UKC

Evening all

I am after some advice, on new axes.
Currently I have a dmm Cirque which I use for winter walking and a pair of Petzl Aztars which I use for climbing, ski touring etc having climbed scottish grade 3 and Wi3 on them. I really love the axes, but have found that on steeper routes I am wanting to borrow friends nomics.
So the question is with hopefully a few trips this winter, should I sell the Aztars and buy a pair of Quarks and have a more technical around axe, or should I keep the Aztars and ue them on easier routes where I might need to dagger more and buy a set of Nomics for steeper ice routes.

Thanks in advance

In reply to Andrew_ing: Have you considered fitting Petzl Griprests and /or Grivel Trigrests to you Aztars? (Loads of images etc. online from people who have done so, e.g. http://joshuadhawkins.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/leashless.html?m=1 )
For a fraction of the cost of new axes you'll have leashless style tools easily good enough for Scottish IV/V and WI4. Not a long term solution by any means but easily enough to get you moving on up through the grades a bit longer.

That said, if you can secure a decent price for the Aztars then upgrading to Quarks would undoubtedly be a great move. I decided on Quarks over Nomics last Winter and am very happy. I haven't yet found any noticeable lack of performance both on routes (Scottish V) and also up to my limit of around D7 drytooling.

In reply to The Ex-Engineer:

Based on my own experience going from DMM Venoms to modified versions of the same to BD Reactors and climbing at III/IV, going leashless is going to have way more of an impact than which axe you use...

In this regard, adding trigrests, pinky shelves etc. to the Aztars will be a fine move and let you progress just fine, for relatively little cost, Say two pints and a burger at wetherspoons. At that kind of price, it's worth a punt to see if it works for you and how far you can get before you have to cough up any substantive amount of cash.

Either way the gear probably won't make you climb much harder... It may make things feel easier though.

In reply to Andrew_ing:

I modded my Aztars. It is a quick fix and i am happy using them up to grave IV, WI4 and for alpine. I have nomics now and the difference is startling....if I were you I would;

(a) Sell Aztars, buy Quarks
(b) Keep Aztars (modded), buy nomics (what I did)

Depends on if you fancy doing alpine stuff/lots of easy Scottish winter routes where the modded aztars will be appropriate, this saves wear on the nomics which you can keep for 'ard things.

R

In reply to Andrew_ing:
Thanks all for the advice, plenty to think on, I think I'm tempted to keep the Aztars and buy some nomics, as I love the Aztars and think they are brilliant on easier routes and alpine stuff. But so find that when it get steep I want something more aggressive as it just feels so much more comfortable

In reply to Andrew_ing:

That sounds sensible. If you are after a tool for steeper stuff and you can afford to invest, then buying some technical tools is the way to go. I do a fair bit of drytooling plus an annual ice trip and the difference between an all rounder with mods like grip rests etc and a technical tool for me is vast, especially when it gets steep.
Sounds like you have already found that it is much more comfy (less pinkie crush) but equally important is that the geometry minimises pick shift plus allows you to hang in them almost 'open handed' so you suffer less pump.
I used to worry about not being able to plunge them, but you soon get used to using the picks more and the shafts less, BUT they are not very good for hammering in pitons or cutting ice platforms even with the add on hammer and adze - the latter being an attachment that you do not want to meet on a steep ice route.....

In reply to Andrew_ing:

I modded a pair of aztars and in my opunion it was a terrible idea. The shaft is just not bent enough when it gets steep. You will put so much pressure on your little fingers that you will be fitting the leash back on after the first route. Once you fit the leash back on the mods just get in the way. But you can't really take them off again as you need to cut up the aztar grip to fit them in the first place.
I brought a pair of nomics for steeper stuff, they are awesome. I was also terrified of my adze when pulling on questionable little ledges. So moving to nomics really increased my confidence.

In reply to chrisatwcr:

Agree Nomics are Brilliant
I've a brand new set with tags going for £280 if anyone interested