#Seing ice tool jomic update#

Would hate to have to climb much ice though. The inside presses uncomfortably on my pinky knuckles.ĭrytooling beast. The pinky hook could stand to be a bit bigger (larger radius, to be specific) as well - can be uncomfortable for those with big hands (i.e. Also it has a poor upper 'shelf' for matching but that can be easily fixed with some MacGyver skills. Only complaint is 'perceived' fragility - I'm not 100% comfortable torquing on them or even worse, torquing the shaft in a crack. Love the picks too - Grivel has the best metallurgy I've yet to encounter. Light, balanced, first-swing sticks almost every single time. Haven't had a chance to try out the 'Fusion Ice' pick yet so can't comment on that, but I've heard good things. Great at mixed routes with minimal/thin ice that warrants gentle taps. Forces you to 'chop' unnaturally at the ice in a downward angle instead of swinging in to it horizontally. Stronger climbers (like local NE hardman PCooke who bought them from me) may disagree. This tool personified the 'more is not always better' axiom, at least with regards to ice tool geometry aggressiveness. They would probably be ideal for pulling through tiered roofs where you have an unstable, blind hook each time you need to pull through, but for consistent 10-deg-past-vertical walls they were a bit awkward. Took them to Ouray and up routes like Tic Tac (M6/7) and Seamstress (M8) and the angle was just too aggressive for me. Very light, great all around tool, but uncomfortable for my hand, hated the 'trigger' and bashed my knuckles more than any other tool. This applies across the board using Ice, Dry, and older Cascade picks.ĭidn't like them at all. I find the pick angle too aggressive and rarely get first-swing sticks. Not crazy about them for pure ice, even steep 5+ waterfalls. Great for mixed climbing and even drytooling. Like the Cobra but a bit clunkier, heavier, and not as well damped on vibration. Took it to Chamonix for 3 weeks and was happy with my choice, especially with a set of Aermet picks. Only sold it because matching on the upper grip causes pick shift which is kinda scary, especially when you're run out. One of my favorite all around tools, especially for alpinism. Suffice it to say, those are the 2 pairs of tools I own right now, with no plans to sell either set. The 2 main tools that are missing from the review are the X-Dream and the Trango Raptor. For reference, I've been climbing ice for 8 years, climbing in general for 15 years, and I'm 6'2' and 185 lbs.

#Seing ice tool jomic update#

I wrote this short comparison 3 years ago and I'm pasting it here, although I should update it one of these days.