[Muenchener]

I was in my friendly local gear shop today and (in addition to the usual eighty euro Miura Laces) they were selling off some Dragon Cams for forty euros apiece. At times like this one doesn't hesitate or ask questions; I went straight for my wallet.

My question is this: I was studying the instruction leaflet in the U-Bahn on the way home, and I have no idea what Diagram 10 is trying to say to me. Couldn't see any reference to it in the text. It shows a cam with the sling extended and two krabs pulling in opposite directions. It gets a tick, so evidently it's ok/recommended for something. But what?

[petejh]

It means the extendable sling [bitofagimmick]same length extended as a Camalot sling[/bitofagimmick] can be used as a quickdraw type setup. It's what nick bullock uses for going out sport climbing so he can write blogs moaning about how crap and shallow it all is.

http://dmmclimbing.com/instructions/CammingDevices.pdf

[Paul B]

Is it actually the same length?

I had a set of Dragons and a set of Camalots in the states and the former seemed a lot better extended compared to the BDs (maybe due to the dyneema rather than relatively stiff Nylon) when I was worried about a placement walking etc.?

[Muenchener]

Ah, ok. Thanks. Expensive quickdraw, even at forty euros.

I was wondering if it might have been some kind of upward-pull arrangement for American-style super complicated belay setups.

[petejh]

Is it actually the same length?

I had a set of Dragons and a set of Camalots in the states and the former seemed a lot better extended compared to the BDs (maybe due to the dyneema rather than relatively stiff Nylon) when I was worried about a placement walking etc.?

Yeah pretty sure the length is almost identical from cams to clipping biner between a Camalot and an extended Dragon. When I had a rack of each I compared them out of curiosity. No longer have the BD's so can't take a photo. I think the camalot is a stiffer setup - hence perhaps more prone to walking a little - because the stem is longer cf. the Dragon and its sling shorter. So I should have said the whole unit including slings are the same length, not the 'slings' are the same.

[AndyR]

Is it actually the same length?

I had a set of Dragons and a set of Camalots in the states and the former seemed a lot better extended compared to the BDs (maybe due to the dyneema rather than relatively stiff Nylon) when I was worried about a placement walking etc.?

Yeah pretty sure the length is almost identical from cams to clipping biner between a Camalot and an extended Dragon. When I had a rack of each I compared them out of curiosity. No longer have the BD's so can't take a photo. I think the camalot is a stiffer setup - hence perhaps more prone to walking a little - because the stem is longer cf. the Dragon and its sling shorter. So I should have said the whole unit including slings are the same length, not the 'slings' are the same.

I have a rack of both - the extended Dragon set-up is approx 1 to 1.5 crab-length longer than the equivalent Camalot - in my experience (particularly using single rope a la north america), this often makes the difference between having to use a draw or not - personally, I really like them.


Insect Overlord Squamish Branch is highly distrustful of them though...make of that what you will...