I built my rack up over time and also had to replace a few pieces over the years due to loss or damage and without dates on the newer pieces I wouldn’t trust my memory on their respective ages. Def good to know so you can have an idea of when you should resling (according to your comfort). I know people debate the importance and I admit I waited almost 20years to resling most of my own, but I consider this to be foolish now and will be doing it every 5 or 6 years from now on. My life is def worth the approx $80 including shipping on a full double set of cams and tcu’s.

Thank you for your review Bryce. We would like to point out that from Totem we consider that offset cams could in general offer a greater protection in outward flared cracks, maybe excepting the shallow ones, so if offset cams are or not replaceable by Totem Cams for any use case, should be judged with precaution.

Picked up a full set of totems, all 7 of them. Best call ever!! I have used Black diamond, Wild Country, and DMM and none are as good as totems. I have complete faith in them and trust them with my life regularly. I never worry about rock type and rarely ever find that they have walked. I almost have my friend convinced to buy a full set as well. Sad that they do not come in any bigger sizes. I’d recommend these to anyone who climbs.

Amazing cams! When dealing with pods, pinscars, or other funky placements where other traditional camming devices can’t quite handle, Totems always perform — with amazing bite, good range, and easy trigger! Climbing in Patagonia often means lots of funky “not-quite-so-crack” systems and unintentionally long (read: scary) run-outs but the Totems always save the day and adapt to a range of conditions and rock types!

Nicest cams to use out there and feel very solid even in wierd uneven placements. Unfortunately the durability of smaller pieces (black and blue) seems rather poor. I own doubles of blacks and blues and within a year of use all 4 cams have started to have frayed load bearing wires. I’ve used the cams often and they’ve all seen a handfull of falls. Still for 84€ piece I’d like to get more than a year of use. Haven’t had any problems with the larger sizes.

Excellent Cams! Nice to have a set of these in addition to other more traditional cams. The holding power and placement flexibility of Totems make them an easy first choice for any climb. The amount of times I’ve found a place for the black totem when no other cam would place confidently, is amazing. These are a little heavier than comparably sized cams from other manufacturers, but the fact that these can replace normal and offset cams makes up for their weight. Great work from Totem!

I love those Things. I bought a full set about a year ago and I dont climb without them anymore. The only issue I have ist the maximum Size. I would love one even bigger cam to fill up some larger cracks. Is a bigger Range planned ?

Smith, George David. From Monopoly to Competition: The Transformations of Alcoa, 1888-1986. Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Instructions For Use (603Kb) EU Declaration Of Conformity (287Kb) Loading just two lobes (136Kb) Cam mechanical principles (390Kb) Totem Cam Repair Form (45Kb)

The Totem Cam offers an extraordinary holding power and unique capabilities with the patented Direct Loading system. Exclusive design which features everything you require of a cam for all-around use with extended capabilities. Technology that is pushing the clean climbing limits. Characteristics:

Curious about one thing though…why no date of manufacture on either the cam body or sling. When I first started climbing circa 1999 some brands were already stamping a date on their triggers or body and within a few more years most also added a date tag on the slings. I’d consider that to be pretty much standard now to have a date, but can’t find any on totem cams. Why not?

Hello, The marking of manufacturing year is mandatory to get the CE certification. In the Totem Cam, the manufacturing date is marked on the part we named as “guide”. That is the part where all cables pass through. See the Instructions For Use for complete information about this.

The next model was a steel can with an aluminum top. This hybrid can had several distinct advantages. The aluminum end altered the galvanic reaction between the beer and the steel, resulting in beer with twice the shelf life of that stored in all-steel cans. Perhaps the more significant advantage of the aluminum top was that the soft metal could be opened with a simple pull tab. The old style cans required the use of a special opener popularly called a "church key," and when Schlitz Brewing Company introduced its beer in an aluminum "pop top" can in 1963, other major beer makers quickly jumped on the band wagon. By the end of that year, 40% of all U.S. beer cans had aluminum tops, and by 1968, that figure had doubled to 80%.

Favorite cam, by far. Could agree on the double loops being unnecessary. I get that aid climbers want the high loop. The long one could go – I pretty much always extend these anyway and they hang quite low from the harness. Just a minor thing though, Totem cams are the best!

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Some aluminum is lost at several points in the manufacturing process—when the blanks are cut and the ears are trimmed—but this scrap can be reused. Cans which have been used and discarded by consumers can also be reused, and as mentioned above, recycled material makes up a significant percentage of the aluminum used for beverage cans. The savings from recycling are quite significant to the industry. The major expense of the beverage can is in the energy needed to produce the aluminum, but recycling can save up to 95% of the energy cost. Can producers also try to control waste by developing stronger can sheet so that less aluminum goes into each can, and by carefully controlling the manufacturing process to cut down on loss through earing. The lid of the typical can is smaller in diameter than the walls in order to conserve the amount of aluminum that goes into it, and as world-wide demand for beverage cans continues to grow, the trend is to make the lid even smaller. A new can introduced in 1993 with a lid a quarter-inch smaller in diameter than most cans can save manufacturers $3 per thousand. This figure seems small until it is multiplied by the hundreds of millions of cans produced each day in the U.S. It becomes clear that any small savings in raw materials or energy can be a major step in conserving both money and resources.

