REASONS TO BUY
Durable
Ergonomic thumb loop
Lighter than C4s
REASONS TO AVOID
Not as many sizes available as BD
Sling loses 2KN of strength when extended
Wild Country Friend Review
The Friends are a good alternative to BD camalots, with fatter lobes and a slightly different range
Credit: Wild Country
RELATED: Best Climbing Cams of 2024
Our Verdict
The Wild Country Friends takes old single axle, thumb loopless design, and updates this classic to compete neck and neck with modern cams. Available in six sizes, the new friends are vying for a place on your rack with burly anodized aluminum lobes, an ergonomic thumb loop, extendable Dyneema slings, and a size/color scheme that matches other top brands like Black Diamond and DMM. These cams are good to go for your next trip to Indian Creek, as the wide lobes are perfect for soft sandstone. They are also durable, meat-and-potatoes hand size pieces for the world's great granite arenas like Squamish or Yosemite.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Wild Country Friend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Overall Small Camming Devices | Best Overall Medium and Large Camming Devices |  Best for Building Your Rack | Best Bang for the Buck -- Small Cams | |
| Price | $69.95 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers | $84.94 at Amazon Compare at 4 sellers | $99.95 at REI Compare at 4 sellers | $79.99 at Amazon Compare at 4 sellers | $69.95 at REI Compare at 4 sellers |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | The Friend tweaks the Camalot design, offering an extendable sling and a slightly different range | A top choice for smaller sizes due to the widest range and incredible ease of use | These cams are awesome for long Yosemite free climbs and Indian Creek splitters | These are the most popular cams at Indian Creek due to their great range and durability | The super light, narrow headed Ultralight Master Cam have you covered in small cracks and flares |
| Rating Categories | Wild Country Friend | Black Diamond Camal... | Black Diamond Camal... | Black Diamond Camalot | Metolius Ultralight... |
| Free Climbing (20%) | |||||
| Weight (15%) | |||||
| Range (15%) | |||||
| Horizontal Cracks (15%) | |||||
| Tight Placements (15%) | |||||
| Durability (10%) | |||||
| Walking (5%) | |||||
| Aid Climbing (5%) | |||||
| Specs | Wild Country Friend | Black Diamond Camal... | Black Diamond Camal... | Black Diamond Camalot | Metolius Ultralight... |
| Weight (1 inch size piece) | 3.1 oz | 2.8 oz. | 2.6 oz | 3.28 oz | 2.3 oz |
| Range (inches) | .81-4.41" | .29" -1.66" | .61-4.51" | .54-7.68" | .34-2.81" |
| Sling Length (inches) | 4-7" | 3.75" | 3.75" | 3.75" | 3.75" |
| Single or Double Axle | Double | Double down to .3 | Double | Double | Single |
| Extendable Sling | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Sling material | Dyneema | Dynex | Dyneema | Nylon | Dyneema |
| High Clip in for Aid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cam Stops | Yes | Yes, down to .3 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Show full specification details ▼Hide full specification details ▲
Our Analysis and Test Results
At a glance, the Wild Country Friends seem to be a copy of the classic Black Diamond C4s, but Wild Country has made some tweaks that make these cams arguably superior to the BDs depending on your preferences, most importantly being a slightly more significant range and lighter weight.
These Friends want to be your best friends on desert spitters and Yosemite big walls.
Credit: Matt Bento
Performance Comparison
Our testers appreciate the familiar size/color scheme.
Credit: Matt Bento
Free Climbing
These are cams are excellent for free climbing, especially the hand and fists sizes. Smooth action, a great range, and a somewhat rigid stem make these cams easy to place on the go when you're gripped. Our testers found the extendable sling a little bit more difficult to re-rack with one hand, although with practice it comes pretty quickly.
Weight
A rack of all six sizes of the Friends tips the scales at 31.9oz. The Friends score an additional point in the weight savings by including an extendable Dyneema sling, so you don't need to carry as many quickdraws. These cams are neither the heaviest choice in this run of sizes, nor the lightest by a long shot, but sit right about in the middle.
Range
Friends, made by Wild Country, have a very similar range to the Black Diamond and DMM cams. Six sizes protect cracks from 20.6mm to 112.1mm. That's similar to the Black Diamond purple finger size to the Gray fist-sized #4 cam. However, close examination reveals a few variations among the individual cam ranges. Most notably is the gold #2 size, where the Wild Country version covers 42.5mm to 69.3mm, whereas the BD covers 37.2mm to 64.9. This may sound like splitting hairs, but the Indian Creek aficionado can see and feel the difference and might find it prudent to have a few Friends on hand to cover the off-sizes where other cams may be under cammed.
These cams protect horizontals well, but not as well as cams with a more flexible stem, like BD X4s.
Credit: Matt Bento
Horizontal Cracks
These cams feel equally as flexible as the Black Diamond C4s, and bend to accommodate downward pull in a horizontal placement just as effectively. The Friends have the advantage in Horizontals due to their extendable sling. In a deep horizontal placement, sometimes the carabiner sits just on the edge of a ledge, which could break or cause the biner to open in the event of a fall. With the option to extend, you can prevent this situation, without having to bring along extra slings.
This cam is too wide to safely protect a fall in this placement.
Credit: Matt Bento
Tight Placements
The Friends have slightly wider heads than Camalots due to where the ends of the axles stick out about a millimeter farther than the Camalots. The lobes are slightly wider than other comparable options such as those made by DMM or BD. While this makes them more difficult to fit in pockets and pin scars, it also disperses energy over a wider area and makes these cams better for softer rock, like the sandstone found in Indian Creek.
Durability
Many of the same features that make Black Diamond C4s durable are also present in the Friends. A strong steel cable that makes up the stem and thumb loop is encased in durable plastic. The burly trigger wires appear to be just as easily replaceable as the ones on the BD cams. The one concern of our testers is the extendable Dyneema sling, which doesn't seem as durable as the sling on the Black Diamond C4s.
We prefer the Totem Cam (bottom) for aid climbing because it has a narrower head and a more flexible stem than the friend.
Credit: Matt Bento
Walking
The Extendable Dyneema sling attached at the thumb loop makes these cams much less prone to walking when extended. However, the sling does not extend as long as the long as the sling on DMM cams, while at the same time hanging a bit longer on the harness while doubled up.
Aid Climbing
The addition of a thumb loop on the Friends is a boon to aid climbers, offering an easy place to clip aiders, daisies or fifi into, and our testers generally prefer these to cams that lack a thumb loop, as they require you to clip in lower every time. Regarding pin scars, holes, pockets and other strange placements, the Friends wider head width and more rigid stems can't compete with the versatile Totem Cams, our Top Pick for Aid Climbing.
Value
Again, these cams put the pressure on the Black Diamond supremacy, even at the price point. These cams are durable workhorses, and if you can find a place to replace the Dyneema slings when they become worn, they should stay on your rack for a long time.
Conclusion
The Wild Country Friends seem like an upgraded version of the Black Diamond C4, improving on the weight savings without jacking up the price. Though they aren't (as of yet) available in as many sizes as the BD, they're a great choice for the backbone of your rack.
—
Matt Bento
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