Camalot
Camalot is a brand of spring-loaded camming devices manufactured by Black Diamond Equipment used to secure ropes while rock climbing.
Black Diamond has produced several different models of Camalots:
- The Camalot C4, the original model, most recently updated in early 2019. They use a dual-axle system, resulting in a slightly higher expansion range than for a similarly sized single axle unit, and also resulting in increased strength, allowing placement as a passive stopper. C4s range from the small #0.3 to the rarely seen massive #8.
- The Camalot Ultralight, a lighter-weight version of the C4 with a core made of dyneema instead of steel, introduced in 2016, in sizes from #0.4 to #4.
- The Camalot X4, with smaller heads and flexible cable stems, designed for placement in very small cracks, in sizes #0.1 to #0.75. The X4 were released in Spring 2013.[1]
- The Camalot X4 Offset, a version of the X4 with heads of two different sizes for flaring cracks or other asymmetric placements, produced in #0.1/#0.2, #0.2/#0.3, #0.3/0.4, #0.4/#0.5, and #0.5/#.75.
- The Camalot C3, introduced in 2007 and discontinued in 2018, designed for placements in very small cracks, with a single axle and a narrow, three-lobed head.
- The Camalot Z4, introduced in 2020, as a replacement for the X4 and C3 as Black Diamond's small-sized cams, available in both standard and offset models.[2]
Like other cams, Camalot lobes are in the shape of a logarithmic spiral, resulting in a constant angle between the cam and the rock at each contact point; this constant angle is designed to always provide the necessary friction to hold a cam in equilibrium.[3]
In April 2020, Black Diamond introduced the #7 and #8 C4s, the largest Camalots ever built. The cams were initially teased with an April Fool's Day video of Alex Honnold supposedly placing a "#21" C4. At $199.99 and $239.99, they are also the most expensive Camalots ever sold [4]
References
- ^ "Welcome climberism.com - BlueHost.com". www.climberism.com.
- ^ https://gearjunkie.com/black-diamond-z4-camalot
- ^ "Duke SLCD research". Archived from the original on 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/7-8-camalot.html
External links
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