Hey Guys was checking out Rock Empires Robot cams and see they got a special on for Leaders pack you get 8 Cams 9 wallnuts and a nut tool for $350 seems like a really good deal,if you take shipping into account it should work out to just under R4000.00 Was wondering if this seems like a good deal i have never really woried about rock empire but i have heard one or two good things about there mini cams had anyone worked with a couple of the robots yet?

Hi Matt,

A good few years back I bought this set from Rockempire.com in Canada. It's a bargain and I climbed safely and happily with them for many years. There is nothing wrong with the Rock Empire cams. IMO they are excellent and work very well. Almost the same design as the Metolius cams. They are made in Czech republic and they have very high standards of engineering and craftsmanship. I also found the nuts to be very cool as well. They are a great shape and worked in all situations I used them. As for the micro-cams, they are awesome as well. I used them over the nuts on many occasions. I would suggest if you buy this set, while you're at it, to double up on sizes 1, 2, 3 and the larger of the micro series. This will sort you out for the longer routes. They also sell quickdraws and at great prices too. Again, I climbed for years on these, no problems. I'd say this is one of the best starter sets for trad to get you geared up and going. Later on you can mortgage your house and add a few BD cams to the rack. Lastly if you buy a gear sling, dont get the Rock Empire one. It's not rated as a sling at all. Rather buy yourself the Black Diamond gear sling as it can be used as link/sling if needed, and this often comes in handy. Hope this helps.

Keep in mind that you'll have to pay import duties if you bring them in from overseas.
You'll certainly have to add on 14% VAT but I'm not sure what additional import tax you'd have to add. I have heard that on sporting goods, the tax can be quite high (like 30%).

So, your best bet would be to get a mate to smokel them into the country for you. You got any mates at SAA? This should be a breeze for them

_________________
Open hand, open mind...

Ah shit didnt take that into account that could work out lank pricey prob the same as you would pay for 8 here in SA. Do you know where i could get a set locally for a simalar price? Tried MountainMailOrder but they dont have the robot cams! Wonder if there are any places in Cape Town as im going there in May.

I see mountainmailorder has the Re-Flex cams at a good price about R5300 for the whole set wonder if this would be the same as buying the robots overseas if you take vat and import duties into account? Does anyone know of place where i could get a cheaper deal?

try Jacques Raubenheimer, you can find him in the directory under Mountain Pursuits. I don't know if he has reflex cams, but no harm in asking him...

i have brought in quite a bit of gear via weborders, especially when the rand was at R6/USD - big big big savings. US based companies use USPS and you can normally ask them to use a certain service (i used global express mail) - the cost per weight is published on USPS's website. then add 14% VAT. there is no import tax on gear, but they nail you on clothing and textiles (40% import tax).

i have been checking out sales at some of the better stores - you can pick up high quality gear at very reasonble prices from time to time. my last order of wild country tech friends worked out at about R380 per cam, but that was when the currency was a bit stronger. at present it seems better to buy from local vendors.

thanks shorti ill drop him a mail.

Hi

Try Dion Tromp of www.Hiangle.com (based in Cape Town), usually have excellent prices.

_________________
Happy climbing
Nic

@mattb:
Not all SLCDs are the same. REs are simple and safe, but have a smaller range. For that reason, many people perefer the (pricey) BD camalots for their extended range. I suggest you play with some SLCDs, preferrably on real rock, before you start forking out cash.

not a bad idea as if i want a set of BD i gues ill have to start working nights on the streets!

Went for a set direct from rock empire only cost me 4100 for the rocket not to bad.Dion could not get around to emailing me a price and Jacques seemed to busy. Not a bad price def cheaper to go over seas for gear in terms of rock empire or wild country.

Good day

It just so happens that I am a climber but I also work for SARS. In the Customs and Excise Department. South African jails are really badly unpleasant. And SARS has a zero tolerance approach to customs and Excise fraud. We also have some quite bright IT boys working down here so it's not a big problem to identify people who advertise their crimes on the internet. Maybe you want to delete this post before someone comes looking for you?

