The meat of my rack is Wild Country Friends, but when I''''m gripped and sketching, I grab Aliens.?xD;?xA;They nearly always fit great or better than a similar cam, and the stems are much more flexible.?xD;?xA;To those that say the stem bends when you collapse the cams, I say don''''t squeeze so hard. Just like a nut, you have to play with the placement. ?xD;?xA;And, for belay anchors, nothing equalizes better in odd rocks since the stems are so forgiving and easy to equalize several placements without worries of directional forces.?xD;?xA;Everyone should have at least the first three sizes on their rack

Customer Service

no problems so far

Similar Products Used:

Camalots, Power Cams, TCUs, Tech Friends?xD;?xA;and the old Forged Friends.

The CCH Alien revolutionized aid climbing. The ultra flexible cable stem, compact cam design and large clip in loop at the bottom as well as a sewn sling all add up to one bitchin' piece of gear. Even placed with only two cams in contact with the rock, these units are bomber (for bodyweight placements). They also have a place on your free rack too. Seems I tend to grab for my Aliens first, and then my TCUs. They have a reputation for getting gummed up if you climb in desert sandstone areas, but I've not encountered that. The cams also are a bit prone to deformation, but overall they're one of the best cams available.

When I was looking to buy my own cams I tries these out. I ended up buying metolius and Black Diamond cams. I found these cams to be not very durable. In a short time the cables become so soft that when you squeeze the trigger they bend like a noodle. This makes them difficult to place. They may be better for aid climbing than free climbing. I know people who swear by them because of their narrow width for a 4-cam unit but 3-cams hold perfectly well, walk less (I think) and Metolius TCU's are narrower than Aliens.

Similar Products Used:

WC friends, Metolius TCU's, BD Camalots

For odd cracks and small pockets the Aliens are unbeatable. The super-flexible stem means that they don't tend to walk when the rope worries them and the narrow profile means that the tend to swivel to follow loading rather than walk or flick out.
I have placed them in many kinds of rock but I have found them especially good for UK's Peak District which has a lot of slab climbing. The friction on these climbs is great but everything is rounded and the protection is often a narrow, shallow, round pocket. Alien's are the only thing that sits in them.
One thing to watch is that they don't have the holding power of other friends.

Customer Service

No problems with them yet.

Similar Products Used:

Quadcams, Technical Friends, 4CU, etc.

Ignore the reviews that claim Aliens have less camming range than Camalots ... the ranges on the 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4 match the Micro Camalots .2, .3, and .4 almost identically. The Aliens 1 and 1.5 match the BD Camalot Jr.'s .5 and .75 nearly identically. It's not till you get to size 2 and 2.5 of the Aliens that you get differences in camming ranges. In fact, Aliens size .3 beats the camming range of BD Camalot Micro .1

That said ... I have a set of both on my rack ... and I love them both equally well. If I'm gripped, an Alien almost always places and holds faster ... and they seem more forgiving on uneven rock (because of their small width I think.) Also, if you've got a need for a directional or a horizontal placement that will strain the trigger of a BD against the rock, an Alien usually works a little better. BUT, if you've got a straight-forward placement, you can't beat the BD. And I think long-term, the BD's probably "trigger" better ... but heck, long-term, the Metolious cams probably trigger better than BD.

Bottom line ... ignore the crap ... save your allowance .... and buy a set of both. If starting out, get Aliens 3/8, 1/2, and 3,4 (green, blue, and yellow) ... you pick between Aliens 1 and 1.5 or BD Camalot Jr's .5 and .75 ... and get Camalots #'s 1, 2, and 3.

I will say this ... I do not like Aliens size 2 and 2.5 ... there's a fairly different feel in the two largest Aliens. AND ... size .1 (BD) or .3 (Aliens) should (in my opinion) only be used for Aid climbing ... I think you could get hurt bad in a real whipper.

Similar Products Used:

Camalots
Metolious
WildCountry

I don't know how I got along before I bought some of the smaller Aliens. For the last year they have been the cams that are first to go on the rack, regardless of the climb. The peace of mind these cams bring are more than worth the price. Obviously, being this small they cannot take the same amount of long term abuse, but there are many times when nothing else will work.

Similar Products Used:

None

Great design and well made. Smallest 4-cam on the market. The yellow size is one of those pieces that seem to fit everwhere (like the #1 Camelot). Nice suuplement to your rack if you need small pieces. Stems are extremely flexible for those "off" (not perfectly vertical) placements.

Similar Products Used:

Black Diamond, Metolious, Wild Country