Description
Usher in the new age of thin crack protection.
Thanks to its incredibly narrow head profile, the Black Diamond Camalot C3 fits in places where other cams just don't stand a chance. As the cams contract, they overlap with each other's stems to increase surface area and holding power. The C3's sizes go way below the standard to help you protect ultra-thin aid lines and cutting-edge trad climbs. In addition, the C3 uses a unique stem design that blurs the lines between single and double stems. A shroud protects the tiny cables from getting jacked while maintaining the flexibility to handle funky placements where stiffer cams lever out and leave you unprotected.
- The C3's head is 30% narrower than any three- or four-cam unit available
- Features interlocking lobes and an internal dual-stem design to achieve its slim profile and smooth action
- Independent trigger springs allow each cam lobe to operate freely and to fit into tiny irregularities in the crack
- Cam stops make tipped-out placements more secure
- The large thumb loop makes this cam easy to place when you're pumped stupid and provides a short clip-in point for aid climbing
- Climbing Magazine Editors' Choice award
- Color-coded for quick identification
- Click sizing chart link for range, strength, and weight info
- Note: size 000 is for direct aid only
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Share your thoughts
What do you think of the
Black Diamond Camalot C3
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Luke
Member since
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Luke
Member since
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hoooo dilly
Reed Rombough
Member since
- Gender: Male
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
Took a 15 foot whipper on two red C3's in a thin roof crack, only one held, so that's neat. They're a bit goofy to place to make sure you check the lobes!
Black Diamond C3 Cam
Backcountry Video
Member since
Trying to decide between Metolius TCU's...
Hayden Beck
Member since
Trying to decide between Metolius TCU's and BD C3's....usually climb in southern UT and Big Cottonwood Canyon... Already have some Camalot C4's
DEON NORTJE
Member since
would seriously consider to stay with the BD's
Patrick Mulligan
Member since
Its always a good idea to have a couple of different types of units on your rack. It seems that lately I'm meeting folks with significant brand loyalty with their cams, but the truth is different types of cams will sit better in different types of cracks. Get a couple of each and figure out where they work best, then decide on how to beef up your rack later.
Ode to a Camalot
James Jenden
Member since
Dear Camalot C3s, you give me pause
I didn't see sketchy placements as a clause
In the contract I signed by buying you
After each placement, I feel blue
Will you hold me? Sometimes, I assume.
But "sometimes" rather brings me gloom.
'Cause sometimes really isn't good enough
My life rather means too much to slough
Camming duties off on you,
When I have no assurance that you'll hold true.
Cool engineering? Check! You've got it
But when I'm run out, that just doesn't cut it.
Will you fit in that pocket? Why yes of course,
But it's quite likely that you'll blow with force.
Is there a spot on my rack for you?
Yes, but it's small, perhaps just one or two.
When it comes down to it, I'd rather have Masters or Zeros
They give me more bang, por mis dineros.
So if you're looking to buy a micro cam, or two,
look elsewhere, that's why I wrote this review.
twop1537
Member since
yeah, the anti-cedar wright, his reviews are usually raving about the product. Its nice to see some poetic criticism :)
Micro
Thomas Ogasawara
Member since
The action started out super stiff, but after a few uses these thing feel great! They're amazingly bomber, which is nuts based on the size. I'm a fan!
Alright, but there are better options.
James Jenden
Member since
The first thing I thought when I got my yellow c3 out of the box was "wow, this is an incredible piece of engineering." I still think that, but after having placed it a few times, I find that I'd almost always rather go with my friend's red WC Zero. The cam lobes are great with how close together they are, but that also makes them less stable, which scares me a bit. While I would say that if you have a big rack, and you have the money, it might not be a bad idea to have a couple of these guys for awkward placements, your money would be much better spent on a set of 4-cam micro cams. I love the zeros, but the master cams are pretty stinking awesome as well.
Great for the size
Clay Stoner
Member since
These cams perform really well in the finger to tips size and the narrow head allows for placements in limbstone that a four lobe and many other three lobers just don't fit in
So bomber and so good!
Matt Collins
Member since
Got to use these for the first time switching leads and I am amazed. I took a lead fall on a #1 and my confidence in these pieces grew even more! Definitely try these.
Protection for your protection
Arthur Debowski
Member since
I was a bit skeptical at first regarding the rubberized center portion and internal wires on these things when I started playing with them a while back. After loading the cams over edges repeatedly during aid pitches and free climbs and then having the whole unit rebound to its original shape and having no kinks or damage I knew these were genius. I use them in conjunction with my mastercams in the smaller ranges of my rack and love them as aid pieces.
These, or the metolius mastercams?
Thomas Ogasawara
Member since
These, or the metolius mastercams?
