Black Diamond discontinued the Camalot C3.
REASONS TO BUY
Narrowest cam head of any small cam
Durable stem
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Tend to walk
Not great for flares
With an extremely narrow head, this Black Diamond cam is one great small camming device at getting in tight spots. It has only three lobes that pack tightly together with no space in between. The good news is that it is easy to get them in tiny pods. The bad news is that these cams tend to walk more than others due to the narrow head and stiff stem. The stiff stem also makes them awkward in weird aid placements where there is more “torquing out.” In those applications a more flexible stem is better. It can be nice to have a set of these on El Cap, but we prefer the new Black Diamond Camalot X4 which is only a little wider and has much more holding power and versatility.
I really like this climbing cam in some applications but am not ready to commit my whole rack to them like I have with the Black Diamond Camalot for the bigger sizes. I prefer a four-cam design like the Metolius Master Cam or the X4 that feels more bomber, is less likely to walk, and works in pin scars better. But if you climb in an area with lots of small parallel-sided pods, these may be the best for that specific application. They are more expensive than the rest of the cams but should have above average durability.
