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 Trigger wires for rock climbing cams

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Trigger Wires Repaired!


Trigger Wire Repair Instructions
Read Instructions completely before beginning repairs

Hard Wire Replacement:

1. Usually the manufactures original ‘wire from the cam blades’ are long enough that for the first time the trigger wire is repaired, the original wire can be re-used.

    

  • Check to see that a new swage held above the old swage will not interfere with the camming action.

  • If no interference, cut the hard wire as close to the original swage as possible and go to Cable Replacement.

  • If a new swage placed on the cut off hard wire will catch on the edge of the cam blades, measure proper gauge of hard wire and cut to length needed. Make sure all wires are the same length.

 

HWR Step 1
Cut the Hardwire as close to
Swage as possible.
2. Insert one end of the hardwire 2mm thru the hole in the cam blade and bend to a 90 degree angle. HWR Bending Step 4
Allow for an extra 1mm of space to ensure smooth action
3. Remove the wire and slide the other end thru so that the ‘stopper’ end is on the proper side. Note: the stopper hook can be trimmed to 2mm.

HWR Roughing Step 5

Gently rough up the end of the Hard Wire

4. The next step is to bend the wire towards the trigger. IMPORTANT: to ensure a smooth action, before you bend the wire towards the trigger push an extra 1mm of wire thru the blade, bending so that the stopper hook is 1mm from the cam. This allows for extra play as the cam is triggered and eliminates the possibility of binding.

CR Step 4
Align Swage so Hard Wire and Cable ends are just visible
5. Carefully rough up the surface of the hardwire end that will be swaged with the cutters on the pliers. BE CAREFUL not to cut too much as to weaken the wire.

CR Step 5

Crimp Swage Lengthwise with inside “U” shape Crimp
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for each wire.

CR Step 6

Use the outer Crimp to fold the Sides of the “U” shaped swage

 

Cable Replacement:
1. STRONGLY ADVISED: When repairing a cam it is strongly recommended that both trigger wires be replaced at the same time because:
  • Usually when one side breaks the other side is also weak and will soon follow.
  • To get the trigger handle to sit straight and for the blades of the cam to position properly it is vital that each trigger wire be exactly the same length. Hence cutting both sides and replacing at the same time ensures proper positioning.
2. Measure the cable length with a piece of thread and cut the cable pieces accordingly. NOTE: if you are not replacing the hard wire you have to allow for more cabling as the hard wire will be shorter than the original.
3. Thread the cable thru the trigger handle being careful not to fray the ends.
4. Place a swage so that the cable and hard wire overlap with the ends of each just barely visible.
5. Use the inside “Sharp” crimp on the tool and crimp the swage hard lengthwise down the middle creating a “U” shape in the swage.
6. Now use the outer crimp on the tool and crimp sideways as to fold the “U’s” outer edges inwards.
7. Repeat steps for each cable end and your set to go. Note if all the components are the same length, the trigger wire should be straight even.

Aliens:
• There are Pins included for the micro cams. Be careful to leave space as is step HWR 4. Also, once the pin is inserted thru the cam blade, bend a hook on the far side BEFORE cutting off the excess – this prevents the pins from slipping out.
• The small diameter hardwire and small swages are for the small Alien cams. Use any regular small plier to crimp as the swages are softer. But remember to put a hook in the hardwire on the side farthest from the blade to ensure it doesn’t slip.

About Us      Owner Brad Hansen

During the summer of 1995 a friend introduced me to climbing by taking me on an easy multi pitch climb of the Apron on the Squamish Chief in British Columbia, Canada.  Hanging off a gear anchor looking out over the ocean, I was sold on the freedom of climbing and have been out there ever since.
Although limited in talent, the draw the head out into the great wilds took hold in 1999 and my partner and I headed out on what became a two-year climbing trip.  We hit most of the big spots in North America West including;

  • Bugaboos

  • Wyoming: Tetons and Wind River Range and Devil Tower

  • Colorado

  • Utah [the scary sandstone of Indian Creek]

  • Red Rocks

  • The Sierra

  • And of course – Yosemite!

As you can imagine, the wear on our gear was heavy but we could replace most anything except…Trigger Wires!  We came across one “fix it” guy who did a reasonable job and kept us in gear but he was along way from home and generally unreliable [wouldn’t want to ship cams to him].

Often we tried to make due with ad-hoc supplies from a hardware store or a bike store but something was always poor: bike cable is of poor quality, aluminum swages were too bulky, and pliers did a lousy job of crimping.  After about a year of looking I had found suppliers for all the materials of factory quality…but I was still missing the crimping tool.

The problem was a good tool that would cut and crimp was far too expensive for a kit until I found the current tool.

The tool cuts the wire and has a crimping component to squish the swage in place.  However, it is not a factory press; that is it will do an adequate job which will hold stronger than the wire itself…it’s cheap, it works with a little finesse, and it gets you back out climbing…please review the pictures.

Once I had found the right materials and the adequate tool at and affordable price, I began to slowly put the kits together and distribute to fellow climbers.  Receiving a vast majority of positive feedback and thanks for getting their gear back out on the rocks, I opened this website so that all may get back out there!

The kits have a small margin and this is more like my way of giving back to all who put effort into setting up climbs and fighting access issues,,,,

Cheers to those souls!

BRAD HANSEN