Rock Protection & Accessories

Friends, also known as “cams” are spring-loaded camming devices (SLCD). Wild Country Friends are one of the most important inventions in climbing. They were invented by aerospace engineer and climber Ray Jardine and manufactured by Wild Country in 1977. These active protection devices use springs, cables and cam lobes to lodge in cracks in the rock. The name “Friends” is often used for other camming devices, but Wild Country made the original ones.

Friends make it possible to protect parallel and even slightly flared cracks. This makes routes safe that were virtually impossible to protect before their invention. Friends are quick and easy to place – great if you’re getting pumped and need to place gear quickly – especially in cracks where nuts won’t work. Having a set of them on your rack allows you to climb with more confidence and improve your skills.

Friends make use of friction and angles. They maintain friction in parallel cracks, the same principle as when you stem your legs in a wide chimney. The cam lobes are rollers with an asymmetrical shape. When you weight a cam, the lobes are forced apart, converting the downwards force into a huge amount of pressure on the sides of the crack. It is this sideways pressure that holds the cam in position.

First up, select the right size Friend for the crack.
Where possible, place the Friend so that the stem is aligned in the direction of any possible fall – Wild Country Friends come with flexible stems that bend when you weight them.
Release the trigger to allow the lobes to open out and make contact with the sides.
Friends are pretty easy to place and remove with just one hand.
Once you get the hang of it, a well-placed Friend in solid rock can be, generally speaking, just as strong as a bolt.

• Try not to place Friends in cracks that are too tight.
• To remove a cam, squeeze the trigger and slide it out. If it feels stuck, you may need to tease it out using a nut key.
• Ask for a tight rope and/or clip into another piece so that you can use both hands.

Friends come in a range of sizes. It’s worth checking their expansion range – some have a larger expansion range than others. We recommend that you double up on common sizes you use most. It’s good to have a few Friends in reserve. Friends don’t come cheap, but they are durable and long lasting, especially if you clean and look after them properly.

For more information on “How to look after your Friends”, see this article.