Wild Country Rockcentric Hex on Dyneema

Used a #6 as an essential part of a TR anchor last week (repelled off it and fell on it a bunch of times). Placing it was a dream and it held perfectly. What more could you need? The ends of the Dyneema- where the stitching is seemed to scratch against the opposing side and caused a little fraying. I put little tape on the ends and the world is right again. Over all I like it and will probably get a few more in other sizes.

Got #9 for christmas this year. Like it so far. Put right on my rack first thing. Shape looks great, seems like it will snug right in on my local rock. Not sure about Dyneema band yet as almost all my pieces are wired and thats what I'm used to using. Willing to give it a try though. Haven't check weight yet but #9 seems heavier than my BD hex #11. Just saying.

Picked up a set of these as part of my first trad rack 7-8 years ago. Great lightweight supplement to cams,I find the curved camming side fits more places and more securely than hexes with all straight sides. Still debating whether slings or wire is better, less walking with the slings, but I really appreciate the wires on my friends hexes to give stability when going for those just-out-of-reach placements. I also usually bring a few along in a light alpine rack for ice climbing, better in icy cracks than cams. Plus the clanging makes you feel old school.

Having used these, I'll never go back to wired hexes. The slings help to keep them from getting knocked loose and leaves the possibility to load over a dull edge if you have to. Given the options for placement too it make it easy to find something that works. Until I can afford to double up on some commonly used cam sizes, these will come along on every climb.

These shapes fit (and stick) easily in plenty of different cracks. I have yet to find any placements that fall between sizes, so the overlap is good.

Advantages of the dyneema slings vs. wired hexes:
* Color coded slings make it easier to identify individual sizes, especially when they're racked on a single biner
* No worries about wires getting kinked from running around corners
* Stem doesn't get in the way of placements
* Lighter (not sure how much this really matters; the heads are the heavy part)
* Less prone to walking (I usually extend beyond the attached sling, so using these doesn't typically cut down on the number of draws used)

Disadvantages:
* Can't use a stiff wire to position hexes in deep cracks
* Easier to lose hexes in tall, inward-flaring cracks (this happened to me once and it was a pain to fish the thing out)
* Slings degrade over time and need replacement
* Slings tangle easily if they're next to cams on your rack

Overall I prefer the Dyneema slings, and only occasionally miss the ability to use a wire stem to position a hex.

the engineering behind these are great. similar to the chouinard design, but with improvements. the dyneema is much better than wire, this allows multiple placements with the contoured surfaces.

i agree with some of the other reviews as the fact that you can achieve a better placement with a slung hex esspecially on the larger sizes. however in my experience having wired hexes can come in very handy for reaches and deep placements and if you dont happen to just have to totaly free hands. also the idea of the wire making hex want to walk easier can simply be taken care of with and extendable alpine draw which is often times neccessary to prevent rope drag in the first place. all in all these are a very good piece especially for beginers to learn perfect placements, cheeper than other options, all in all a good band for the buck.

I highly recommend them to anyone who climbs.

Been using BD/Chouinard hexes slung on perlon, then kevlar, and lately wired, since forever. Picked up the #6-#9 Rockcentrics last season to use at the Red, and it was almost a relief. (I use .5-3.0 Tri-Cam for smaller size passives in the fingers-thin hands range.) I loved the old hexes in this larger size range, but the WC Rockcentric offering is way better. The curved surfaces, great lateral taper, and thin casting of the body all make a lightweight, highly usable passive piece for thin hands and up in these sizes. Great complement to the usual cams, and the Dyneema slings keep 'em where you put 'em. I did notice that every once and a while I'd be placing in a particular crack section and one Rockcentric would be a little big and the next down a little small no matter which way I rotated them or worked them end-to-end in the crack...not a feeling I ever experienced with the old hexes...maybe the dimensional differences between numbers in the Rockcentric series are slightly larger than those between the different hex sizes, I don't know. But that was a pretty rare feeling, and absolutely the only minor hassle I've experienced with the Rockcentrics, and easily cured by plugging a cam. Love 'em, great Wild County design enhancement of a classic.

Big wired hexes rock way too much, these hexes on Dyneema stay put and are the only type to buy in the big sizes. Big wires help with deep placements but you can achieve that in other ways.

Lighter than cams and way cheaper learn to use them and you'll learn to love them. Correct placement is critical, just like cams.

May take a bit to get used to placing, but will give the most solid placement u will ever find. Bomber for anchors! Dyneema slings help prevent walking too