K.Naidoo
SARS ref: 23 114 78965R

Goodness gracious me, it's April the 1st 'n all!

hehe

Ah classic rocklooney classic what a brilliant one forgot its april first! had me lank worried there for a sec!Had my bags packed for the states and was readdy to head for mexico! Def a original!

Hi Matt,

Did you get the set with 8 cams, 5 draws, set of nuts a 2 slings?

Pierre

Dbez...who logs on this site really does work for the reciever. Not just on the 1 Apr. Start deleting your post Matt....too late! Working for the reciever leaves him with lots of time to check the forum.

Got my set of Rock Empire Robot cams yesterday and took them out on the town today man was i impressed held very well was really impressed with rock empire service and delivery only took 6 bus days to het here and you just cant beat there price i really recomend you guys to go straight to Rock Empire for cams cost me about 4500 for 8 cams!! thats nothing for safety!

Hey Matt

So I'm not gonna re-open the well flogged topic of local importers (of which I am one) or retailer's pricing. But from an accademic point of view the full set of Rock Empire Flex cams are available locally at R4708 (listed web price, and assuming u buy the entire range) and include 14% Vat. So besides the fact that uncle Trevor et al build houses, pipe water...or pay defence lawyers with your 14%, you also support the local scene...which in turn / theory do the same in the form of prizes, sponsorships et al.

But of course a R200 saving (which is less than 14%) is still 2 cases of beer. Nearly.

Cheers, tristan

(and, no, I do not import R.E.)

((...and last I checked, them cams aren't designed for TOWN use ))

Hey Tristan

I totally agree with you about supporting local retailers but alot of the time the dam guys are out climbing which is awsome but sadly you can never get hold of chaps. As for the reflex Rock Empire is trying really badly to phase them out slowly you cant buy them in the states as there has been sadly a alot of falls with them in the uk nothing serious but they do tend to snap on the sides they cant really prove this is Rock empires problem or just bad usage or maintanance but the robot is really good very good design and hold...the big 5 tends to walk a little similar to the reflex but i still stand by them Wildcountry is still a favorite but damm they pricey!

Hi Matt,

Did you get the set with 8 cams, 5 draws, set of nuts a 2 slings?

What did the grand total work out to?

Pierre

mmm 'the dam(sic) guys are out climbing' are you serious?
FYI Re-flex cams are not being phased out; Re-flex cams are called DURANGO cams in the US (also Trango Flex Cams) - and they do very nicely;
BTW Rock Empire gear is cheaper here (take VAT & freght into acount) ...pity you could not track down a retailer.

er yes, I do distribute RE

Hi John,

That's great to hear. Can you pleases give me a price on the following package, or something similar?



And regarding the Re-flex being the same cam as the Durango/Trango Flex, I beg to differ:

Trango Flex/RE Durango


RE Re-flex


You'll notice the slight differences: The Flex cams have integrated cam stops, the ReFlex have slightly larger cut-outs making them a bit lighter (although the HUGE cut-outs on the largest size 8 - really freak me out a bit). Other differences include the cams spacing and head width: the Flex/Durangos are slightly narrower meaning that they are able to fit narrower pockets, but also suggest they might be more unstable, especially in the bigger sizes. With the narrower head on the Flex/Durango, they have a slightly smaller trigger . Close yes, but not the same thing.

If you check on http://www.rockempire.com/catalog?category=cams, the first package contains 8 cams, either Robots or Flex (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) a set of nuts (sizes 1 - 11), 5 x 16cm quickdraws, 2 slings and a nut tool for US$360.

Add $60 for shipping, 14% VAT and you got R4309.

Trystan, I believe the set form MMO does not include the nut tool, the 5 draws, the set of nuts or the 2 slings, extras that would be about R2000 to buy.

