Wild Country Zero Cams

I went with Zeroes over all other options because at the time (Alien recall, pre-Mastercam) they were the only single-stem microcam on the market from a top-end manufacturer. In deep, parallel cracks, or in horizontals, literally any cam that fits in the placement will do. However, in shallow, vertical placements, you need flex both perpendicular and parallel to the cam's axles to make sure a fall won't completely lever them out. Thus, zeroes over C3s and TCUs. Since I've owned mine, I've come to prefer them over Aliens, since you've got individual cam manipulation (which makes them much, MUCH easier to clean). While they also have that advantage over Mastercams, I personally don't like the sizes of Metolius cams which is why I never really considered TCUs or later Mastercams. That's an issue of personal taste though, so buy accordingly. I still prefer the larger per-unit range of the Aliens, but I understand why most manufacturers are loathe to use such a large cam angle on such a small cam.

These are great little cams. The combination of flexible stem and extendible sling means they'll basically never walk, and the flexibility also makes they easier to squeeze into tricky placements. I'm honestly not sure why these guys aren't compared more with aliens, it seems like they have all the same characteristics. These are all great things, but they get four stars because the flexible stem will potentially reorient them when fallen on in vertical cracks, thus they won't catch as quickly, and could pull out. I think the horizontally flexible, but laterally rigid stem on the c3s is the best system out there, but I'd still take these over c3s because of the four lobes. They are about as confidence inspiring as micro cams can be.

These cams have an extremely flexible stem that, so far, has held up to a fair amount of abuse. The #3, #4, and #5 are my three smallest cams (the #1 and #2 aren't quite strong enough for my free-climbing head game), and I trust them even when I'm pumped and ten feet over them. The trigger action is smooth even in the deep placements that you can get with these. The #5 is about the same size as a C4 .3, maybe just a little smaller, so they compliment my C4s nicely. They place quickly and solidly, and the doubled sling extends the piece nicely. Also, these are not a clunky as their tech-friend brethren.

In smooth, parallel cracks these function great, both going in and coming out. In irregular crack sthey can be a pain in both directions. The noodle-ish stem can cause problems, and the doubled sling is not that useful. I'd rather just have a beefier single sling. These have a nice range, and definitely outshine the tech friends. But I would chose Aliens, C3s, Master Cams, and TCUs over these.

I like the super flexy stems, doubled slings and comfortable ergonomics, but for the price I'm still reaching for my C3's (narrower head) or stocking up on TCUs for less $$. I have not used this cam to reach into things that I couldn't get to with my other microcams so I can't comment on that use. In the end I think these work great but I'm not convinced that they bring a unique advantage to the table.

But bad price. I remember when i bought mine a year ago and the dollar was stronger, they were only 55.00 retail. Now that my second decided to leave my yellow one on certain 5.7 cannon classic, l need a replacement. I'm hesitant to shell out full blown retail though.. maybe if the economy gets bad enough the price on these things will drop as well.