Buying my first set of cams (after finally securing a job). Looking at going from .2 up to .5 Camalot X4's and .75 - 3 Camalot C4's. Is the .2 too small for a first cam rack? Should I spend the money doubling on a #2 instead?

I have found the 0.4 - 3.0 Camalot C4s to be the most useful sizes. Smaller than 0.4 I only take on aid routes. I have not used the X4s, but have heard very mixed ratings about them. May want to stick with all C4s from .4 and up.

Really depends on where you are climbing and the size of the cracks. Personally in that size I use C3's (think the 0.2 X4 is equivelent to the red (1) C3. in New England I had found that size to be VERY useful. If you are just buying your rack, I take it you haven't led that much (may be a bad assumption), but you have to remember, in the smaller sizes, the effective range of the cam, while on a percentage wise may be the same as the larger size, on an actual basis, is a very small range, and you really have to be careful.

Whe you buy gear, look at the routes that you are on, and what gear you will be placing most often. Also along with cams, remember to become good on passive (ie: stoppers) gear. It will serve you well as uyou advance in difficulty.

As you get to more advanced levels, you may find yourself on routes where that is the biggest piece of gear you get in (a friend recently put up a hard, spicey route (.12d R) where the biggest cam was a C3 000 if I remember right.

I think .4-3 C4s is fine for a beginner rack and I think you'd be more limited by not having doubles of the middle sizes (.75-2) than by not having smaller cams (assuming you already have a set of chocks).

I would strongly recommend you look into master cams as compliments to the C4s as they fit in between C4 sizes really well. I can't count the number of times I've been able to get a bomber red master cam in when a .5 or .75 C4 just won't work. Moreover, the ~$10/cam savings over X4s means you can get five master cams for just a little more than four X4s. With that said, I think the #6 master cam (green) is far too floppy so that size is best filled with doubles of #1 C4.

My standard rack is C4s .5-3 with doubles of 1,2 and (if needed) 3 and then master cams 2-5 which are basically the .3-.75 equivalent in X4s or C4s. I have TCUs down to 00 if I need smaller cams but I almost never carry them since I prefer passive pro for small cracks.

Speaking of which, the DMM offset chocks are a fantastic addition once you acquire your base rack - they often work where nothing else will, at least here in the flared cracks of CO granite.

Much obliged guys, I ended up canceling the .1 and .2 X4's judging that they are of limited usage on some easier leads around my area, and saved $100 in the process. I've got a nice range of BD stoppers to fill in the gap.

And Claude, you are totally right in saying I have limited leading experience. Unfortunately I've only been a second in trad climbing for five years now, so I've seen enough placements to have a good idea of how to get place pro. Just need to get a better handle on the clipping technique.

And I'll look into those Master Cams Dave, thanks for the advice

Dave B wrote:I think .4-3 C4s is fine for a beginner rack and I think you'd be more limited by not having doubles of the middle sizes (.75-2) than by not having smaller cams (assuming you already have a set of chocks).

I've never carried double cams except on aid routes, instead I bring the four largest sizes of hexes, which cover .75 - 3, and are of course much cheaper.

Depends a lot on which rock you climb. I mainly climb on microcams and micronuts. Barely ever use the bigger ones