Camalot C4 .5 2018

Chouinard Equipment, which became Black Diamond, began marketing them as Camalots (so-named from various employee suggestions) in fall 1987, and three major updates later, Camalots are still the gold standard for trad climbers. Camalots have easier, smoother trigger action, slot into placements faster, hold better in shallow cracks, and both the metal of the lobes and wires and the nylon of the slings last longer. We do love the flexible stems of Aliens, the narrow heads of Metolius Master Cams, and the groundbreaking innovation of Wild Country Friends, but the C4’s have the best all-around performance and durability. Twenty-seven years after their first appearance, one climber says he’s still “having a love affair with these Batman tools for the vertical world.”

Camalots have steadily increased their following in the UK since they were redesigned a few years ago. Not a lot of people know this but, internally, a Camalot is a twin-stemmed device. The two sides of the stem are pinched together in the plastic sleeve and swaged into the head to give the handling of a single stem but the weight saving of a double stem. Camalots gain extra range from the double axle, and also by slightly increasing the camming angle of some sizes. In theory this will very slightly reduce holding power but, as Black Diamond point out, these are well tested units that certainly don't make a habit of coming out. Camalots are as lovely to use as they are beautifully built. I consistently got the right size first time, even though I am more used to other units, which is probably the extra range at work. There is precious little to fault and yet, somehow, I often found myself reaching for other units first. The springs felt a little less stiff than many others and the head of the unit just didn't sit quite as rock-steady as I clipped. The difference in holding power is probably negligible to non-existent but it did mean that the single axle units inspired me with a tiny bit more confidence. To cover a range from 19-100mm (actually 19.6-114.7mm) requires 6 units with a total weight of 984g.

In our tests, the new Camalots (they were overhauled about a year ago) worked equally well in splitters, bottoming cracks, pods and horizontals. Their syringe trigger was easy to use and the cams could be quickly placed. Camalots are ergonomic. They fit well in the hand and are easier to place than wider U-stem designs. A clever design point allows the stem to rotate in the direction of pull, the only cam to do so, preventing a unit from being torqued sideways even when you clip directly into the stem loop and lean.
From a purely subjective point of view, the Camalots felt solid and stable, and the testing we did, both in the field and on apparatus, bore out our gut instincts. Camalots remain the standard by which newcomers will be judged.