SOFT, LIGHT & SIMPLE; ALIEN REVOLUTION CAMS FOR ALPINE

OUR GEAR HAS ROLLED OUT FOR THIS WINTER IN TIBET, SQUEEZD INTO BIG PACKS TO BE LOADED ONTO HORSES AND BE SHUFFLED UP THE PLATEAU TO BASECAMPS AMOUNGST 6000m PEAKS. MOST OF OUR CONCERN HAS BEEN WITH STAYING WARM – INSULATION, TENTS AND STOVES – WITH ACTUAL CLIMBING GEAR RELYING MOSTLY ON THE HARDWARE WE HAVE FOUND SUCCESSFUL OVER PREVIOUS YEARS.

THIS STUFF IS PRETTY STANDARD, UPDATED SLOWLY BECAUSE THE METALWORK ITSELF HAS A SLOW RATE OF INNOVATION. STANDOUTS HAVE BEEN BLUE ICE AERO SCREWS (THE STEEL ONES) AND OF COURSE THE UNCEASING INNOVATIONS FROM ELITECLIMB, WITH THE REST BEING TRIED AND TRUSTED FOR A LONG TIME.

FOR MANY, CAMS ARE A FIXATION, OFFERING ALL THE GEEKERY AND CORRELATIONS OF BIKE GEARS, CHAMBER CALIBERS AND STOVE GAS, BUT FOR US THEY ARE PRETTY BASIC DUE TO PLAYING FOURTH TRUMPET ON THE RACK WE MUST CARRY. SURE, CAMS ARE VITAL BUT THEY ARE ALSO LIMITED IN PLACES LIKE BIG ROUTES, THOUGH THAT SAID, WHERE THEY MATTER THEY MATTER A LOT. WE DON’T LOOK AT CAMS AS THE BREAD & BUTTER OF THE RACK, RATHER AS THE SPECIALITY STUFF USED WHERE ALL ELSE WON’T, SO IN THIS CONTEXT WE LOOK FOR QUALITIES THAT MAY DIFFER FROM USE ON A BIG WALL OR TRAD ROUTE. BE CLEAR, ALL CAMS WILL WORK, SIMPLY THAT WE FIND ALIEN REVOLUTIONS TICK THE MOST BOXES. TOTEMS, CAMALOTS, DRAGONS, MASTER CAMS ARE ALL AMPLY PROVEN AND WE HAVE THEM TOO – JUST THAT THE ONES THAT GET USED MOST ARE THESE.

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WHEN ALL IS DEEPLY FROZEN, THE ROCK IS GOOD, YOU ARE ON YOUR TOOLS WITH BIG GLOVES AND THE RACK IS ALREADY AN ORCHESTRA OF ASSORTED OPTIONS, CAMS FILL THE PLACE FOR SMALLER CRACKS THAT ARE SMOOTH, WHEN THINGS ARE TOO INTENSE TO SPEND THE TIME ON A GOOD NUT. THIS ACCOUNTS FOR ONLY A SMALL PART OF ANY ASCENT, BUT A PART THAT IS PUSHING THE ENVELOPE SO DESERVES ATTENTION. THIS IS WHEN THE ICE IS TOO HARD TO GET AT, THINGS ARE TOO WIDE FOR BEAKS, TOO SKEWED FOR NUTS AND TOO DESPERATE TO FUCK AROUND, WHEN YOU NEED TO PLUG SOMETHING AS MUCH AS TO EASE THE MIND AS TO ATTACH YOURSELF TO THE MOUNTAIN.

THE ALIEN REVOLUTIONS EXCEL HERE BECAUSE OF SEVERAL FACTORS, STUFF THAT MAY NOT BE PRIORITIES OR EVEN BE LIABILITIES IN OTHER FORMS OF CLIMBING. THE SMALL BANDWIDTH OF SIZES PERFECTLY COVERS THE BULK OF PLACEMENTS BETWEEN PITONS AND LARGE NUTS, AND THEIR PHYSICALLY SLIM MASS MEANS THEY CAN FLESH OUT THE RACK WITHOUT BECOMING A MAJOR BULK.

