They have a plastic body that protects the springs and allows for each lobe to move independently. Purple: Fingers The Black Diamond Z4 cams have a unique colour coding to easily identify the correct size. Hence, making it easier, when frantically looking for the right sized cam, when getting pumped out on a crux move. Saving those few vital seconds that could mean a flash ascent, or a whipper. The trigger is easy to use and has a nice big comfy spot for your hand. Nevertheless, some other models in this review have narrower heads than the Dragonfly. Again, being tiny, durability can often be an issue for micro cams. As we already know, the X4s head width is already fairly narrow. Surprisingly, the Black Diamond Z4 have narrower head units. You will find the biggest difference in the bigger sizes. Now 10% lighter, sculpted lopes optimized for strength to weight, Variable stiffness of stem, four different stems for equal wobble of head depending on cam size. (Nb. It's also a big downside for aiders as you can't clip directly into it. I'll be getting more BD cams as I expand my rack in the smaller range, so it is nice to have some schema by which to get familiar with my gear. How to use Black Diamond Camalot C3, care, maintenance, lifespan, inspection and retirement with instructional pictures. From aid seams to tip cracks, the five sizes of Black Diamond Camalot C3s have you covered. The Dragonfly comes in six sizes, and overlaps in the upper end of the range with the standard Dragon cam: ReviewDMM Dragonfly Micro Cams Nice choice! Read more. Black Diamond have taken their smallest cam unit and their most flexible unit, thrown them together. The sheath gives the stiffness to make accurate placements under pressure, something that was vastly lacking in the X4s which bobbleheaded around. On the upside they hold well, feel extremely solid, are easy to place and are very durable. So is the cam angle for the Master Cams at an angle that doesn't push into the rock as well for holding the cam into the rock? From size 1 upwards they have grooved lobes which add some friction to smooth rock types. Got two of the very old ones and one new, yellow, one. The Zeros seem to deform and bend quite quickly. 0.4 Silver (15.3-27.7mm, 9kN) overlaps with silver 0.4 Camalot C4 (15.5-26.7mm) but wider range, slightly smaller and much narrower headwidth. So, what exactly is it that we're looking for in a micro cam? Due to the nature of the safety gear, we cannot accept returns for change of mind or incorrect size choice on the following safety gear and equipment: All personal protective equipment, harnesses, rope, all load bearing equipment and accessories, helmets, slings, carabiners, belay devices and hardware for life support such as ascenders, fall arrestors and descenders. Unfortunately the different brands use different names to denote similar size ranges of cams. As such, with a rack of regular cams and the Zeros on your harness, you've not only got a second set of cams to fit regular placements, but also a set which can fit otherwise un-cammable placements, such as pockets or quarried grit shot holes. Here at Black Diamond it's all about climbing and skiing. interesting articles, comprehensive gear reviews, breathtaking photographs and a vast and useful logbook system. TECH SPECSColour0.4: GRAY 0.5: PURPLE 0.75: GREEN 1: RED 2: YELLOW 3: BLUEWeight0.4: 61g 0.5: 74g 0.75: 89g 1: 101g 2: 126g 3: 167gSize0.4: 15.5-26.7 MM 0.5: 19.6-33.5 MM 0.75: 23.9-41.2 MM 1: 30.2-52.1 MM 2: 37.2-64.9 MM 3: 50.7-87.9 MMStrength0.4: 8 KN 0.5: 10 KN 0.75: 12 KN 1: 12 KN 2: 12 KN 3: 12 KNMaterialAlloy & Steel. If you are interested in purchasing the new Black Diamond Z4 Cams, Bananafingers sell them: 1 Terrace Cottages, London Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2BN, Climbing Psychology Coaching Kalymnos, Hestra Ergo Grip Outdry Dexterity Short Gloves, RigidFlex stem stays rigid in-hand for easy placement, but flexes once placed to reduce walking, Dual twisted cable construction for uniform flex on larger sizes; single cable construction on smaller sizes to avoid buckling and reduce trigger profile, Sandblasted lobes for better holding power, Lightweight yet durable Dynex sling with a unique colour coding, Flexible stem once placed, to reduce walking. Cons: Plastic sheath on the #000 can get in the way of a placement; stiff tension in the #2. Unfortunately flexibility is really where the Master Cams fall down. When you're carrying a double set of nuts, a set of cams, a set of quickdraws and a set of micro cams it all adds up. Their downside is that they don't go as small as the more modern micro cams with the smallest (blue) size being 11.2-17.44mm (slightly larger than the gold Dragonfly or Yellow Zero). We dont know where you can buy this item online in the US. Olympus, what would it look like? and the headwidth is roughly 20% smaller. Green: Ringlocks In general, the stems of more modern cams are more flexible, and some now also include an extendable sling as part of the unit. If branding was removed from Totem basics, Dragonflys and Revolutions (the three brands I'd look to buy) is there much in it? What makes the Zeros really stand out is that, in their larger sizes, they make for a brilliant second set of cams for double-racking. On the downside this means they are very inflexible along the stem and so are subject to walking - a big drawback for a micro cam. A double-axle design allows for the widest placement range possible for each cam device, and colour coding makes for easy identification when quick pro is paramount. If you're looking for a very solid set of micro cams and don't need to worry about flexibility, the Master Cams are a good choice. It's also great to hear that Wild Country are setting up a re-slinging service in Europe as this is something that has previously been missing from their offering. One of our friends, Sara, also had a great experience with the purple 00 C3. The large sizes have wide heads for exceptional stability in offwidths. The only other drawback is the price, which tops the charts. Though this has not been tested as part of this group, the qualities of the Z4 stack up to make it a credible option on paper.

