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A comment on Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?.

Re:Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used? by doug1001 on Monday February 20, 2017 @01:53AM (#13684998)
"technical friends" (which i believe was name given by the man who invented them, Ray Jardine). "Friends" is still the category name used by Wild Country, which i believe was the first shop to sell the devices.

more generically, i believe they are known as spring-loade cam devices (SLCD).

these simple devices transformed granite crack climbing from slow, rock-altering aid climbing that required pitons hammered into cracks to clean "free" (ie, no aid) climbing.

sure nuts and hexes were (and still are) available but they require some sort of constriction in the crack (change in the width) to hold them in place, which granite cracks often lack.

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Re:Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used? by tyho on Monday February 20, 2017 @04:39AM (#13685861)
Little known fact. The shape of the lobes is a section of a logarithmic spiral, used to ensure the cam engages with the rock at a constant angle regardless of the size of the crack

http://web.mit.edu/custer/www/rocking/cams/cams.body.html

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Re:Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used? by mpalme on Monday February 20, 2017 @11:23AM (#13688510)
Link cams are a marvel of engineering.

Thy operate on a simple concept of trisecting a cam lobe so that, as the device is retracted, the cam unfolds and permits an amazing range for a unit of its size.

http://www.omegapac.com/itemdetail.php?id=1&secid=9

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Re:Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used? by oftenwrong on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:50PM (#13697631)
Link cams look cool, and have unmatched range, but they have a bad reputation regarding their durability. I have never tried them, though. I don't really climb hard enough to justify them. My cams are almost all C4s.
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Re:Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used? by kirrent on Monday February 20, 2017 @04:06AM (#13685680)
In particular, the Black Diamond cams have a double axis which increases the camming range. It's a beautiful piece of gear.
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