UKC

Does anyone know if the DMM Switch has hit the shops yet?

Has anyone tried a pair? How does it compare to the likes of the Petzl Nomics?

In reply to climbhead:

Apparently there are a few finished, they are making more for the pre-orders and may have stock in shops in Jan.

In reply to climbhead:

I have a pair to test for UKC, but no ice here yet so haven't tried them out properly yet. They look nicely put together but nothing more helpful to say than that yet I'm afraid.

In reply to climbhead:

Having waited and waited and waited.......and been informed by DMM that they would be finally be available mid November I've now been forced to choose a competitors axe. Shame that as I do like to support home grown manufacturers.

In reply to climbhead:

I got a shot of someones in the ice factor and thought they swung well. They don't drive in to the ice by themselves as easily as fusion 2's but they are nice to handle.

I've not tried them for anything else so can't really comment past that.

In reply to climbhead:
Had a wee go at the ice festival a few weeks ago. Felt quite similar to a nomic but the handle was too big for my hands and not adjustable. Still waiting for someone to make the perfect axe made up of a nomic with the fusion 2 handle!

In reply to climbhead:

First go ice climbing with them yesterday - some crappy video I took by mistake but showing the tools here: youtube.com/watch?v=GZPHH5lA79s& Only a couple of cms of ice so a bit "specialist conditions" but they swing nicely and have an accurate feel, but I'm still working on the best hold position for insecure placements on less steep ice - the main handle seems to pull them outwards a bit in that situation. Obviously they're not really designed for WI2+ climbs but then I guess you can get easy angled bits above or below vert pillars so they have to work for that too.

In reply to climbhead:

I have had two opportunities to try them now and both have left me impressed. Initially the thing that let it down a little for me was the non adjustable handle as I like my hand to be quite snug, so using these felt like borrowing a pair of your mates Ice bats for a wee go. But once I got used to it I hardly noticed the handle and just enjoyed them, the fused handle is also stronger so less likely to break like the nomic is prone to doing. If the handle fits you “ace” and if it doesn’t learn to deal with it and you will be fine..

On a climbing point - There was little if any pick shift when swapping grips and without the pick weights the balance was great for mixed. The picks themselves are well made and strong as…F*… er Boswell.

I must say I haven’t tried them on ice or with the weights on so could justify a full opinion, but if its anything like the story so far then I am sure it will be a happy ending.

In reply to climbhead:

Been told mid-jan for pre-orders now....

In reply to mux:


I was doing some top-rope dry tooling with mine this morning - not my normal thing (the second route we did was short but overhanging a bit, with relatively positive holds to go for) but I really enjoyed using the Switches for that. I suppose that's sort of thing they were in part designed for so no surprise that they felt good for that, but then I stopped off on the way home to have a go at a flow of ice coming down a road cutting - about 10 mtrs high and I guess 75 or 80 degrees steep https://twitter.com/TobyinHelsinki/status/409984256027684864/photo/1 In the end I decided not to try soloing to the top, and only went about half way up but I was really pleased with nice "thunk-yness" of the Switches placing into , than vert ice. I was wondering previously if they might be not so great for the mid-grade ice I can do, but this was quite a positive experience. Looking forward to trying them on some more ice now.

In reply to climbhead:

I saw them in the Climber's Shop in Ambleside this weekend (pretty sure it was them and not the Apex, but I was very hungover!). Looked good to me.

In reply to smuffy:

What did you go for instead of the switch ?

In reply to Mr Christian:


I've been waiting for a pair for over a year now and was having a mooch at the market. Nomics are a solid choice, Cryo 2's look like they may be better, but I wonder if everything will go Ergo-like and you'd be ahead of the game with a pair of them?

In reply to Mr Christian:

Managed to get a new pair of Nomics for £250, couldn't afford not to at that price. I have it on good authority that the switch will be out in the shops very very soon.

In reply to climbhead:

I used the switch tools at the snow factor, i thought that they were pretty good although the pick needed a bit of modification - a hooking tooth and a bevelled edge, 5 mins with a file and they would be proper cracking!!
Andy

In reply to smuffy:

Ye got a msg off DMM today saying there releasing the 1st batch to the shops this Friday !, £250 ... where did you get those from ?

In reply to Mr Christian:


Really! I've had a pair on order since November last year and would be a bit miffed if I could buy them in the shops faster!

In reply to TobyA:

Well, my quick impression on your review Switches was that they are pretty close to the feel of Nomics. So slightly less weight than on my Fusion (IIs). Should be a good alternative for those that want these high-performance ice climbing tools (perhaps not the best tool for really hard drytoolin', but I'm sure they'd fare reasonably well even on some of the toughest M/D12s out there3... it's more about the driver than the tool).

In reply to Mr Christian:

There is a chap on ebay that seems to sell them quite regularly. Sometimes sold in pairs, sometimes singularly, sometimes buy it now price, sometimes auction only........but more often than not it's the same seller. Mine came very quickly in original packing, couldn't fault the seller in any way.

In reply to jonnie3430:

https://www.facebook.com/dmmclimbing?v=app_1397507470490080&app_data=ga...

Comments under calendar

In reply to climbhead:

There finally in the shop to buy, just ordered mine

In reply to HeMa:

Fusion is 672g, Switch is 717g with hammer and the Nomic 605g but can be reduced by about 50g if you take the pick weights off. Weights taken from the google web so the heaviest of the bunch if that is to be believed.

In reply to Mr Christian:


Posted yesterday, arrived today, 3 days early!!! Get in!

In reply to jonnie3430:

Great stuff, who did you get them from ? Ordered mine off v12.

In reply to ColdWill:

Felt lighter, but might be more about the weight distribution or something.

In reply to climbhead:

They're lighter than my old vipers and hook way better. They are good on ice, though I can't compare to nomics as I've only used them once. They seem to be well thought out so far, am well happy with them.