None

Just as good as the rest of their products, Friends are always good. These are a good cam, except for when the trigger stop spins are pinches your finger against the trigger bar...ouch! I have a few in the smaller sizes, when I bigger I go Camalots

Customer Service

never had to use it

Similar Products Used:

Camalots and HB flexi fix slcds are prolly the closest in match.

OK, these are THE technical friends on the market. Each year they get just a little better, and now Wild Country have fixed the problem mentioned by another reviewer - ie the wires on the cams bend and retract unevenly.

You can look at the their huge range in one of two ways: Wild Country are trying to resell to the same market, or else Wild Country are actively trying to provide gear for climbs that were classically difficult to protect. I think it is a bit of both.

I prefer these units to anything else on the market in sizes up to a 2, but I prefer the HB Quadcam in larger sizes, and a couple of Aliens for tricky pockets.

Customer Service

I recently had the whole range of my cams serviced. The job was done quickly and Wild Country replaced each sling for a few pounds and only replaced a trigger unit on one because of damage. Good service all round.

Similar Products Used:

HB Quadcams, Aliens, Rigid Friends, 4CU.

OK, these are THE technical friends on the market. Each year they get just a little better, and now Wild Country have fixed the problem mentioned by another reviewer - ie the wires on the cams bend and retract unevenly.

You can look at the their huge range in one of two ways: Wild Country are trying to resell to the same market, or else Wild Country are actively trying to provide gear for climbs that were classically difficult to protect. I think it is a bit of both.

I prefer these units to anything else on the market in sizes up to a 2, but I prefer the HB Quadcam in larger sizes, and a couple of Aliens for tricky pockets.

Customer Service

I recently had the whole range of my cams serviced. The job was done quickly and Wild Country replaced each sling for a few pounds and only replaced a trigger unit on one because of damage. Good service all round.

Similar Products Used:

HB Quadcams, Aliens, Rigid Friends, 4CU.

OK, these are THE technical friends on the market. Each year they get just a little better, and now Wild Country have fixed the problem mentioned by another reviewer - ie the wires on the cams bend and retract unevenly.

You can look at the their huge range in one of two ways: Wild Country are trying to resell to the same market, or else Wild Country are actively trying to provide gear for climbs that were classically difficult to protect. I think it is a bit of both.

I prefer these units to anything else on the market in sizes up to a 2, but I prefer the HB Quadcam in larger sizes, and a couple of Aliens for tricky pockets.

Customer Service

I recently had the whole range of my cams serviced. The job was done quickly and Wild Country replaced each sling for a few pounds and only replaced a trigger unit on one because of damage. Good service all round.

Similar Products Used:

HB Quadcams, Aliens, Rigid Friends, 4CU.

Friends are great, until a trigger wire breaks and you have to send the cam to wild country. Although this is not the case with 2001 models it's pretty lame you can't fix them yourself in the field!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Camalots, Metolius, Aliens

Very nice units but I dont like the wire slippage. Despite good maintenance they constantly need adjusting so that they retract evenly. The trigger needs a tighter locking mechanism to keep the cables from becoming lopsided. Good holding power once they're placed!

Similar Products Used:

BD camalots, Metolius tcu fcu

For my first lead climb I took two of these great cams up the third flat iron in boulder col. they were easy to set, held solid, and cleaned verry nicley. Fortunaitly I never tested their strenght but they felt verry solid.

My partners have Metolious and generous amounts of camalots. I still like my Friends best. Took a twenty footer on a 1.5 this week and it was still no problem to clean. Where Camalots are heavy and the wires break, friends are light and no wire trouble so far. They are the Most Durable SLCD around. They also don't walk like the larger Metolious. Where Camalots are a nightmare to clean if placed deep, the Friends are not a problem. Just wish they made smaller sizes.

Similar Products Used:

BD Camalots, Metolious FCU.

My Tech Friends are wonderful. Having the color-coded slings is a huge help when reaching for the proper cam.

I would highly recommend using the smaller size friends (#.5 through #2.5 or #3) in conjunction with a set of Camalot's for larger cracks and some TCU's for piton scars and really small cracks.

I do own a #4 friend which honestly is a little scary to place. The larger Camalots just seem to lock in a little bit better than the larger Friends do. (of course my #4 Friend saved my butt once, so I'm not knocking it, just saying that the Camalots were easier to place...)

I hope that this helps. :-)

I haven't done too much lead climbing, but the tech friends are my favorite flexi-cams. They are just great and are very user friendly.