UKC

Today's dilemma,

My Nomics are done in, "misused", I believe Pretzl would say. I was very happy with the way they climbed but much less so with their durability.

Do I look at alternatives and if so which? currently thinking around fuels and x dreams (unsure about the durability of the adjustable handle on these).

Or do I suck it up and buy another pair of nomics, knowing that they will only last a couple of seasons, maybe less.

Over to your collective wisdom, confuse me further.

Black Diamond Fuel's.

In reply to ERU:

Have you used them? I hear they haven't got the swing quite right?

In reply to 3leggeddog:
DMM Apex or switch. in terms of "in use" assessment, i can't tell much difference between Apex and Nomic - They are certainly a bit burlier, but when I lurk in my shed, it is still the Nomic that I swing with a manic grin ....

In reply to 3leggeddog:

buy Welsh. apart from anything else the picks are half the price

In reply to 3leggeddog:

Add the Tech Machines to your list of possibles. They certainly look and feel burly, and I don't think Greg Boswell's have broken. If you can, try in the wild before you buy.

In reply to 3leggeddog:

My mate Finland does a stupid amount of hard ice and DT with his Cassins and says they are great. Good reviews of them coming from Canada too. Spares are cheapish too I believe although loads of people are going for those Kirugi or whatever they're called after market picks now.

The Switches seem tough as old boots but are hefty.

In reply to Tim Sparrow:

Cheers Tim, the nomics are good but I can see getting very annoyed with myself if I bought another pair only for them to be wobbling around after half a season's "misuse".

I'll drop into Keswick and swing a few pairs around to see what takes my fancy. New shiny tools for our feb trip.

Good going in the Karrimor, chapeau mate.

Ian

In reply to 3leggeddog:

The handle on Switches is not as nice as Nomics and the extra weight is noticeable (personal preference whether that is good or bad). However, the difference isn't massive and I for one just couldn't bring myself to pay for Nomics having heard all the wobbly head stories. I adapted the handles on my switches with Sugru and it's worked really well.

In reply to DaveHK:


From a quick play I think the extra weight in the switches is in the handle and shaft - and IMO, they aren't as nice to swing.

In reply to 3leggeddog:

I have had Nomics which developed "wobbly head" after a couple of seasons. I now have Switches which seem far sturdier. The double rivet in the head instills more confidence than the Nomic's single rivet.

In reply to ianstevens:

Yup, they're definitely not quite as nice but they are more durable. You pays your money etc.

In reply to 3leggeddog:


The E-climb Cryo 2s might be worth a look too, then. Bees knees for drytooling especially, I hear

In reply to 3leggeddog:


Plan on bashing in pitons?

As Fuels are without a hammer. As for the swing, Fuels feel almost like the gen 2 Fusions (ie. green ones), but a tad better (mainly because the pommer is better and also slightly lighter, bonus is also the fact that they come stock with Fusion Ice picks, with a smaller pick angle).

That said, my suggestion would be to find bargain Fusions (as they're now discontinued), if going for BD.

X Dreams seem rather popular here in Finland, with the hard mixed climbing crows. And I haven't heard of any breakages. So I guess Camp/Cassin did allright with the handle design. For the record, X Dreams seemed to have about the best swing of any tool I've tested (numerous BDs, Petzl Nomics and Ergos, Grivel Quantums and Force or what ever it was called, Austria Alpins different models, DMM Switch, which TobyA tested), on ice that i... and I believe with the correct pick-option and adjusting the handle, you can get the X Dreams to have also the most agressive pick angle for hard dry tooling.

Oh, and saw them on small discount on some german retailer a few days back (berg_something).


Oh, for picks... for hard wearing or really agressive stuff... either Russian armor steel (Krukonogi.com, metal most likely from CCCP tank axels or atomic subs) or Polish equavalent (www.kuzniaszpeju.pl). I have both and they're about the same... Polish ones are a bit cheaper though.

In reply to 3leggeddog:

I believe I have a first generation pair. Been using them for 2 full season. Before they belonged to a prolific activist...nowt wrong with but cosmetic wear. Is the difference that big folks? Genuine question. How are your picks? Would you sell for spare and repairs?

I had a shot at switches yesterday. They felt nice. I'd buy them and picks are cheaper. My pal had to be inventive to reduce the handles' volume but it works well.

In reply to French Erick:

The polish picks are 25 Eur a pop. Cheaper than any "original" one I've seen. And also a bigger selection of pick types. For scottish mixed, the Tatra-picks should be about spot on. Just FYI.

In reply to 3leggeddog:

Currently in a similar situation and have been looking around. Having tried the X dreams I found the handle too small and a bit tight with a glove on.
Think I will be going with the BD fuels as the DMM switch swing just felt to heavy.

In reply to nufkin:
Get the cryo 2 and its spiffing for hard DT and hardish ice/mixed, but they only have 4 load bearing parts compared to the nomics 7 I've got the less technical version the cryo and love it they are definitely head turners

In reply to 3leggeddog:

You've not said what you want to use them for. Water ice? Scottish mixed? Drytooling? Alpine? Different axes for different styles.