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For
more information |
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Black
Diamond Equipment
2084 East 3900 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84124
USA
(801)
278-5533 Phone
(800)
775-7625 Fax
dbmo@bdel.com |
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CCH
Colorado
Custom Hardware, Inc.
115
Lyon
Laramie,
WY 82072
USA
(307)
721-9385 Phone
(307)
721-9375 Fax
CCHaliens@aol.com |
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Mountain
Tools
P.O.
Box 222295
Carmel,
CA 93922
USA
831.620.0911
Phone
831.620.0977
Fax
climb@mtntools.com |
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BD
Micro Camalots Vs
CCH Aliens |
|
Just a few years ago, the
micro Spring Loaded Camming Devices (SLCD) market was
the sole domain of the bootleg, rigid stem half-size Friend.
I specifically bought one for the moves over the roof on
Disney Point in the Gunks. I had to ask someone
who was in the 'know' about acquiring one of these
courage boosters. |
 |
I was directed to a dimly lit parking lot
in New Paltz where the exchange of $21 cash for this
Korean-made 1/2 size friend would take place....
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| Today, you can buy high-quality thin
crack SLCD's from any decent climbing shop on the
planet. Many of the small SLCD's are three-cam
units (TCU). COL will try to give an unbiased
review of two leaders in the four cam, thin crack
SLCD's; Colorado Custom Hardware's Aliens and
Black
Diamond Equipment's Micro Camalots. By no
means are these the only ones on the market. These
are just the only very small SLCD's that we have access
to right now. Others are: Hugh Banner Quad
Cams and Flexi Fix Cams, Trango Four Cams and Wild
Country Technical Friends. We haven't even
mentioned the off-set or hybrid cams. Hopefully
this review will help you pick between the Aliens and
Micro Camalots. |
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We will be presenting a bunch
of dry data in a way to help you decide which small
camming units would be best for your application.
We measured the head widths with calipers. We
weighed the units as sets. We took them out and
plugged them in to get a feel for the ergonomics of the
devices. So sit back and take a look at what we
feel are the best in four cam, thin crack protection
available. |
| There are a total of four (4)
BD Micro Camalots (sizes .1, .2, .3, .4). The
expansion range of the Micro Camalots is 0.34-1.05
inches. The corresponding CCH Aliens are sizes
.33, .375, .5, .75. The expansion range of the
Aliens is 0.33-1.07 inches. Very little difference
in range. The head width and cam measurements are
interesting and don't correspond exactly with the
specification sheets (in the tables at the
bottom). The following table should help
illustrate this: |
|
BD
Micro Camalots |
|
CCH
Aliens |
|
BD
Size |
Head
Width |
Cam
Width |
|
CCH
Size |
Head
Width |
Cam
Width |
|
.1 |
1.313 |
0.156 |
|
.33 |
1.438 |
0.188 |
|
.2 |
1.344 |
0.156 |
|
3/8 |
1.438 |
0.188 |
|
.3 |
1.563 |
0.250 |
|
.5 |
1.313 |
0.188 |
|
.4 |
1.688 |
0.250 |
|
.75 |
1.344 |
0.188 |
(All
measurements in inches) |
| The head widths of the CCH Aliens actually
decreases on the two larger units versus the two
smallest units. This should make them very handy
in pockets and shallow pin scars. The head widths of the
two smallest Micro Camalots are a full 1/8th of an inch
narrower than the two smallest Aliens. Something
to consider when selecting the smallest of SLCD's.
Another item to consider, especially for soft-rock
climbers, is the cam width. Unlike some TCU's, the
units under consideration have consistent cam width on
each unit. All four cams on a single unit are the
same width. |
|
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|
.1
Micro Camalot on left and .33 Alien on
right. Note the long rigid neck and longer
cam retraction cables on the Micro Camalot. |
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We weighed each set (with slings) to see
how it measured up in the real world. The Aliens
came in at a set weight of 10 oz. and the Micro Camalots
weighed in at 12 oz.. For all intents and purposes,
they weigh the same. It's not like a few grams
difference in each of four camming units makes as much
difference as a few grams difference in each of over
100 carabiners while standing in aiders connected to that
crappy circlehead. In other words, don't worry about
the mass of these devices, worry about the mass of your
'biners. |
| Both the Aliens and Micro Camalots have
nice positive camming actions allowing the user to fire
in the gear while hanging form thin jams. The
Aliens have significantly more flexible stems and
shorter cam retraction cables than the Micro
Camalots. The Micro Camalots have a long, rigid
metal neck leading from the head of the unit back more
than a full inch on all of the units. Only one of
us at Climber Online has fallen on an Alien in a
horizontal placement. The CCH Alien that held this
15' fall was placed in a very shallow horizontal seam
and it (and he) came away almost completely
unscathed. Our concern is that the rigid metal
neck and long cam retraction cables of the Micro
Camalots could be severely damaged in a similar
fall. The only downside to very flexible stem
cables is when attempting the removal of over cammed placements or during
fast, panicky placements where you'll just shove the
SLCD in a potential crack while melting off those
slopers. The Micro Camalots would fare better in
these situations. But climbers never panic...
