l climb mostly on granite / moderate trad routes.
l agree that the best Pro is a nut or hex slotted and moved into a position where it cannot come out - short of breaking rock. Those always make me feel the best.

A lot of my climbing is on granite and often the cracks are parallel or even flared out and nut or hex has no possible placement. Often you will find yourself 30+ ft past your last nut with nothing in sight. In that case, l sink a cam and start looking for my next solid placement.

l like two different brands - l actually have a whole set of each of these:

1. Metolius Quads - for their strength & the fact that the springs r really strong which keeps them from ''walking'' when u place one & climb past it.

2. BD Camalots - for their wide range to weight ratio. If l could only take a few cams, it would be the .75, 1, 2, 3 Camalots. l have not tried any of the new micro Camalots.

l also have a set of Metolius Tri-Cams, but these r just OK. They r light, so l carry them when l need a full rack but they require a deep crack to be set properly. Any better small cams out there?

Good Luck

l like Camalots, however my absolute favorite cam is the one that fits it is placement so well it is bommer.

l like the Camelots. But to be honest l am not the biggest fan of cams. They're expensive and they tend to sieze up. I'd prefer to spend a minute trying to find the right nut or hex for a crack any day.

l like Black Diamond, they are nice and light and have a nice range. l think it is what most people prefer. Trango are good too. l also like my DMM tri-cams (spring loaded, not the passive kind of tri-cam). Those babies always find a good home for themselves in more difficult placements.

Garion, you're hardcore!!! LOL But really, a good nut is the most solid placement you can have. l am just a wimp and l like the way l can plug in a cam and keep moving.

l am with garion. There are not too many climbs where cams are clearly superior to nuts, and then bigbros take up where cams leave off. But some places seem to be loaded with cracks that just call out for cams. l use Camelots too, they're very good.