Gear Review: Metolius TCU Cams
Value Rating: 9
Durability Rating: 9
Overall Rating: 9
Location of Test: Smith Rock, Yosemite, Broughton Bluff
Duration: 4 years
Product Name: TCU Cams
Product Brand: Metolius
Best Use: Finger crack climbing
Sizes:
Sizes 000-4 (.26"-1.32")
Weight varies by size
The Full Review:
The first cams I owned when I started climbing were some old hand-me-down Tri Caming Units (TCUs) from Metolius. Though they still boast the older style U-shaped stem, TCUs are one of my favorite pieces of gear, even amongst a rack of Black Diamond C4s and Totem Cams.
TCUs are a favorite piece of gear for three primary reasons. The first is the width of their head. Because they only have three lobes, their heads are narrower than most other cams. This makes them eligible for placements where other, wider cams will not fit.
The second reason I love TCUs is their stiffness. While I love the flexibility of my Totems and understand how useful flexible cams are, the reality is that you don’t always need them. In fact, I sometimes like having a stiffer cam stem so that I can push the cam by the stem into the crack to where it will be best seated.
The third reason I love TCUs is really because I love Metolius. Yes, it feels really good to be placing gear made in Bend at Smith Rock, just a few miles from where they were made. But more importantly, I like Metolius for their quality and customer service. While I happily buy and climb on Black Diamond gear, my favorite ‘biners are made by Petzl, and my Totems are the best cams I’ve ever used, I really love Metolius because they locally make a high-quality product and will service it until it’s absolutely too old to use. When I first got old TCUs, they needed to be reslung so I sent them off to Metolius. Six days after putting them in the mail, they arrived back at my door. They had charged me $26 for the work, and had reslung 7 cams, redone the trigger wires on one, and cleaned and lubricated all of them. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when I’m very glad to have double axle cams, but I also remember that Black Diamond would’ve charged over twice as much for the same work, and doesn’t clean or lubricate your cams (I’ve had both companies do work on gear before). The TCUs I sent them were well over 15 years old—most of them still had smooth lobes. They easily could’ve told me that they were too old to work on and I had to buy more—but they reslung all seven for less than half the price of a new cam so I didn’t have to buy more. To me, that signifies a good company, and one I try to keep buying from.
The Good
Great holding power, wonderful customer service, excellent longevity
The Bad:
Stiffness can at times be impracticle
The Bottom Line:
These things are super when you need them--there's no cam I'd rather have.
The Full Review:
The first cams I owned when I started climbing were some old hand-me-down Tri Caming Units (TCUs) from Metolius. Though they still boast the older style U-shaped stem, TCUs are one of my favorite pieces of gear, even amongst a rack of Black Diamond C4s and Totem Cams.
TCUs are a favorite piece of gear for three primary reasons. The first is the width of their head. Because they only have three lobes, their heads are narrower than most other cams. This makes them eligible for placements where other, wider cams will not fit.
The second reason I love TCUs is their stiffness. While I love the flexibility of my Totems and understand how useful flexible cams are, the reality is that you don’t always need them. In fact, I sometimes like having a stiffer cam stem so that I can push the cam by the stem into the crack to where it will be best seated.
The third reason I love TCUs is really because I love Metolius. Yes, it feels really good to be placing gear made in Bend at Smith Rock, just a few miles from where they were made. But more importantly, I like Metolius for their quality and customer service. While I happily buy and climb on Black Diamond gear, my favorite ‘biners are made by Petzl, and my Totems are the best cams I’ve ever used, I really love Metolius because they locally make a high-quality product and will service it until it’s absolutely too old to use. When I first got old TCUs, they needed to be reslung so I sent them off to Metolius. Six days after putting them in the mail, they arrived back at my door. They had charged me $26 for the work, and had reslung 7 cams, redone the trigger wires on one, and cleaned and lubricated all of them. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when I’m very glad to have double axle cams, but I also remember that Black Diamond would’ve charged over twice as much for the same work, and doesn’t clean or lubricate your cams (I’ve had both companies do work on gear before). The TCUs I sent them were well over 15 years old—most of them still had smooth lobes. They easily could’ve told me that they were too old to work on and I had to buy more—but they reslung all seven for less than half the price of a new cam so I didn’t have to buy more. To me, that signifies a good company, and one I try to keep buying from.
The Good
Great holding power, wonderful customer service, excellent longevity
The Bad:
Stiffness can at times be impracticle
The Bottom Line:
These things are super when you need them--there's no cam I'd rather have.