Hands-on Gear Review

Moses Cam Hook Review

Moses Cam Hooks
Price:  $10 List
Pros:  durable, effective
Cons:  none
Editors' Rating:   
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Manufacturer:   Moses Enterprises

Our Verdict

Once you get over the initial terror of cam hooks, they can be your best friend. They help you move quickly and are sometimes the only hammerless placement for a pin scar. When Leeper stopped production of cam hooks a few years ago, the aid climbing community was terrified. What would replace the most useful clean aid tool since offset aliens? Luckily, Moses Enterprises stepped up to recreate cam hooks. The next question: could Moses recreate them identically? Luckily, the answer is a resounding YES! Read more below and the full story here

If you are climbing a clean big wall that is not on sandstone you should definitely buy one of the Narrow sizes. Better yet, get two. If you are a big wall addict, you may eventually want to branch into other sizes. But the Narrow one usually gets the job done.

NOTE: Cam hooks are not appropriate for sandstone as the camming action blows out the edges of the crack. Instead, on sandstone load up on offset nuts, offset brass nuts and slider nuts.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Review by:
Chris McNamara

Last Updated:
Sunday
January 17, 2010

Share:
Moses Cam Hooks
Moses Cam Hooks

I got my Moses Cam Hooks from Mountain Gear and went straight to my local crumbly beach cliff to try them out.

The come in three sizes:
Mini - $7.95
Narrow - $8.95
Wide - $9.95

Plus the Fragile Flake - 14.95

Shipping from mountain gear was $4.95 and they took two business day to arrive.

I bought the Narrow and Wide. The Mini Leeper Cam Hook never had been that useful; I remember using it on El Cap only a handful of times. I would say only get Mini Moses if you are doing some cutting edge clean aid and want every possible tool. Otherwise the Narrow size works 90 percent of the time. The other 10 percent of the time I use the Wide. So if you can only buy one, get the Narrow.

After my new Moses Cam Hooks arrived I pulled out my old Leeper Cam Hooks for a size-by-size comparison. But I couldn't find my Wide Leepers…Doh! If anyone is borrowing them from me, please return them.

So for this comparison we will only be looking at the Narrow size… which is cool because that is the most useful size anyway.

As you can see in the photos below they are pretty much identical. The bend is slightly different, the eye on the Moses is a little smaller and the Moses is a little shorter but they are essentially identical.

Comparing Moses Cam Hook narrow size (right) with old Leeper Cam Hook narrow size (left).
Comparing Moses Cam Hook narrow size (right) with old Leeper Cam Hook narrow size (left).

Comparing Leeper Cam Hook narrow size (left) with Moses Cam Hook narrow size (right).
Comparing Leeper Cam Hook narrow size (left) with Moses Cam Hook narrow size (right).

Comparing Leeper Cam Hook narrow size (left) with Moses Cam Hook narrow size (right).
Comparing Leeper Cam Hook narrow size (left) with Moses Cam Hook narrow size (right).


How Did They Compare?


In full disclosure, I tested in crappy coastal rock. A real test is necessary in granite where these will generally be used. I'll do that shortly on El Cap so for now this is a "first look" report.

In bigger cracks, the Moses cam hooks worked just as well as the Leepers. Sweet!

I then put them both in crappy shallow placements:

Leeper Cam Hook in crappy ocean rock.
Leeper Cam Hook in crappy ocean rock.

Moses Cam Hook in crappy ocean rock.
Moses Cam Hook in crappy ocean rock.

Here I discovered that the Leepers held a little better. I was surprised at first, even a little worried. Then I noticed a key difference:

Moses Cam Hook narrow size (left) compared to Leeper Cam Hook narrow size (right)
Moses Cam Hook narrow size (left) compared to Leeper Cam Hook narrow size (right)

As you can see in the photo, the edges of my Leeper Cam hook are worn down. (I am pretty sure they started out just as square as the Moses edges). That little difference made the Leeper more secure in a few super-tenuous spots.

So is it time to file down my Moses cam hook to make it more like the Leeper? Not yet. This was crappy ocean rock; not an ideal test environment. I'll go to Yosemite and report on how they turn out. Meanwhile, I'm still looking for my missing Wide Leeper!

FAST FORWARD to Yosemite


I made the trip to Yosemite while working on the first free ascent of Mescalito with Tommy Caldwell

While there I tested the Moses Cam hooks on El Cap and found they worked just like the old Leeper cams. The only difference is that my Leeper cams worked their way into slightly more tenuous placements because their corners are worn down (see explanation above).

