’s.

They may be less versatile than many of the recent tiny cams, but there are plenty of situations where C3’s seem to be the best choice.

Exactly. If the head sizes are similar, and (according to soiled) more modern cams are better, why aren’t these BD climbers stuffing Z4’s into the crack? B/c they’ll blow up when they repeatedly fall on em, that’s why… and the C3’s hold better, no question. Maybe my world is a bit too valley-centric but around here C3’s > Z4’s, by a country mile.

Dig ‘em. Don’t. Whatever. I’d take a new rack of C3s. Especially appreciating the input of people who’ve never used them though, lol!