UKC

Hi

I,m planning on buying my girlfriend her first pair of axes for xmas,
she very petite and we had a look at the dmm fly,s however she felt they were too heavy for her.

Can any one suggest a pair the would be suitable,

Any feed back would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

Neil

In reply to neil9216: Petzl aztars have small handles and don't weigh very much, they have enough swing to get decent placemnets but the head's a lot lighter than other models out there.

Decent semi technical tools, can modify the handles for leashless.

Better than my recommendation though would be to go in to a shop with plenty of choice and for her to swing some about and see which she likes.

In reply to neil9216:

Loving the typo in your post title....hope your fiend is forgiving.

The basic question - before folks leap in with suggestions for £300+ of sexy hardware - is just what are the axes for? The sort of route and the sort of grade will determine what tool is appropriate.

Though I'm loving the idea that ice tools are the modern version of a love spoon.

In reply to neil9216:

When I saw the Topic title, I thought it should have been in For Sale/Wanted, sounded like a decent swap.

In reply to neil9216



http://www.break.com/video/ugc/clucking-climbing-ucking-536248



Cheers souix

In reply to neil9216:

grivel quantum tech... lighter than most other tools. lighter on the wallet too.

In reply to Cameron94:

I thought that for my other half, and she hated them. Preferred the heft of my Quarks which she felt gives a more positive placement.

In reply to Paul F: They don't suit everyone, I thought they were pretty decent when I owned a pair. I now regret selling them as they are perfect for mountaineering routes. I upgraded to BD fusion 2's which weigh a lot more than the aztars and you can feel the difference in swing.

In reply to neil9216: Petzl Quarks are a great light axe for everything.

In reply to StuLade: Petzl Aztars,Grivel Matrix Lights
Both good solid axes light and shouldn't be to expensive to buy
I know some ladies who've used and loved both, New Quarks are pretty light if moneys not a problem

In reply to neil9216:

While you're at it, marry the woman because you'll never find another like her.

In reply to neil9216:

As well as the Quarks, there's an Edelrid axe that apparently has a slimmish shaft. Can't remember the name. Raptor, maybe. I think it got a mention in one of the magazines this month, though

In reply to neil9216:
Whoops, what atw*t
Its a good job she has a sense of humour eh,

The axes will be used for low grade stuff up to grade III,
I,m after a good all rounder that is nice and light.

cheers for the response folks.

In reply to neil9216:

Grivel Matrix Light. I would say this, as they are the only axe I've used. I have no idea how they compare to DMM Fly in terms of weight etc. But I think they are underrated and as such you can sometimes find a good deal on them. The only downside for me was that to go leashless but still have them leashed with one of those spinner leash things, I had to bodge something.
But they are certainly a good all rounder for lower grade stuff. And they look nice.
I paid £120 for a pair in a Go Outdoors deal....

In reply to Blue Straggler:

I nearly just bought a second hand pair of Grivels for £150, how do you get them new for £120?!

In reply to JayPee630:

If I'd been sharp I'd have had them for £100. I was told that the branch manager "didn't like Grivel" so wanted shot of them. They had a fair few in, with £50 price tags on (this was 2009 I think). I procrastinated, then the next week they were up at full price again, but I had a chat with the same guy who'd explained their cheapness the week before, and he managed to knock them down to £60 for me. There were only 3 left by then and the leashes on two of them were absent (stolen, apparently!). I bought the three, as I had at home an ancient Mountain Technology axe which had been a walking axe but which I'd shortened, so I thought "two pairs would be handy so I can lend a pair to a beginner when required". That scenario never occured so I sold Grivel #3 for £85 (£77 after I covered postage). Thus, my pair ultimately cost me £120 minus £17 = £103 but I had had to buy a spare leash at £12 so that's £115. I got lucky!

btw that branch of Go Outdoors has never dropped Grivel, in fact it's got plenty of Grivel stuff!

In reply to neil9216: Grivel have nice small shafts, Something like the Matrix Tech.

In reply to neil9216: Another vote for Petzl Quarks; slimmer handles than the Flys, the adjustable trigrest is good for small hands and they are the lightest axes I've tried/used - at 550g per axe, they're fractionally lighter (and better balanced in my opinion) than the Aztars (580g).

In reply to neil9216:
Have a look at the simond naja carving, my partner uses these and finds the swing much nicer and lighter than my superflys. They stick in ice well too, I think that are available at around £200 per pair.

In reply to neil9216:
Petzl Sum'tec? -- little more than 500g per tool, and fine for ice up to at least grade IV. Picks are only B rated, i.e. not designed for harder mixed climbing, but should be fine for grade II/III ridges.

In reply to neil9216:

I thought that you were swapping your girlfriend for a pair of axes there...

In reply to neil9216:

If they're only going to be used for up to grade three, why not try DMM cirques. They're not modular but they are cheap, T rated, very light and will easily cover her until and if ever she wants to try and move onto the harder stuff.

Tom