Here are some photos:


Moses Cam Hook In Action
Moses Cam Hook In Action


Leeper Cam Hook
Leeper Cam Hook


You can read more about cam hooks in the How To Big Wall Gear Chapter
— Chris McNamara


OutdoorGearLab Member Reviews


Most recent review: September 21, 2011
Summary of All Ratings

OutdoorGearLab Editors' Rating:  
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 (5.0)
Average Customer Rating:  
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 (5.0)

80% of 5 reviewers recommend it
 
Rating Distribution
6 Total Ratings
5 star: 100%  (6)
4 star: 0%  (0)
3 star: 0%  (0)
2 star: 0%  (0)
1 star: 0%  (0)
I have aged well...

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
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   Sep 11, 2011 - 08:25pm
Ihateplastic · Climber · It ain't El Cap, Oregon
These hooks re-invented aid (once again). Put a size or two on each aider, suck it up and start walking up a crack. Just don't forget to stop and place a piece of pro once in a while.

Due to strange constraints in the SuperTopo gear recommending system I have been unable to get my store linked. However, when it comes to hooks, cam hooks, Tomahaws, etc. the place to go is

www.shop.vershke.com

A percentage of each purchase goes straight to the YCA, YOSAR, or ASCA. Plus FREE SHIPPING and NO sales tax!

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this product to a friend.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
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   Jan 11, 2010 - 01:53pm
Mike. · Climber
Used the regular size, which appears to be just as sticky and springy as the Leeper. Lots of attention put into replicating a timeless design. No criticism.

Good to see out-of-production specialty gear being covered by a dedicated manufacturer.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this product to a friend.

Sep 21, 2011 - 06:26pm
 
Piton Ron · Climber · Toquerville, Utah
Commerce aside, nobody mentioned how damaging cam hooks are to soft rock.

And look at the irony of naming them for a sandstone spire; really sends the wrong message.



edit;
Oy vey! Goatboy. I screwed up.

But don't you think a noob might do the same?
Climber

Sep 21, 2011 - 05:33pm
 
Knuckles · Climber · Everett, Wa
Cam hooks are rad and should be mandatory on every aid climbers rack. I've even taken them off the rack when I went down to clean when soloing. Make some traversing sections easier to clean. Maybe you hosed yourself with spacing on gear or had to backclean. Maybe the rope runs weird from a piece and you can weight the cam hook, clean the gear and then more easily unload and get the cam hook back out. Regardless these are bomber.

Oh and Ihateplastic- Mountain Gear may not pay for the ad but every time somebody follows that link and buys it Supertopo gets a cut. There's tremendous value for all parties involved in rewarding and regulating e-commerce so it's not "some weird constraint" in the Supertopo linking system. It's absolutely on purpose. I think the other guys took offense in the way you presented yourself in the "review" whether you use them or not. I tend to agree you came off like a douche and it sounds like you may have a history of doing so. Oh and Mike not exactly "new" here, nor is Minerals.

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   Sep 12, 2011 - 12:44am
Captain...or Skully · Climber · Where are you bound?
Hey, at least you keep givin' them 5 stars. They are great little trinkets.
Don't hit the BigWalls without 'em.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this product to a friend.
I have aged well...

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   Sep 12, 2011 - 12:38am
Ihateplastic · Climber · It ain't El Cap, Oregon
Minerals and Mike… I will keep this short and simple.

The post I did on the review page was a review first and a helpful community link second. If you look closely you will see there is a link on the page to MountainGear. this is NOT a paid link! I have spoken to Chris about linking the Vershke store to SuperTopo. However, the feed that he uses only works for big companies who operate at a profit. It is not designed for the smaller companies that operate altruistically.

That is all I have to say on the matter.
I have aged well...

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   Sep 11, 2011 - 11:25pm
Ihateplastic · Climber · It ain't El Cap, Oregon
Mike, Mike, Mike… My dear lad, what, pray tell, leads you to believe I have not and do not use them? Since you are new here I will give you a pas this time.

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   Sep 11, 2011 - 07:55pm
karodrinker · Climber · San Jose, CA
just keep one narrow on each aider and use the sh#t out of em. so fun.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this product to a friend.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
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   Sep 11, 2011 - 10:03pm
Mike. · Climber
A gear review from somebody selling and not using the gear is no review at all. vvv This spam should be removed.
Climber

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
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   Sep 11, 2011 - 06:34pm
ncskains · Climber · San Diego, CA
Mostly use the regular and micro size. Have not found many instances where i needed anything bigger then the regular. I recommend buying two regular and a micro for your rack.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this product to a friend.


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