With both the smallest minimum range, largest maximum range and smallest minimum head width the Black Diamond Z4s seem to be the clear overall winners of the statistics war. This video is really long but very informative for the Camalots and Camalot C3's users. A narrow head is great because it increases a cam's range of placement sizes - a cam with a narrow head can fit into a narrow placement, such as in a pocket, seam or thin break. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. The latter is affected by the surface of the lobes (and the friction of the rock, but we're not reviewing that!) Anecdotally, the Zeros hold well. As such, when they're tugged by the rope on a wandering route, they're susceptible to walking - more so than a regular cam. Did BD change some of their cam ranges over the year? tag.src = "https://www.youtube.com/iframe_api"; The Camalot C3 0 is no longer produced by Black Diamond and it is not available to buy from major online retailers. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. They have also proven to be more durable than some of the other micro cams in this test seem to be, having been on the racks of many climbers for years. Certainly they have held well when pulling ropes and being jiggled around on traverse ropework. Pros: Great balance between stiffness and flexibility; easy to place; interlocking lobes offer a slim profile; stellar performance in winter conditions The ultimate weapon for thin cracks, pockets or pin scars on cutting-edge climbs and extreme adventures. It is also worth noting that the 0.3 and above are rated equally for active and passive placements, as the double axle design allows them to be nutted in too a unique feature in this group test. ibjjf firstScriptTag.parentNode.insertBefore(tag, firstScriptTag); DMM's long-anticipated entry into the micro cam market was worth the wait! Camalots gain extra range from the double axle, and also by slightly increasing the camming angle of some sizes. Because I like BD cams, this is what I know: Camalots, Camalot C3s, Camalot X4s and Camalot Ultralights each have their own unique advantages, and a well-rounded rack will likely contain some or all sizes of each cam. (1), Comments Desperation drove me back to them when my Black Alien finally died and I've been using a Black Revolution Cam ever since, which is - as you say - a significant improvement. The perfect gift for any outdoor enthusiast. This is a series of coloured dots on the lobes of the cam which suggest how retracted the cam should be for the best placement. With the five cams in the Black Diamond Camalot C3 Package, you're covered from fingers all the way down to, 'Well, time for the aiders.' DMM's long-anticipatedentry into the micro cam market was worth the wait, says Theo Moore. Part of their high performance comes from the patented double-axle design, which lends extra strength, acts as cam stops, and gives these units the widest camming range on the market. you appreciate the content we offer then you can help us by becoming an official UKC Supporter. All rights reserved. I'm not qualified to give any proper advice on safety ratings of climbing equipment, but 6kN is at the acceptable end of the spectrum and seems very good for the very small Green cam, whilst 9kN feels comfortable and is the same as a 00 Dragon. That's pretty exhaustive! If you appreciate UKClimbing then please help us by becoming a UKC Supporter. Rob, off topic, but which sizes of Totem are you using on Peak Lime? I traced the Excel graphs in Photoshop to make them more presentable, but the data should all be in here. That said, each of the micro cam ranges in this review features models above this size, thus overlapping with the brand's range of regular cams. This is cleaner and more useful, as comparing each brand's microcams with their own regular cams would require you to then compare each brand's regular cams to determine which sizes of micro cams overlap with which. I love my aliens. I weighed my X4 units (feel very sad doing this), but for the purpose of the review I thought this may be important. All of the X4 units I weighed, came out to more than what was stated on the Black Diamond website. (Not sure whether I have an older version). Each unit came in 7-10 grams more, than what I have in the table above (see picture below as example, Im certain the electrical tape does not weigh 9 grams). Having used the Dragonflys for over a year now they are doing pretty well. The stem is durable; you can bounce test these and contort them and they generally hold up well. . As such, my confidence was knocked in the brand somewhat. What are the thoughts on Alien Revolutions? 0.75 Green (23.1-42.1mm, 10kN) overlaps with green 0.75 Camalot C4 (23.9-41.2) but wider range, slightly smaller and much narrower headwidth. . The largest four Camalot Z4 units overlap in size with the standard Camalot C4: Like the DMM Dragonflys, the Black Diamond Z4 range offers three true micro cams (Green, Red, Gold) before sizes overlap with the Camalot C4 range.

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