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dredsovrn
May 26, 2004, 12:39 PM
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My rack of cams consists primarily of Camalots and Metolius FCU/TCU's. A few HB and Clog thrown in as duplicates. I picked up an Alien at a gear shop the other day and they seemed like they would be sweet in horizontals due the super flex stem.
If you use them, which sizes to you reach for consistently for trad climbing? Are they as good as they look for horizontals? I would like to add a few to the rack. Thanks for the feedback.
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blueeyedclimber
May 26, 2004, 12:49 PM
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Yes, get them. I can't give you real specific feedback as I have only had mine for a couple months, but I love them. Before I got them, I primarily used Metolius TCU's in the smaller sizes, and after only a couple climbs with them, I am reaching for them first. They feel more solid and eaiser to place. And with the multi-directional, flexible stem, they are less likely to wiggle out. I have the blue and green and will soon get the rest.
Josh
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slobmonster
May 26, 2004, 1:10 PM
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Blue, Green, and Yellow will complement your small TCUs quite swimmingly. I find Yellow to be extremely useful...
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hoppinbig
May 26, 2004, 1:10 PM
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yellow and green rock the hiiiissss-house!
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vegastradguy
May 26, 2004, 1:52 PM
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blue, green, & yellow. i have doubles of green & yellow and the blue alien is my next cam to buy. i reach for them more than any other cam on my rack.
if you dont have the orange TCU, get the gray alien as well. it fits that weird size between Yellow Alien and purple Camalot.
anything bigger sort of start to fall behind in usefulness. I know the Red is somewhat popular, but after that, they arent as good because usually any crack that big will take a WC or a BD nicely.
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mother_sheep
May 26, 2004, 2:03 PM
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In reply to: yellow and green rock the hiiiissss-house!
Word to that! Seems like when I'm looking for a piece where nothing else will fit, the green or the yellow alien saves the day.
For horizontals, go with the tri-cams. I placed my first one about 1 month ago and intend to buy a set for my rack (which doesn't exist yet, but will someday). They are AWESOME in horizontals.
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petsfed
May 26, 2004, 2:40 PM
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I prefer all the way up to orange because they are more flexible and easier to work with than BDs (which I also have). But anything yellow and smaller is almost a necessity.
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dredsovrn
May 26, 2004, 2:51 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: yellow and green rock the hiiiissss-house! Word to that! Seems like when I'm looking for a piece where nothing else will fit, the green or the yellow alien saves the day. For horizontals, go with the tri-cams. I placed my first one about 1 month ago and intend to buy a set for my rack (which doesn't exist yet, but will someday). They are AWESOME in horizontals.
I use tricams for horizontals as well, but sometimes you need to plug in quickly, and tricams don't always just pop into place.
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holmeslovesguinness
May 26, 2004, 3:05 PM
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I've got blue through orange and love em' all. I've used a variety of other small cams (Metolious, BD, DMM, Trango) which are all good stuff, but I definitely prefer Aliens.
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crotch
May 26, 2004, 3:55 PM
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I'd say green through red are the sizes I use all the time. I mostly climb in granite.
In reply to: anything bigger sort of start to fall behind in usefulness. I know the Red is somewhat popular, but after that, they arent as good because usually any crack that big will take a WC or a BD nicely.
My experience here seems to diverge from most people's. I find the larger aliens will go places no other cam could, namely shallow, bottomed placements. Additionally, they are lighter than Camalots, so if you're going to double up in the sizes from BD .75 through BD 2, I'd recommend getting big aliens for your second set.
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theying
May 26, 2004, 3:55 PM
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My aliens are my prize climbing possesions! I have all but the purple and the new grey one (this will be remedied soon). They are always the first thing that I reach for on my rack. Red down through Blue are almost always placed. If you can get them you will love them.
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tedc
May 26, 2004, 3:56 PM
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Aliens are sweet yes. But for a horizontal placement (unless it is really deep) a TCU or a ZERO will fare much better as the flexible part (stem) of the cam goes much closer to the head. It is still pretty easy to load the rigid part of an Alien's stem over a horizontal edge.
