What`s new in ice climbing product for 2007/08

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ice climbing
B Y C LY D E S O L E S
IN
the first issue of GearTrends® five years ago, we heralded the
arrival of leashless ice tools as the next revolution. Not surpris-
ingly, this pronouncement was greeted with skepticism and even a bit
of scorn from some in the climbing and retail community.
Now, a half decade later, leashless tools have indeed become the standard for ice falls, mixed
rock and ice routes, and even alpine climbs. Beginners routinely start out with leashless tools
and monopoint crampons—another radical design that caused a similar stir in the ’90s.
Every manufacturer now offers a couple of models of leashless tools and reports strong
sales. Also, most of the standard leashed tools have optional conversion kits that turn
them into leashless tools.
Over the past couple of seasons, we have seen the leashless designs become more
refined. When you hold them up in the shop, the shapes appear similar. But when you
get them out in the real world and use them on rock holds for mixed climbs, the subtleties
become apparent. The newer advanced designs, for example, tend to be more stable on
rock holds when changing hand positions—and stability on mixed surfaces is critical when
you have no leash attaching the user to his ice tool if a hand slips off.
In today’s ice market, the dominant players are Black Diamond Equipment, Grivel
and Petzl—all of which are well represented at ice demos around the country. Others
trying to carve out a niche within the niche include C.A.M.P., DMM, Edelrid and
Simond. Both Omega Pacific and Trango are electing to stay out of the ice market.
Black Diamond Equipment’s Viper ranks as one of the most versatile tools on the
market, while many climbers are lusting over the new generation of Cobras. Although
more specialized, its Reactor is one of the best values in a leashless-only tool.
Grivel shook up the market a few years ago with the introduction of its reasonably
priced, yet radical, Monster ice tools with stamped steel. They’ve since been refined into
the X Monsters—and remain the best bargains for both ice and mixed climbing. But the
Matrix Tech is likely to have the broadest appeal due to its more conventional shaft.
The carbon fiber Quantum Tech is more for dedicated gear-heads and sponsored climbers.
Petzl’s Quark remains among the most popular (and imitated) all-around ice tools
available, even after eight years on the market. Introduced last winter, the Nomic has
earned a place among the most desired leashless tools for mixed climbers, though
most discard the head weights.
Among the contenders, C.A.M.P.’s Awax is particularly light and has a nice swing.
DMM’s Anarchist and Rebel are striking in appearance, but few have tried them.
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»OUTDOOR »WINTER 2008
» W W W. G E A R T R E N D S . C O M
BETH WALD / AURORA PHOTOS
» What’s new in ice climbing product for 2007/08
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ice climbing
Edelrid’s tools resemble Grivel’s Monster
stamped-shaft concept, but with higher
prices. And Simond, which made the first
modern leashless tools, has stagnated a
bit with old designs.
A FEW POINTS ON CRAMPONS
For technical crampons, Black Diamond
Equipment and Grivel prevail, with
C.A.M.P. and Petzl as close runner-ups.
Black Diamond Equipment’s Cyborg and
Grivel’s G14, as well as C.A.M.P.’s Vector,
offer good versatility and performance
since they can all be configured with
mono and dual front points and come with
good anti-balling plates. Petzl, though,
stumbled with the fixed-point
Sarken, which had to be recalled
due to design flaws, and Dart
crampons. Petzl’s M10 suffers
from a poor anti-balling plate
that isn’t even included. Also,
heel spurs—the nasty
point that sticks off
the backside of
some technical crampons—are
» La Sportiva
on the
Mega Ice
way out. They’ve
been banned from
» C.A.M.P. Awax
competitions
because they made
climbing mixed routes too easy.
ICE CLIMBING FOOTNOTES
La Sportiva and Scarpa have long been the
leaders in technical alpine and ice climbing
boots, but they are getting some stronger
competition now. Asolo, Kayland and Lowa
all have excellent options and long histories in the U.S. market, while Aku, Mad
Rock and Millet are making valiant
attempts to enter the fray. Vasque’s two
new mountaineering boots put the company
back in the game as a high-end supplier
with good pricing. Merrell continues to
dabble with a single model, while Koflach,
Montrail and Salomon have exited the
climbing market entirely.
Plastic boots aren’t entirely dead, but
innovation has slowed down considerably.
The only positive sign of life is Scarpa’s
switch to Intuition thermo-moldable liners
on all models. Asolo and Lowa plastic
boots have remained status quo.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the ice
world is the increasing popularity of special-
ized insulated shoes with permanently
attached crampons. Once deemed too
radical for the average climber, and seemingly destined for pro deals, they have sold
better than many predicted. Boots like
Asolo’s Comp XT, Kayland’s Dragon Ice BD,
La Sportiva’s Mega Ice and Lowa’s Ice
Comps offer a level of performance that
cannot be achieved with standard boots and
crampons. While unlikely to become the
norm, these boots should do reasonably well
in some markets over the next few seasons.
Still relatively unknown even after a
couple seasons on the market, the Grivel
Scarpa Binding (GSB) system is one of
the most significant innovations for ice
and alpine climbers. By replacing the
crampon’s toe bail with a hook-and-hole,
climbers get better performance in mixed
terrain and easier attachment.
ODDS & ENDS
When it comes to ice screws, there’s Black
Diamond Equipment’s Express—and all
the rest. Grivel’s 360 degrees is probably
the next most popular due to its ability to
fit in tight spaces. The ice screw offerings
from C.A.M.P., Omega Pacific, Petzl and
Simond are good, but without either a
major performance or price advantage.
For lightweight mountaineering gear,
the clear leader is C.A.M.P. The aluminum
XLC 390 crampon is far lighter than any
other. When greater durability is desired,
the Magix 10 outperforms the
rest. The Corsa aluminum
ice axe is again the
lightest of all, while
» Black Diamond Cyborg
the
Corsa Nanotech
adds durability.
The XLH harness has
no equal on the gramsaving front. The Pulse helmet is
the only one made for both climbing and
skiing. And even ski mountaineering packs
like the X3 and X4 have few rivals.
Of course, Black Diamond Equipment,
Grivel, Petzl and others have some light ice
axes and crampons in their lines, too.
Numerous companies make lightweight
packs, though few perform well on the slopes.
But in most cases, these products are intended
to fill out lines rather than a focus.
» To see the latest SNEWS® product reviews,
go to www.snewsnet.com/reviews.
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»OUTDOOR »WINTER 2008
» W W W. G E A R T R E N D S . C O M
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