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SOFT

ALIENS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN KNOWN FOR HAVING SOFT METAL LOBES, WHICH IS THEIR FINEST FEATURE AND ALSO THE BANE OF USERS WHO FIND THEY DISTORT AND EAR DOWN FAST. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH DEDICATED ALPINE CAMS, WHERE THEY GET LESS USE AND FEWER FALLS, AND IS A HUGE ADVANTAGE IN ROCK SMOOTHED BY GLACIAL ACTION OR WHEN DESPERATION CALLS FOR RAPPELLING OF THEM.

SOFT METAL BITES BETTER, MEANING IT CAN BE COERCED WITH PRESSURE FROM SHARP TUGS OR STEP-LOADED WITH AN AIDER OR SLING. THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF – IF ONLY FOR THE PSYCHE – IN PLACES LIKE BELAYS, TYING IN AT NIGHT OR ABSEILING, WHERE THE EXTRA INCREMENT OF TRUST COMES KNOWING YOU CAN HAVE A MODICUM OF INFLUENCE IN HOW THE METAL PURCHASES.

ALIENS ARE SOFT ENOUGH THAT THEY CAN BE BURRED, BUT THEN CAN ALSO BE FILED SO THE BURRS DON’T CATCH THE WIRES. REPEATEDLY DOING SO IS NOT HEALTHY, BUT A CAMS WILL LAST A FEW TRIPS AT LEAST IF IT IS GETTING HEAVY ROTATION.

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LIGHT

ALIENS COME IN LIGHT BY ANY METRIC, BECAUSE THERE IS SIMPLY LESS IN THEM. NO DOUBLE AXELS, NO INDEPENDANT LOBE SETS, NO COMPLEX STEMS AND NOT EVEN CAM STOPS, THEY EPITOMIZE ALPINE ETHICS IN THEIR BASICNESS AND REFINEMENT.

ALIEN REVOLUTIONS COME WITH DOUBLE SLINGS WHICH HELP A BIT WITH REDUCING OVERALL RACK WEIGHT, POTENTIALLY DROPPING A BINER AND SLING FROM A PLACEMENT TO BE USED ELSEWHERE.

FOR COMPARISON A CAMALOT ULTRALIGHT COVERING THE SAME RANGE IS 10-15% HEAVIER, IN A WORLD WHERE AN EXTRA CAM PER EVERY SIX MEANS REAL LENGTH TO A PITCH. IN A PURSUIT WHERE PITCHES ARE REGULARLY DETERMINED BY THE GEAR TO GET THERE, THAT EXTRA PIECE FOR THE BELAY THAT MAY ALSO BE YOUR NIGHTS ACCOMMODATION IS REAL NUMBERS.

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SIMPLE

BIG GLOVES AND FRAZZLED BRAINS CALL FOR CAMS THAT CAN BE USED WITH COMPROMISED DEXTERITY AND MINIMIZE CLOGGING WITH ICE AND SNOW. THERE IS NO CROWDED MECHANISM THAT DEMANDS PRECISE FINGER WORK AND THE LARGE THUMB LOOP FITS ANY GLOVE, NOTHING IS ENCLOSED WITHIN A U-STEM AND THE THUMB POSITION SITS WELL AWAY FROM THE CLIP ZONE MAKING THEM EASY TO HOLD AND TIGHT TO RACK.

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SMOOTH

IN THE HAND ALIENS ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR SMOOTH ACTION, SOMETHING THAT MATTERS WHEN PLACING IN CLEANED OUT FISSURES AND TRYING TO DETERMINE IF IT’S THE CAM THAT’S CLOGGING WITH GUNK OR LOADING ODDLY OR IF IT’S STUFF INSIDE THE CRACK. WHILST ALL CAMS THESE DAYS ARE PRETTY SMOOTH, THE SMOOTHER THE BETTER WHEN ON TERRAIN THAT IS NEW AND EVERY PLACEMENT MUST BE DUG FOR.

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FLEXIBLE

ALIENS DONT HAVE A SPECIFIC POINT WHERE THEY BEND BECAUSE THE ENTIRE STEM ALMOST IS A CABLE. THIS MEANS WHERE OTHERS HAVE A POINT THAT CAN BE LEVERED ON AN EDGE, WHICH MAKES THEM EITHER RISK DEFORMING OR MAKES THEM WALK, THE ALIEN WILL SIMPLE BEND WHEREVER THAT EDGE IS.