Hosford, William F. and John L. Duncan. "The Aluminum Beverage Can." Scientific American, September 1994, pp. 48-53.

Worldwide production of aluminum beverage cans is steadily increasing, growing by several billion cans a year. In the face of this rising demand, the future of the beverage can seems to lie in designs that save money and materials. The trend towards smaller lids is already apparent, as well as smaller neck diameters, but other changes may not be so obvious to the consumer. Manufacturers employ rigorous diagnostic techniques to study can sheet, for example, examining the crystalline structure of the metal with X-ray diffraction, hoping to discover better ways of casting the ingots or rolling the sheets. Changes in the composition of the aluminum alloy, or in the way the alloy is cooled after casting, or the thickness to which the can sheet is rolled may not result in cans that strike the consumer as innovative. Nevertheless, it is probably advances in these areas that will lead to more economical can manufacture in the future.

Aluminum was not used for beverage cans until after World War II. During the war, the U.S. government shipped large quantities of beer in steel cans to its servicemen overseas. After the war most beer was again sold in bottles, but the returning soldiers retained a nostalgic liking for cans. Manufacturers continued to sell some beer in steel cans, even though bottles were cheaper to produce. The Adolph Coors Company manufactured the first aluminum beer can in 1958. Its two-piece can could only hold 7 ounces (198 g), instead of the usual 12 (340 g), and there were problems with the production process. Nevertheless, the aluminum can proved popular enough to incite Coors, along with other metal and aluminum companies, to develop better cans.

The raw material of the aluminum beverage can is, of course, aluminum. Aluminum is derived from an ore called bauxite. U.S. aluminum producers import bauxite, primarily from Jamaica and Guinea. The bauxite is refined and then smelted, and the resulting molten aluminum is cast into ingots The aluminum base, for beverage cans consists mostly of aluminum, but it contains small amounts of other metals as well. These are typically 1% magnesium, 1% manganese, 0.4% iron, 0.2% silicon, and 0.15% copper. A large portion of the aluminum used in the beverage can industry is derived from recycled material. Twenty-five percent of the total American aluminum supply comes from recycled scrap, and the beverage can industry is the primary user of recycled material. The energy savings are significant when used cans are remelted, and the aluminum can industry now reclaims more than 63% of used cans.

Amazing cams. Don’t walk much, great cam angle and range, good bite, narrow heads, independent lobe pairs make them infinitely adjustable offset cams, and two / three lobe placements totally doable for aid. Biggest improvement in cams since Friends were invented IMO. One thing I don’t like is the sling. I would suggest losing the far bottom loop altogether, and raise the first loop an inch or so. As they are, the far end loop doesn’t extend far enough beyond the inner loop to make a significant difference. Just one, higher loop would make them rack much better, be better for aid, and you would use a QuickDraw as normal.

Great cams. Aways feel strangely bomber even in funky placements where other cams might feel a little dicey. Never really understood the floppiness criticism of the larger cams, they’ve always been fine for me I rack all seven regularly. I also like that they’re made by a worker co-op, it is nice to have an opportunity to support an alternative to the capitalist mode of production while also getting the best protection the market has to offer.

Ninety-five percent of all beer and soft drink cans in the United States are made of aluminum. American can makers produce about 100 billion aluminum beverage cans a year, equivalent to one can per American per day. While almost all food cans are made of steel, aluminum's unique properties make it ideal for holding carbonated beverages. The typical aluminum can weighs less than half an ounce, yet its thin walls withstand more than 90 pounds of pressure per square inch exerted by the carbon dioxide in beer and soft drinks. Aluminum's shiny finish also makes it an attractive background for decorative printing, important for a product that must grab the attention of consumers in a competitive market.

Love these things. They are great in slightly funky, uneven cracks that aren’t perfectly splitter. If I come up on a good vertical placement wild countries or BD cams are just fine. Any time the placement is a bit awkward, uneven, horizontal, or slightly flared, I reach for the totems. Even if it is a good splitter and I am making a tough move, I always use to totem. They feel so solid to fall on and always make me nice and fuzzy.

I love these cams! Several people have said it and I’ll say it again, these are the first cams I reach for when placing pro on a route. I love the ease of the trigger and the narrow heads make it so quick and easy to get bomber placements, especially when you need it fast! I use these for free climbing and sections that used to be impossible to protect are now protected by bomber Totem placements! After using my new Totems on long multi-pitch routes for several days in a row, placing them in the rain, hail, and sun, and building anchors in a torrential downpour, I now consider Totems a necessity to any rack. Totems are the core of any cam rack for sure!

