Metolius Offset Master Cams Review

One of the more pleasant surprises at last summer’s Outdoor Retailer trade show was the announcement by Metolius that not only were offset Master Cams on the agenda, but they would be shipping out in the fall. Usually you see a new product at the show and it wont be out for six months, at the minimum. Not so in this case, and we’ve been abusing testing some units at a variety of crags over the last couple of months.

At first glance, these are beautifully made cams. They exhibit the same high quality that seems prevalent in everything Metolius manufactures. Plus they’re made in the USA, which is always a bonus! When the Master Cams first came out, it was obvious the next step would be an offset version, and these have proven to be a very useful extension of that line.

When I show the cams to folks,  many wonder how practical an offset cam really is, but I think that’s simply because we’ve all been trained to look for parallel sided cam placements. In most rock, cracks are not perfectly parallel, instead featuring a variety of undulations that are well suited for these cams. Also, there are times when only an offset will work, like flaring pin scars and water grooves that are common at many granite climbing areas.

That being said, we’ve found them to be most useful in granite, as the varied nature of most cracks in this type of rock creates many possibilities for good placements. Old pin scars can now be protected, and the dreaded Lumpy Ridge water grooves also are no longer to be feared (quite as much anyway) with a set of these on your rack. The other place we found them to be indepensible is on the heavily flared pin scars of Zion. On a recent trip, they provided secure protection where nothing else would work. Well, maybe a tricam, but who really climbs with those anyway?

The only negative thing I’ve encountered is it’s next to impossible to place these things blindly. You really need to be able to see the cams to make sure that all of them are in contact with the rock properly, so shoving them in around a corner is best saved for the regular units. That’s about our only concern so far, and since we’ve been using them to supplement our standard rack, it’s not even much of an issue, just something to keep in mind.

Overall, these cams are highly recommended. Now I know there are the die hard Alien supporters out there, and to them these are probably the Anti-Alien, but if you want an offset cam that’s well made and gives you options for pro when nothing else will work, these are worth a look.