zeros

Post by **john e aragon** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 2:45 am

wild countrys new zeros advertise that have a direct loading axle. this is part of the reason why they can be smaller than other cams on the market (so says the manufacture). what the hell is a direct loading axle? i don't see much difference from any other brand. except that they are much smaller!

Post by **Eagleman** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 3:06 am

Its probably just a technical term to make them sound like they're different from other cams....im bet theres only a tiny difference.

I just looked at the site and it says its the "patented direct loading axle" which probably means they just made the axle attach to the stem in a different way that reduced the size of the axle. Just the way the company named their design.

Post by **Legion** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 3:18 am

I think the stem and axle are milled out of one piece of metal.
It certainly seems like a more elegant way of producing a cam.

Post by **Eagleman** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 4:57 am

If you go through and read about them on the site, you eventually come across a pic of the axle design, but it also talks about how to make it smaller, and lighter the cams lose strength...theres a page near the end that talks about how they are more intended for aid climbing and how they can get damaged in lead falls.

Post by **john e aragon** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 2:02 am

it seems to me that the smallest one of these has no place in lead climbing. the Kn rating is too low for this. however the Z2 may be able to hold most lead falls. anyone agree, disagree?

Post by **Eagleman** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 3:44 am

Yeah, i agree, but then again, the smallest piece of gear from alot of companys has no place in leading. Most of the smallest cams and stoppers are made with low kn ratings.

Post by **RQClimber** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 3:48 am

Anyone like to get their hands one some of the zeros to check out, we have them at RockQuest.

Post by **john e aragon** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 1:29 am

i would love to field test them and then return them if they break.

Post by **Danny** » Fri May 21, 2004 3:50 am

I just got the 3 smallest ones and, man, they are freakin teeny tiny. When retracted the smallest one will fit into a slot just over 3/16 inch. It seems like a little baby toy or something. The slings are cool. It is just wrapped around the handle twice so that it can be extended to double length easily.

Post by **kneebar** » Fri May 21, 2004 8:37 pm

I guess Dean Potter took some big falls on them, I'll stick to the slider nuts. They have more contact area with the rock. I might check out the larger zero's. They can't have much expansion range for there size.
They are a sweet looking unit though!