http://www.yosemitegifts.com/hboffsets.html

Being made by one of the climbers at the Yos rock shop. I've heard good stuff but haven't seen them myself.

Yes - the Yosemite Mtn shop has been selling the smaller brass ones since about the time HB quit. Right now their website says "temporarily out of stock", but it's worth a phone call.

Just saw that they are all listed as out of stock, but I would call the shop to see if they know anything.
Some have gone to the DMM offset nuts, which are also pretty good but what I can tell are just a tad harder and maybe not as easy to then keep in place. Maybe someone who actually uses them can comment?

I think that DMM is going to start making them.

http://www.dmmclimbing.com/newsArticle.asp?id=93

I have a set of the four larger ones from the Yos shop. Never had the originals so I don't know how they compare. Minor annoyance, the shrink plastic that makes the loop keeps sliding down towards the nut.

Mountain Tools says they've got DMM Brass offsets coming spring 09, guess they finally got the licensing figured out.

The small DMM alloy Peenuts come in an offset version and these are the ones I've seen on a few racks. I would wait for the brass nuts.

I called -- the Yosemite Mountain Shop no longer carries the item, and it's no longer available. They will be replaced with the DMM version in the spring.

Just did a route in the desert last weekend. Small placement up against an expando flake. Blue Alien held bodyweight but ripped from a small (ff .1) fall. But a pair of equalized Ballnutz didn't budge in the slightest in the same placement, with a harder (~ff .2) fall.

Not too many expando flakes in the Gunks, but it's still worth noting - Ballnutz seem to put less outward force on the rock.

GO

Or maybe more? I think the ballnuts might have a greater effective expansion range than the alien.

Then again, maybe a pair of equalized aliens wouldn't have pulled either.

Thanks for posting. Experience still seems to guide how most of us feel about various placements, since it is so very difficult to account for all the variables in real life. Most folk would trust a blue alien in any decent placement, but expando? Hard to tell if this was simply spreading out the load or if the nature of the ballnuts was the real reason for success.