Wow what an amazing cam... very few problems.

The trigger bar and the thumb place can be slippery... fixed those with grip tape. very light, durable, and an ok range.

[b]Full Disclosure: The company that manufactured this equipment provided it free of charge to RC.com and RC.com then provided it as compensation to the reviewer for his or her review. This company does not currently advertise on RC.com.[/b]

For the complete and unabridged version of this review, check out [url=http://www.rockclimbing.com/articles/index.php?id=2077][b]All My Rowdy Friends[/b][/url].

“Dingus, when are you going to buy some new pro?” Brutus of Wyde asked one fine spring day as we were gearing up for a route. He was looking at some of my old Friends and shaking his head in his cheerful way.

I objected, indignant, “There’s nothing wrong with my Friends is there?” I looked anxiously at my pile of cams. I’d gone to the recent trouble of having them re-slung by Yates and felt they were good to go for another few years. He quickly reassured me they were sound, though I detected some doubt in his tone as he examined the old nuts on the ends of the axles.

Years prior, I began acquiring first generation Friends as soon as I became aware of them. Some of the units Brutus frowned upon were among those original purchases, in excess of 20 years old and still in regular use! Friends went on to become the de facto standard in the climbing world. Many climbing areas to this day still define the rack requirements based upon Friend sizing numbers.

What properties should a climber desire in a good SLCD anyway? I can only speak for myself: light weight and strong, versatile and durable, serviceable and easy to use. Friends were ALL these things, in spades. The fact I was still using some of mine after two decades of weekend war is a testament to the design, in and of itself.

But they had their deficiencies too, the rigid stem first and foremost. That rigid stem presented problems in horizontal placements as well as with fall vectors; the stem could snap, bend or break. In the smallest of sizes, Friends were easy to get stuck. The things ‘walked’ into cracks and could be difficult or nearly impossible to get back out. The free market being what it is, the many different commercial cam designs that have sprung up since were intended to address these Friend deficiencies while skirting patents.

[img]http://photos.rockclimbing.com/photos//523/52344.jpg[/img]
[size=9]An early-generation Friend below and the newest Forged Friend above. Can you pick out all the similarities?[/size]

But, Friends are still with us today. The latest versions of Friends, called Forged Friends, are beauties. They have incorporated excellent ideas from many modern cams, both from the Wild Country stable and beyond. The stems are forged, as the name implies, lending them a strength the original design lacked. The old rigid stem was perhaps the cam’s greatest weakness and the forging process creates a unit much less likely to break over an edge (it does not eliminate that prospect, though). The cam lobes are now color anodized by size, easing the selection process when stress is highest. Wild Country also engineered cam stops to prevent the dreaded inverted umbrella. This was another weakness of old cam designs; when placed near the extreme outer limit of their expansion range, the cams could invert and give way.

The color-coded trigger is durable and the design well tested. I haven’t had the need to replace a Friend trigger in over a decade, literally. The originals used thin, easily frayed and broken wires but this problem was solved long ago.
The units also come with color-coded sewn spectra slings, matching the cam and trigger colors, very stylish. And as a bonus this latest unit I have came with a Wild Country Oxygen biner, free! (A $7.95 value according to the label). It’s great idea to package a biner with Friend and these are good ones.

So how do they work? LOL, like Friends of course! They feel good in the hand, the cam resistance is perfect and they are a joy to place. They still offer among the best, if not THE best strength/weight/size ratio on the market. And they are DURABLE. I have every expectation to be using this very same cam for a very long time to come.

A rack of Friends, like pretty much any other cam design if you think about it, needs augmentation to be sure. Small crack pro, wide crack pro (if that’s your bag), and flexible stem designs are an additional requirement on most climbers’ racks. And yet, I am confident as ever that Forged Friends remain relevant and a worthy choice for backbone or “2nd set” duties as ever. They are among the least expensive for all their stellar qualities.

And while my protection needs constantly evolve and the daily requirements are dictated by rock and route, Forged Friends will continue to play a critical role in my climbing. See, rigid stems have their place. For wall climbing, fixing ropes, straight up parallel-sided cracks and a host of other applications, Forged Friends are just the ticket. They are great backcountry cams, too, and work well in the alpine world of ice, mud, rock, hammer and pull, grovel and stand.

No, I don’t really want to place them where the stem can get bent over an edge; despite the strength improvements it is not good policy to do that. And yet, the old school “Gunks Tie-Off” still keeps them in play for even shallow horizontals. In fact, more than a few Gunks climbers assert that with the tie-off, Forged Friends are actually superior to their flexible cam brethren.

Wild Country Friends were the first commercial SLCD on the market. Their introduction revolutionized clean climbing protection. The design was so well thought out and so applicable to climbing needs, that with modest improvements overall, the same design is available and in use today. I can without hesitation make a strong BUY recommendation for Forged Friends. May they last another 20 years!

I have a #1.25. It walks more and does not place as well as a FlexCam or Alien.

I love these things. They feel really bomber when placed, although your finger slips off the end if your not careful. Edge loading is a non-issue for a majority of placements, thus these things make a really great valued cam.

The larger sizes are great for large parallel sided cracks. You don't have to worry about the stem that way. The rigid stem make them easy to place but the thumb knob could use more texture. I fixed this with the tape I use for crack gloves. I also looped a strip around each end of the trigger bar for more grip there too. You also have to be very careful not to overcam them, I had one get stuck a couple of weeks ago. Overall, the price makes them hard to beat in the larger sizes.