Climbing Protection

Recent Climbing Protection Device Reviews

DMM Wallnut

Great multi-purpose passive pro. The DMM Wallnut is a superb nut for nearly all types of climbing. I've used these in gneiss, granite, and limestone. The thing that sets the Wallnuts apart is a longer shape, that tapers differently with the sides being more offset. This results in a variety of more useful placements. Practically speaking these offer more secure fits in a lot of spots compared to simpler nuts. I've got a set of BD/Grand Wall nuts I have compared them with side by side.  The other… Full review

DMM Dragon Cam

I've used Dragons for the past three years and love them. I've climbed with them on granite, limestone, quartzite and sandstone. I've done cragging with them as well as alpine climbing.  The newest version are awesome, and while the weight savings and unanodized lobes are nifty, they don't really add much except piece of mind. But these are phenomenal cams. The workmanship is superb, and I love not having to grab a draw when placing these on crack routes in particular thanks to the extendable slings. Full review

Wild Country Helium Friends

These lightweight improvements on the original design for spring loaded camming devices are great for trad, alpine, and beyond. I began my trad career on Friends, so these for me are a great system to use. Overall they perform great on limestone, quartzite on granite. I am comfortable with all sizes ranges and I did find them a little tricky to get back into, but now that I am used to them again I find placements easy as ever. In large cracks their longer than average stems are definitely an asset. Full review

Rock Empire Robot Cam

While these cams do not have the range per piece (or as an entire set) of BD C4s or Wild Country Friends, they are much cheaper. Robot cams are also a bit heavier than equal size of other cams. While essentially not as good a cam as its competitors, the price of Robot cams is so low that they are great for the climber on a budget. In the Czech Republic these cams retail for $25 each, regardless of size. In the US I found a set of 8 for $150 shipped. At this type of price the cash strapped climber… Full review

Black Diamond Camalot C4

Still the gold standard in camming devices. Superb construction and functionality; large camming range; competitively priced — I cannot imagine a better all-round cam. Rack up with a set of C4s and your confidence will take a leap up — there is simply no better all-round cam. Great design and construction, 4 lobes for maximum grip, perfect camming angle, biggest camming range, smooth trigger action, a thumb-loop for stability when placing, pretty colours and years of on-the-job performance. Full review

Metolius Ultralight Fat Cam

I love these cams. Although they are harder to contract then the BD they work great in the rock. I have all the sizes and the colour coding system make it so easy to recognize the sizes. They're as strong as any other cam out there and some off the lightest ones available. Great stuff, love Metolius gear. I bought a full spread of the ultralight cams last season and love them. Although it is the first set of cams I have owned I have used other one and researched them extensively before purchasing… Full review

MSR Snow Fluke

I found the MSR fluke to have some interesting and potentially significant improvements over older designs. This extension of their venture into anchors, in keeping with the full name of MSR (Mountain Safety Research), is a further development of their Coyote Picket, introduced in 1987, which in turn followed the 1969-70 MSR Snow Picket and Snow Fluke. MSR also had an ice ax and ice screws in their line in the 1970s. MSR, a division of Cascade Designs, is better known these days for their excellent… Full review

MSR Snow Picket

I found the MSR snow picket to have some interesting and potentially significant improvements over older designs. This extension of their venture into anchors, in keeping with the full name of MSR (Mountain Safety Research) is a further development of their Coyote Picket, introduced in 1987, which in turn followed the 1969-70 MSR Snow Picket and Snow Fluke. MSR also had an ice ax and ice screws in their line in the 1970s. MSR, a division of Cascade Designs, is better known these days for their excellent… Full review

DMM Deadman

I always keep one of these within reach in the lid of my pack. It is definitely not my go-to protection on any routine basis, but this fluke excels at being quick to place when you need protection in a hurry, and the snow is not sufficiently consolidated to hold a picket in a deadman / T-slot configuration without first compacting / tamping the snow, and sometimes you just don't have time to do that.  For example, I might use the fluke as a first anchor to backup a climber holding a crevasse fall… Full review