IN VERTICAL PLACEMENTS THEY TWIST BEFORE THEY LEVER, AGAIN REDUCING WALKING AND ACTING MUCH MORE NUT-LIKE WITH MINIMAL DISTURBANCE TO THE LOBES. THE ALIENS LARGE THUMB LOOP ALSO MEANS THE SLING HAS MORE ROOM TO MOVE BEFORE CHANGING ANGLE THAN A SMALLER HOLE DOES, MAKING THE ENTIRE CHAIN FROM ROPE TO METAL-ON-ROCK ONE THAT IS POSSIBLY THE MOST FLEXIBLE OUT THERE.

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NARROW

ALIENS HAVE AMONG THE NARROWEST HEADS, WHICH CAN BE A HINDRANCE IN CAMS THAT DON’T FLEX AS MUCH BUT WHICH IS NEARLY A NON-ISSUE IN THE HIGHLY FLEXIBLE ALIEN. NARROW HEADS MEAN MORE SHALLOW VERTICAL PLACEMENTS WHICH IS PERTINENT TO CRACKS FILLED WITH SNOW, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT THE ALIENS NARROWNESS IS DOWN TO THE WIRES BEING INSIDE THE LOBES, FURTHER PROTECTING THEM FROM THE GUNKING UP OF ICE WHETHER IN THE ROCK OR WHILST HUNG ON THE HARNESS.

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FIELD FIXABLE

ALIENS ARE AMONG THE EASIEST CAMS TO FIX, BENDING BACK INTO PLACE OR REPLACING THE WIRES, AND IF YOU HAD TO DESIGN A CAM WITH THIS IN MIND THIS IS PROBABLY HOW IT WOULD BE, AND ACTUALLY MAY HAVE. ALIENS RELY ON BASIC SPRING ACTIONS AND HAVE FEW MOVING BITS TO NEED ATTENTION, AND A LOT CAN GO WRONG BEFORE THEY CAN’T BE FORCED TO WORK UNDER DURESS.

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… AND CHEAP

THESE CAMS COME USUALLY AT A GOOD PRICE POINT, WHICH MATTERS BECAUSE A REALITY IS NO HARDWARE IS ON A GUARANTEED RETURN TICKET.

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NOW, THE DOWNSIDE OF ALIENS IS THEY FALL ABOUT ONE OR TWO SIZES TOO SHORT OF THE DEFINITIVE FULL ALPINE RACK, SUPPOSEDLY DUE TO ANY LARGER AND THEY WOULD NEED DRASTIC DESIGN SHIFTS. WORD IS THEY ARE CURRENTLY IN THE SPEET SPOT OF WHAT A SINGLE CABLE CAN DO IN RIGIDITY, INTEGRITY, WEIGHT AND SIMPLICITY, BEYOND WHICH THE ERGONOMICS AND GEOMETRIES WOULD BECOME SOMETHING ELSE.

WE RESPECT THAT.

BIGGER THAN THE RED, ABOUT HAND WIDTH, AND YOU NEED SOMETHING ELSE, AND THE WEIGHTS OF CAMS STARTS TO SOAR AND LARGE NUTS OR HEXS START TO LOOK GOOD. WE THINK TOTEMS FILL THIS SPACE AS CRACKS THIS SIZE MOVE AWAY FROM BEING DIFFICULT TO CLEAN OF CRUD THUS ALLOWING ALL THE COMPLEXITY OF THE TOTEM TO BE OK, BUT ANY OTHER CAM WILL WORK AND YOU PROBABLY WON’T BE CARRYING MANY OF THEM.

WE NEVER DISREGARD THE FRANKEN-RACK, AND IF ANYTHING AVOID THE IDEA OF SHINY, CONFORMIST, PERFECTLY COORDINATED SETS OF HARDWARE, BECAUSE MOUNTAINS THEMSELVES DON’T COME LIKE THAT. MOTLEY RACKS OFTEN SHOW THE EXPERIENCE AND MINDSET OF THE CLIMBER, WHO CHOOSES INTUITIVELY, AS MUCH AS THEY KNOW THEIR GEAR AND CLIMB TO IT IN AN ORGANIC BLEND OF WORKING WITH WHAT THEY HAVE. IN THE END IT IS THE WIZARD NOT THE WAND AND THE WAY A CAM IS USED MATTERS MORE THAN THE BRAND, SO THOSE THAT ARE CHOSEN – LIKE ALL GEAR – SHOULD MEET FUNCTION IN THE BIG PICTURE FIRST.