Federico Garcia
Member since
These!!! these are super flexible and durable, just remember that these are for very small cracks.
yum3893065
Member since
Federico, I believe you know little about mastercam. Mastercam is narrower, more flexible in terms of small sizes
Alpine Ascent
Member since
I personally am a bigger fan of the Mastercam. Having used both of cams I will be buying these for doubles as they are great complements
Gear Review of BD Cams from Indian Creek
Kim Havell
Member since
long time climber at the Creek, Wayne Harney, explains why BD cams are his pro of choice in the desert
Colegrove1538115
Member since
This video has nothing at all to do with C3s. The guy doesn't even have one on his rack.
Black Diamond C3
Nick
Member since
A C3 cam in a small crack near the top of the gilette edge on Homestake pass, Montana.
Nick
Member since
These cams are great. I cant believe some of the things these cams fit in. A must have for proper rack diversity!
Misgivings disproven
Scott Gilliam
Member since
When I first saw these I thought they were overbuilt and over thought, that individual spring idea seemingly too much technology packed into a tiny climbing cam. But I ordered the smallest sizes, 000 and 00, guessing that when the chips were down, and only those fit, I'd be thrilled. SquirrelIy east coast rock rewards variety in one's rack and I quickly discovered that those sizes were just a bit smaller than their Metolius counterparts. perfect counterpoint. Excellent.
Next a buddy and I put up a new route that took his green C3 better than anything else. So I dropped by the store picked up that one. Later that same year we went to Red Rocks and I whipped off on that size. It held like a champ, saving me from smacking a ledge.
Sold on C3s, I got the yellow. It takes up that subtle gap between blue and yellow TCUs. In fact it fits nicely in the crux of one of my favorite routes, in a flare where a blue TCU is trash and a yellow won't fit. That piece tames that runout just a bit.
So I'm a big fan now. I own the red C3, but never carry it. One day I'll find the perfect place for it and be sad that it is hanging in the closet at home.
All that said, falling on one of these in a horizontal will probably mank the crap out of it, as it will any cabled cam.
Wonderful little cams
Simon Hatfield
Member since
The narrow head width of these allows them to fit into the type of shallow cracks typically found at Joshua Tree (where I climb most often). They are, however double stem, which means they are laterally stiff - you have to be careful with the placement angle to assure they don't torque out when loaded. On the bright side, this lateral stiffness makes them easy to place, I generally retract the lobes, slot the cam behind a small constriction, then release the trigger for a sound placement - kind of like how I place a nut.
One key advantage to these over nuts is that they can withstand pull from a greater variety of directions - this makes them a good first piece on a pitch to prevent the "zipper effect", and makes them more versatile in a complex belay anchor. They are also much faster to place, and more forgiving than a nut of a similar size, but unfortunately require a better eye to evaluate properly than a similar nut or larger cam.
I have taken a fairly high factor lead fall on the Red #1 (2nd piece, 8-10ft fall with 15ft of rope out, high impact force Mammut 10.2 rope) and not only did it hold solidly, but the cam remains totally functional. Although I totally trust the larger sizes, I personally don't carry the gray 000, as I wouldn't feel comfortable leading above it anyway.
It is also worth noting that I always carry the Yellow #2 C3 and rarely the blue #.3 C4, as I find it fits better in more of the same placements.
Nice feeling
Kurt Zogorski
Member since
I get a strange sense of satisfaction placing these guys. I'm no pro trad climber, just bought some and playing around with them aiding cracks trying to learn to trust my pro. So far they've held very well.
Black Diamond Camalot C3
Edward Stoklannd
Member since
The head seems a little too wide, and the trigger feels a little stiff. At first I was afraid of them popping in a tight spot, but once I got used to them I have found that I now prefer them over Aliens. They just take a little getting used to.
Going Gray
Cedar Wright
Member since
The gray triple zero is worth it's weight in gold and is oh so sweet for uber thin cracks...at first I wasn't sure about these tcus and then I started putting them to the test and found them easy to place, and great for both free and aid. They are stiff enough that you can literally stab them in if you are pumped and desperate!!! I especially like the double and triple zeros and on a recent first ascent in Indian Creek plugged several in a row!!! Great addition to the rack...especially the three smallest sizes.
Climb&Ski the BC
Member since
have you ever fallen on the 000?
MAl3009826
Member since
Don't you fall on one of the 000s in the First Ascent series film, "Desert Rats"? That was awesome by the way!! I'm looking to make an inaugural trip out to the desert very soon because of that film.
Cedar Wright
Member since
Yes I have fallen on the triple 000, but it is a very thin piece, so definitely use with care, and try not to let it be the only thing between you and the ground, but the fact is this miraculous feet of engineering goes in where nothing else does, which means protection where before there was terror, whimpering and sorrow.
Review Title
Benji R.
Member since
great small pro. Much more trustworthy than Aliens and the stiff trigger and springs do nothing more than inspire confidence.
View all contributions... Be patient, it might take a while.

Hayden Beck
Member since