right? |
|
It would be awfully difficult to build
the smallest of SLCDs with a double axle like the
larger Camalots. The two smallest Micro Camalots
incorporate a single axle design very similar to the
small Technical Friends by Wild Country and the
CCH Aliens. The two larger Micro Camalots use the
bomb-proof and patented double axle design as seen in the larger
Camalots. In the larger Camalots, this dual axle
design allows a much larger camming range for a
similarly sized single axle SLCD. Although the
dual axle design is in the two larger Micro
Camalot's, this greater expansion range is lost in the
noise. Very little is gained, except for a little
weight, at this size by using two axles. |
|
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|
.3
Micro Camalot on the left, .5 Alien on
right. Note the dual axle on the Micro
Camalot. |
|
| Everyone liked the option of clipping the
Aliens at either the swaged cable loop or the sewn
sling. The Micro Camalots only have the sewn sling
to clip into. This is really a minor point except
while aid climbing and having the ability to fifi-hook
into that swaged loop on the Aliens. Even that
issue is nit-picking. |
|
Black
Diamond Micro Camalots |
|
| no |
size-range
inches |
wt
gm |
width
inches |
strength
kN |
strength
lb |
color |
MT
price |
| .1 |
.34
- .54 |
65 |
1.75 |
7 |
1575 |
red |
$59.95 |
| .2 |
.41
- .65 |
70 |
1.75 |
8 |
1800 |
yellow |
$59.95 |
| .3 |
.50
- .86 |
76 |
2.00 |
10 |
2250 |
purple |
$59.95 |
| .4 |
.61
- 1.05 |
97 |
2.00 |
12 |
2700 |
gray |
$59.95 |
|
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Colorado
Custom Hardware Aliens |
|
| no |
size-range
inches |
wt
gm |
width
inches
|
strength
kN
|
strength
lb
|
color
|
MT
price
|
|
.33
|
.33-.54
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66
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1.40
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8
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1860
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black
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$54.00
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3/8
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.39-.67
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71
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1.40
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9
|
2200
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blue
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$54.00
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.5
|
.50-.86
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74
|
1.30
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9
|
2700
|
green
|
$54.00
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.75
|
.61-1.07
|
83
|
1.30
|
12
|
2700
|
yellow
|
$54.00
|
(The
widths in the above two tables does not correspond with
COL's actual measured head widths.) |
| The Aliens seem to be slightly stronger
at the smaller sizes and both the Micro Camalots and
Aliens are equivalent at the upper end. Strength
is an attribute not helping differentiate the two types
of SLCDs, but all of the Micro Camalots have cam
stops. This allows the SLCD to be used as a
passive nut in dire situations. The Aliens do not
have the cam stops and will fold like a weak deck of
cards if used as a stopper. Durability might be an issue with the
longer cam retraction cables on the Micro
Camalots. They will tend to get frayed quicker
than the short cables on the Aliens. A price
difference of 9.9% might be a separating factor.
Based on the Mountain
Tools pricing, a savings of $23.80 in your pocket will buy you a case of some sort
of beer or pay gas money for a round trip to the valley.
Check your local climbing shop or an online vendor for
specials and deals when purchasing a full set. |
| Conclusions: It's a tough
choice to make between two sets of state-of-the-art,
thin crack, SLCDs. We believe that you will not go
wrong with either set. If climbing in a place with
a lot of shallow horizontal placements (Gunks), go with
the Aliens. If you climb mostly in a place with
splitter cracks and clean corners, either set will be
fine. We like trad free climbing and aid climbing
equally; with that in mind we would go with: .1/.2 Micro
Camalots and .5/.75 Aliens. And if we had money
left, we'd go buy a small offset SLCD or two for aid
climbing. Good luck and have fun. |
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