To ensure that the cans are made properly, they are automatically checked for cracks and pinholes. One in 50,000 cans is usually found to be defective.

I would put 5 for holding power, structure, and coated protection. I can’t understand why I can’t find to dyn exp date. I looked all around the cables an do not see it . Does this mean a company sold me a full priced totem that didn’t past the required test??

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Singh, S. Paul. "Internal Gas Pressure on the Compression Strength of Beverage Cans and Plastic Bottles." Journal of Testing and Evaluation, March 1993, pp. 129-31.

While aluminum top cans were sweeping the market, several manufacturers were aiming for the more ambitious all-aluminum beverage can. The technology Coors had used to make its 7-ounce aluminum can relied on the "impact-extrusion" process, The modern method for making aluminum beverage cans is called two-piece drawing and wall ironing, first introduced by Reynolds Metals company in 1963. where a punch driven into a circular slug formed the bottom and sides of the can in one piece. The Reynolds Metals company introduced an all-aluminum can made by a different process called "drawing and ironing" in 1963, and this technology became the standard for the industry. Coors and Hamms Brewery were among the first companies to adopt this new can, and PepsiCo and Coca-Cola began using all-aluminum cans in 1967. The number of aluminum cans shipped in the U.S. rose from half a billion in 1965 to 8.5 billion in 1972, and the number continued to increase as aluminum became the nearly universal choice for carbonated beverages. The modern aluminum beverage can is not only lighter than the old steel or steel-and-aluminum can, it also does not rust, it chills quickly, its glossy surface is easily imprintable and eye-catching, it prolongs shelf life, and it is easy to recycle.

‘Tier S’ cams !! All I want to use! I would love if there was at least one cam that was smaller than than the 0.50 (maybe a 0.40 or 0.35) and two cams that were larger that 1.80 cam ( maybe a 2.10 and 2.50). Also, since totem makes amazing cams, I bet they can make amazing carabiners that would color match the cams! Just an idea. Thank you totem for the awesome cams!

Thanks for your comment. Regarding to your question, if by “dyn exp date” you mean serial number marking, it is located under the “guide” of the Totem cam, that is the part where the cables pass through.The marking of manufacturing year is mandatory to get the CE certification.Please take a look at the Instructions for Use for complete information about this. For further questions please do not hesitate in contacting us.

Superb holding power with the exclusive Direct Loading system. The narrowest head width on small sizes. Loadable on just two lobes. Read the Instructions For Use! Less walking due to strong springs and good flexibility. Smoother to remove. Easy handling even with hand gloves. Good expansion range (1.64:1). Light and durable. No passive strength.

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I own and use cams from many different brands and I climb on many different rock types. It does not matter if I am climbing on limestone, sandstone, granite or basalt; the first cams I reach for are the Totem cams. Totem cams are the best.

The best “small” cams out there, use them for both free and aid climbing. There’s something about their range and unique lobe design that makes the placements feel solid, even in strange cracks and pods. I usually have other brand’s small cams on my rack as well and so many times I’ve failed to find a good placement with same size other brand cam and then have a really nice fit with a totem in exactly the same spot. Absolutely worth the premium price compared to competition!

Aluminum was first identified as an element in 1782, and the metal enjoyed great prestige in France, where in the 1850s it was more fashionable than even gold and silver for jewelry and eating utensils. Napoleon III was fascinated with the possible military uses of the lightweight metal, and he financed early experiments in the extraction of aluminum. Although the metal is found abundantly in nature, an efficient extraction process remained elusive for many years. Aluminum remained exceedingly high-priced and therefore of little commercial use throughout the 19th century. Technological breakthroughs at the end of the 19th century finally allowed aluminum to be smelted cheaply, and the price of the metal fell drastically. This paved the way for the development of industrial uses of the metal.

I actually love the sling design because it works so well when French freeing. You can pull directly on the inner catch with your hand without interference from the carabiner of the outer catch when you’ve clipped that for protection. These are the best cams I’ve used to date and would not recommend any changes other than stiffening up the largest orange size or eliminating that flaccid thing.

…well I would ask for two things: Use the same color coding as (most) other brands for sizes and the second thing is to color code the black loops to have the same colors as the triggers, would be easier to see the correct color.

Started to climb 3 years ago and a friend told me to get a rack of totems and luckily I did. Absolutely love these cams, placements are amazing. I liked them enough to get a double rack of them and hardly ever bring out my BD pieces.

My only criticism is due to their design they won’t hold a fall in passive mode. This is fine most of the time, but there are times where due to the nature of a particular crack a cam has an opportunity to “umbrella”. Having seen first-hand a nasty, (potentially deadly) blown femur in Indian Creek due to an Alien falling into this orientation, I tend to supplement my rack of Totems with a rack of double-axle cams.