Anyone hanging with cams?

**dblhmmck** · 01-27-2009, 00:57

I'm thinking of buying a couple cams to give me more hanging options in the SouthWest.

These Metolius Power Cams look pretty good. I am liking the specs on the third size from the smallest. They span from 0.49 - 0.71” and weigh 1.9 oz each. Does anyone use these? Would a larger or smaller cam work better? Or is there another product that might work even better to hang a hammock from a crack in a rock? Thanks.

**lori** · 01-27-2009, 01:00

Would you believe I was about to start a new thread with this exact title? I'm going alpine later this year and am very interest to see if anyone will answer this.

**Rushthezeppelin** · 01-27-2009, 01:28

One of the guys I "hang" with has been thinking about trying these out as well. Lots of spots in the upper Sanoran that don't give tons of options on hanging although we usually camp near springs and where there are springs there are trees usually. Still tons of little slot canyons that would be perfect for it. He was talking about some cam that ranged through alot more sizes than your usual cam too.

**te-wa** · 01-27-2009, 01:53

if I remember that discussion, it was about the "friend" invented by Ray Jardine
anybody heard of it?

**Rushthezeppelin** · 01-27-2009, 01:59

http://www.rockclimbing.com/gear/Detailed/320.html tells a bit about it

**stevedodd** · 01-27-2009, 05:53

Cams - often generically called Friends after ray Jardine's invention - do work well in climbing situations. I've taken a couple of falls onto them, and they hold. BUT, I wonder about their use in the multi-hour static placement of a hammock hang. They'd be fine in a perfect placement, but in other situations they have a tendency to "walk" deeper into the crack they're put into, particularly when there's sideways movement, as would happen with a hammock hang. Once they've walked into the crack, the trigger can be difficult to release without special tools. Which you are unlikely to carry.
You also need a range of cams to cover the differing rock features you might find. I'd think it would weigh quite a bit.
Ed Speer mentions in his book using climbing gear for hanging anchors, but I don't know if that was in the pre-Friend era - with static tapered wedges and nuts.

**Mustardman** · 01-27-2009, 06:35

Climbing protective gear is only as good as its placement. A well placed cam that's weighted continuously is unlikely to walk, but that means finding a good placement. If you're only carrying a handful of cams, finding an appropriate placement (or two!) is going to be a lot tougher. It's also going to depend heavily on the type of rock formations in the area where you're climbing.

One option to consider would be Omega Pacific Link Cams - these are a more elaborate cam, which has a larger expansion range than a traditional friend.

http://www.omegapac.com/product207.html

I honestly don't see myself carrying climbing gear solely to hang a hammock, but I could see myself using my existing gear to camp if the opportunuty arose. If I were carrying my entire rack, I would have a lot of options to hang from a variety of different features - in general I'd be carrying at least a full set of passive stoppers, a few sizes of tricams, Black Diamond camalots in Sizes from pinky-sized all the way up to about 3" across, Metolius Master Cams in small sizes, and potentially some specialty gear like Trango Big Bros if I know I'm in an area where I'm likely to be able to use them. All told, all this gear would weigh quite a few pounds and not be something I would carry for a normal camping trip.

**MacEntyre** · 01-27-2009, 07:37

NotToWorry was telling us this weekend about his kayak trip up the coast of Canada... several times he hung from rocks in order to be near the shore, and far from bears. We asked what device he used. He said he usually found a rock to place in a crevice!

**cavediver2** · 01-27-2009, 08:21

yes I have used them several times not in the south west but around some of these bluffs we have here. they work great and it does give you more options.

**warbonnetguy** · 01-27-2009, 11:49

Originally Posted by Mustardman

Climbing protective gear is only as good as its placement. A well placed cam that's weighted continuously is unlikely to walk, but that means finding a good placement. If you're only carrying a handful of cams, finding an appropriate placement (or two!) is going to be a lot tougher. It's also going to depend heavily on the type of rock formations in the area where you're climbing.

One option to consider would be Omega Pacific Link Cams - these are a more elaborate cam, which has a larger expansion range than a traditional friend.

http://www.omegapac.com/product207.html

good call, i was gonna say go for the link cam over the power cam as well. heavier, but has the range of 2 or 3 normal pieces. might be worth taking a few small pieces too for small cracks, like 1/2" and smaller. they don't weigh as much, so a couple sizes might be worth taking. maybe a blue or yellow metolious tcu. black diamond has some nice small cams too.