Hi Pierre, I think maybe the pic on the US site is simply out-of-date. Our Re-flex cams used to look like that but the design was updated last year (I think?).
Remember, Re-flex cams cost more than Robots. We should have Robots again in the near future.
Anyhow, please contact Mountain Mail Order, Mammoth Outdoor, Drifters etc. for prices.

Headed into the kloofs on Saturday with a mate who just got his order of RE Flex cams last week - all in price (gear, delivery, VAT) - R3750 With the US$$ down another R0.50 since he paid, you'll get for even less. For that price you get:

AND

AND

AND five of these:

AND two of these (120 cm slings)


Come on SA retailers, how about making people buy your stuff by competing on price and not sentimental "lets help the country by buying local"?

Just bought some! :-) first trad gear!!!

The re-flex is a nice looking cam but the robots are so easy to place simple as that! i have both sets and hardly use the reflex prefer the robots just for the way they open and close with one finger pull! the micro's are my favorite still new to trad and nearly gave up on it but thanks to a good mate a kept on it! I think for the price(which is nothing) the are awsome cams and i would be happy to support local chaps if they can get a full rack for around 4clips would be awsome! They sadly not on a par as say black diamond as i do have a 2 in bd and its is my baby! but they do the job and at the end of the day thats what counts.

I want to comment on Tristan and Matt’s conversation, since my name was also mentioned earlier in this topic. Since Matt said that we were “out climbing” I think I just want to state Mountain Pursuits’ case. I hope you don’t mind my overuse of the word “certain,” as I don’t want to mention names here. The people involved have been forgiven, even though they meant me harm (not physically, just in a business sense):
Earlier this year (just before Matt mailed me), a certain retailer got a bit hot under the collar. He had downloaded my price list from my website, and had not gone to the trouble of reading the instructions which accompany the price list. Those instructions clearly state that the price contains a column indicating when last a price has been updated, and that any prices older than 30 days are not valid.
Now in Oct–Nov last year, most of my suppliers had put up their prices with about 15-20%. Since the price list covers more than 3000 items, it took me a while to update it, and this certain retailer downloaded my price list about a week before I could upload the new one. Because he did not read the instructions, he got it into his head that I was seriously undercutting the market (a false accusation), and started phoning all the suppliers we had in common, and threatening to stop carrying their stock if they continued to supply Mountain Pursuits. Fortunately, most suppliers had enough integrity to realise that that was not fair play, and did not give heed to his threats, although many of them did call me and ask me to work towards a solution that would not require this to happen again. Thanks to their input, we are making some big changes (which those who receive our newsletter may be aware of).
However, a certain supplier decided that that would be the time to end my decade long relationship with them. Between this certain retailer, then, and this certain supplier, we have what Section 2-5-1 of the Competition Act (Act 39 of 2000) calls “An agreement between parties in a vertical relationship [which]… has the effect of substantially preventing or lessening competition in a market.” Now while I know that what they did was illegal, in terms of the abovementioned, I have no intention of pressing charges. Firstly, as I said, they have been forgiven. Secondly, I believe that the mature way of dealing with a problem you have with what someone else is doing, is not to go and rush off and report them, but to talk to them and sort it out. I actually offered this certain retailer the opportunity to phone me and discuss the matter, although he has, to date failed to do so.
Anyway, because of that supplier colluding with the retailer to stop supplying me, I had a problem getting hold of the RE cams at the time. I have since found, as has Matt, that there are many ways to get hold of stuff, and the supply problem, from Mountain Pursuits’ side, is resolved, although the supplier in question is, at the moment, not even answering my e-mails (which I find quite unnecessary).

Hey Jacques I totally agree with you 100% on this topic. I think that certain people should not take this so personally and esp when it comes to suppliers that have been in the game for many years! I stand by your statement and am grateful for your input on this matter.Look forward to to your updates and future bussiness with you.