UKC

Petzl Sum'tec (55cm) or Blue Ice Bluebird (60cm) - Primary Mountaineering Axe to be paired with a Quark Hammer, for winter up to grade III? Please share your experience and opinions!

I mainly plan on winter scrambling as I get cold easily and the idea of standing still belaying in winter is hellish, but would like to be able to climb up to Grade III with the tool. And would get a Quark Adze if I wanted to progress/climb harder/more regularly.

Have used Petzl Summit Evo, 66cm (I am 6'2), and have really enjoyed this axe for walking and on steeper sections of deep snow as it plunges well and offers a lot of support. However its length makes it awkward to swing and the rubber grip means I can't go leashless. I have also spent a day out with the Petzl Sum'tec, and liked them too, found it less comfortable in Piolet Canne, the shorter length less useful for support, but much easier to swing and having a technical pick really helped with the ice and steeper sections.

The Bluebird (60cm) would in theory tick all the boxes, long enough to offer good support, shorter easier (?) to swing than the Summit Evo and can be used Leashless. The Sum'tec ticks all the boxes too and appears a very capable axe, but being shorter and with a less comfortable pick for Piolet Canne.

Opinions? Advice? Experience?

Thanks!!

Possibly you're overthinking all this. If you're using it for climbing, shorter's definitely better. And if you're using it as a walking axe, I'd still say shorter's better - doing self-arrests with a long axe is awkward, and if the slope's steep enough to need steps chopped the ground will be closer anyway.

Plus shorter's lighter. Go for a shorter axe, 55-60cm

I've got a Bluebird - I've used up to about tech 3 but mainly for scrambling routes like Crib Lem, which I am soloing. I pair it with a Petzl Gully hammer due to them being really light and compact. The bluebird is the best mountaineering tool I've used in over 30 years of winter climbing I reckon. I'm always happy to try new tools for reviews, but I don't see myself needing to buy a new axe now, because the Bluebird does everything I need when not on technical pitched climbs where I use climbing tools. 

Cheers! What length are you using? and does the pommel feel secure on the handle? 

Blue Ice axes are lovely! I use Akilas as they are lighter and shorter. Very capable as a pair or singular.
 

Don’t bother with quarks. Sum tec, Akila or bluebird as a pair will be fine for everything in that sort of grade. Only real downside of the Blue ice axes are that you can’t replace the picks 

50 cm and yes. 

I have Sum'tecs as my work axes for guiding lower grade climbs and mountaineering routes. They pair well with a Quark if you're expecting a short section of steeper climbing followed by large sections of much easier climbing.