Review: Black Diamond Camalot C4 No. 7 and No. 8
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While it turns out that the chimney-protecting No. 21 Camalot was an April Fool’s gag, on that same day Black Diamond quietly added two big, new offwidth cams to their C4 line: the No. 7 (rated to 8kN; protects from 5.9–9.97 inches) and the No. 8 (rated to 5kN; protects from 7.6–12.65 inches). Like all Camalots from No. 4 on up, the Nos. 7 and 8 have the ingenious trigger keeper, which keeps the lobes retracted while the cam is racked, slimming the No. 7 down to seven inches wide and the No. 8 down to eight; for big-boi offwidth pro, they are remarkably manageable racked on a gear loop. Meanwhile, with cutout lobes, the No. 7 weighs only 1 lb, 9 oz, and the No. 8 weighs 2 lbs, 2 oz. Placing cams this size can be unwieldy, but thanks to reinforced tubing on the stem, they went in smooth; the cam stops are a nice, performance-focused touch, too. When placed well—symmetrically—in a parallel-sided offwidth, the Nos. 7 and 8 provide bomber wide-crack protection. If you dig the big stuff, then you’re going to want these: They’re the perfect marriage of space-age technology and blue-collar burl.
MSRP: $ 200 (No. 7) or $240 (No. 8), blackdiamondequipment.com