CAMP USA Ball Nut for Sale, Reviews, Deals and Guides

CAMP ball nuts look a bit funky but boy do they feel solid when placed. Great for uneven or jagged rocks where cam lobes just won’t set right, and where the flare just won’t take a regular or off set nut. Surprisingly each piece accommodates more of a range than expected allowing for some good variation options. Most importantly, once set they feel super solid. If you climb thin, uneven cracks or pin scarred areas regularly, these are a versatile and essential piece of gear for your rack.

These things are easy to place and add confidence were a sketchy nut would leave you uncertain until your next placement. They're also really light weight and don't take up much space on your rack at all.

Ever since I added a set of these to my rack for long multi-pitch free climbs, they've been on my harness every time I get on the sharp end. With these slick puppies snapped on my gear loops, I'm oozing confidence: they give me 5 more potential "active" pieces for the weight of one medium cam; they slide into the thinnest pin-scars with ease; they bring some "R" rated climbs into the realm of "PG"; and they seem to fit when absolutely nothing else will. And I KNOW they work: when I went to climb Snake Dike, an "R" rated slippery route up the side of Half Dome, for which the recommended rack is a slim 4 cams and 6 draws, my partner and I each allowed ourselves to pick an extra "magic" piece - some piece of gear that would give us a confidence boost (and make our harnesses seem less lonely), even if we didn't end up placing it; I picked a set of ball nuts. As fate would have it, this time the "magic" piece proved to be more than just a mental boon when one of the medium ball nuts saved my butt from a slippery slide down Yosemite slab in the opening pitch; I fell, ball nut held!

I love these things. I would recommend any trad leader to have at least the 3 smallest sizes on there harness. When climbing it Big Cottonwood Canyon and the Uintas which is quartzite and forms many tight seems that you might be able to get a small nut or brassy, and not a good placement. I found at one of these seems and sure I could have placed a nut that I would not want to fall on but convince myself otherwise or BAM! the ball nut comes out and now you have a bomber peice of pro.

I really love these specialty pieces. They take a little bit to get used to and to figure out where they work best but once they start to work they are marvelous. There have been many times where I was climbing a crack that was too deep and thin for any of my nuts/cams, but perfect for these ball nuts. They also feel really solid when you get it in a good placement. Much more solid than I thought. I would recommend adding a few of these to any trad rack as they will always come in handy at some point. I have the two smallest sizes and I believe those are the most useful.

If not going for the full set, folks like the smallest 2 sizes. For the bigger sizes, a small cam is usually easier to place.

#1 : 3-6 mm #2 : 4.5-9 mm #3 : 6-12 mm #4 : 8-14 mm #5 : 10.5-18 mm

It is a good aid piece for narrow placements. A bit hard to retrieve especially after high stepping on it but that's an adequate price for the job.

Good gear for small cracks. I used the number 2 to protect the crux of a 24 (low 5.12 in US terms I think) we were working. I bought them specifically as no other piece would fit for the crux. The only other piece below that (which we could get into the crack) was a number 1 RP. We took about 5 falls on the ball nut and it held every time. However, we did notice that the ball nut shifted about a bit when we were dogging the move, even with a draw on, making the placement a bit sketchy and requiring a reset. It could be operater error, but other climbers I have talked to who also use ball nuts have noticed the same thing. So, I would be particularly careful with ball nuts to check they have not moved if you are resting on them repeatedly. I think there is room for improvement of the design of these units. For example, the plastic stem is thicker than the size of the head on the smaller nuts, which can make it difficult to set the piece deep in smaller cracks. Overall, the bottom line is ball nuts do a great job of protecting very small cracks and, for me anyway, did what no other piece could do. But, maybe more than other types of pro, care needs to be taken if they are subject to lots of movement.

Ever get to that spot where the 2x0 C3 really does not fit, and your sketched on leading on a piece rated at 6kn? Carry ball nuts. Period. You can place them passively, or actively. They suck into the crack, are bomber, lighter than anything (ever leave gear on the deck because 'it weighs too much'?) Get the ball nuts.

The best for parallel thin cracks period.

I have the 2 smallest sizes (1 & 2) of these guys and they are great pieces for your aid arsenal. I have found the 2 smallest sizes to be most useful, above that you can get Black Diamond C3 000's (or other micro cams). These really shine in parallel sided thin cracks where you can't get a decent micro nut placement.

Awesome product great for protecting small cracks quickly!! I've taken a few good falls on the smaller sizes and didn't budge a millimetre. The only issue is that it can take forever to get them out once fallen on....but hey I didn't hit the deck and that's what counts.

I fell on the #3. It was in a shallow flared seam. The ball rotated in the groove of the nut and held fast. The piece was hard to clean, but held the fall like a champ. The 2 and 3 stay on the racking biner with my small stoppers, rocks and microstoppers. Even the larger ones will go places that cams will not. I do not consider the smallest size worthy of lead falls of any size, however.

I've used these fro about 15 years. I've gotten out of a lot of uprotected positions with them. You will have to watch the placement and make sure they are set correctly, but they are usually very solid and I've never had one pull out when fallen on or weighted. These are a great addition to your box of tricks.

a huge fan was on Arrow Place at Red Rocks using my partners Ball Nut. Better really for aid and granite routes, but we find our purpose for these bad boys in the sandstone at times. A savior at the start of Arrow Place where cacti wait patiently below the crux decking move.

Definitely a great addition... I wouldn't use them as a nut replacement, as I don't feel they are as secure as a good ole chock, but they definitely protect when nothing else will, and with a strength rating for their size that puts other pro to shame. Their construction and design seems rock solid, just be extra cognizant of each placement as with any piece... Its usually not the gear that fails, but the rock around it.

I bought the 3 smallest sizes for aid climbing and I have not really used them that much. I would not really want to take wippers on the smallest size. They can be tricky to remove if heavily weighted because of the soft material on the "sliding ball". They are obviously great for small cracks and for podded out pin scars. They are definitely not my "go to" piece but a nice addition to a standard free or aid rack.

These are quite possibly one of the coolest things I've ever used. Super easy to place and clean.