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hoppinbig
May 26, 2004, 4:07 PM
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Crotch,
I agree with you man - I have a clear alien that is amazing - it fits nicely between my 1 and 2 camelots and because of its narrow head it will fit into spots that my camelots can't..... big aliens rock too!
In reply to: I'd say green through red are the sizes I use all the time. I mostly climb in granite. In reply to: anything bigger sort of start to fall behind in usefulness. I know the Red is somewhat popular, but after that, they arent as good because usually any crack that big will take a WC or a BD nicely. My experience here seems to diverge from most people's. I find the larger aliens will go places no other cam could, namely shallow, bottomed placements. Additionally, they are lighter than Camalots, so if you're going to double up in the sizes from BD .75 through BD 2, I'd recommend getting big aliens for your second set. |
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joegoesup
May 26, 2004, 5:35 PM
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I love my red and yellow ones. they seem to have more grab than other brands, they stay put and hardly ever walk.
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lstockett
May 26, 2004, 9:06 PM
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Yellow and Green are a must. I use them all the time.
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crackboy
May 26, 2004, 9:48 PM
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at the gunks the green through red are mandatory. then go for the blue and black as you get progressively up the grades
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tahoe_rock_master
May 26, 2004, 9:59 PM
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I have all except black and green. I don't have the green because REI was out, arrrrg! I love the blue through orange. I would not want to be leading without them. The yellow and Red are fu**ing bomber! my favorite pieces.
Matt
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gds
May 26, 2004, 10:25 PM
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I also find Aliens very useful.
I also got in the habit of racking them like nuts. That is I have four Aliens on one biner. I always extend cams with a runner anyway so that is no problem and this way I only have to fumble for gear once.
Anyone else do this?
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climbfrog
May 27, 2004, 8:23 AM
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blue,green,yellow,red are my favs.
There is a silver one being put out on the market, its between the yellow and red.
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tech_dog
Jun 1, 2004, 2:55 AM
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I added aliens to my rack fairly recently, and they're now my first choice in almost any place they fit. The only downside is that they're a bit harder to get out, and the trigger wires have sharp ends and I've poked my fingers bloody a couple of times.
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rtc
Jun 1, 2004, 5:03 AM
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I agree, they can be a little hard to get out in deep cracks cuz the trigger is so close to the head. for shallow stuff they rule though.
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beesty511
Jun 1, 2004, 5:28 AM
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Is there any reason to get Aliens over Zeros? I've played around with both, and I can't tell any noticeable difference in overall widths, and the Zeros are much more flexible than Aliens. They also appear to be better designed. As far as durability goes, I have no idea, but that should be a consideration. In addition, Zeros have cam stops. Aliens may have been first, but as far as I can tell, Zeros are the new technology, so they are an option you might want to consider.
Here's a review of the different cams:
http://www.climbing.com/.../cams212/index1.html
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jsj42
Jun 1, 2004, 6:43 AM
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In reply to: Is there any reason to get Aliens over Zeros?
I think so. I've owned both and have now sold off the Zeros. Two simple reasons: 1) Zeros are less durable and, in my opinion, the trigger mechanism is downright flimsy. 2) Aliens just handle and place better. I don't know if I could articulate why however.
On paper the Zeros seemed to be superior in every way, but it's the Aliens that have a permenant place on my rack.
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euroford
Jun 1, 2004, 12:37 PM
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i actually think very much the other way around...
zero's do everything aliens can do, except they do a couple of things better. i sold my aliens and already have a set of zero's, i'm going to double up my small stuff with some tcu's.
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cgranite
Nov 18, 2004, 7:07 AM
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I have an opportunity right now to buy a bunch of cams. I'm planning on buying five BD's because I do need a 3" piece, but I do need pro in the Purple size. I have an orange TCU and a red Powercam for that size.
I'm on the edge with getting a .5 Camalot. I haven't used a .5 camalot or any aliens at all, so I'm kind of at a loss.
I never seem to see anyone climbing with the Purple Camalot.
I guess I'm open for some opinions right now.
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