Omega Pacific Link Cams: Transformers to the Rescue!

Weight: 176 to 207 grams

Strength: 14 kN

More than any piece of rock gear I've seen advertised over the past few years, I wanted to hate these Omega Pacific Link Cams. All those moving parts and the inevitable dumbing-down of racking-up brought out the Luddite in me. And the cost—about $100 a pop—seemed prohibitive, and the weight...

Reality proved me wrong, wrong and wrong again. The first time I placed the Link Cam was on the third pitch of an unclimbed tower near Moab. That bulging, thin-hands crack (not too bad) ninety feet above turned out to be bulging baggy fingers (panic!).

I looked at my rack: no 1 1\2s, no greens, oh man! The #1 Link Cam, which for me ranges from thin hands to fingers, fit like a champ and lent me the courage to pull through.

Lately I've been ditching work to climb at The City of Rocks. While I've found these Link Cam units require a bit of extra care when placed in bottoming cracks at the tighter end of their range, the only time I don't bring one or two is on sport climbs, free solos and offwidths.

Although their weight is slightly heavier than traditional cams (due to clever machining and perhaps some space-age unattainium alloy), the expanded range more than makes up for the inconsequential difference.

So far the Link Cams have held up to a regular dusting in sandstone and granite cracks. Only time will tell just how long all the moving parts (twelve in all) will survive. But one thing is certain: when Omega Pacific manufactures a Link Cam that ranges from the size of my fist to, say, the size of my head, they can put me down for about six.

Pros: Fantastic range; disturbingly versatile

Cons: Slightly heavier and more expensive than traditional cams; some care required to place the cams in bottoming cracks at the tighter end of their range

[Photo] Courtesty of Steve "Roadie" Seats

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