UKC

Express ice screws

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 GridNorth 05 Dec 2012
One of the problems I find with these new fangled "express" ice screws like the Grivel and BD offerings is that it can be difficult to judge the ice. There was something re-assuring about having to use a lot of effort to get the screw all the way in. How do you judge if you have hit an air pocket when there is no discernable difference in the effort required to place the screw.










 HarryB 05 Dec 2012
In reply to GridNorth:

By the discernable difference in the effort required to place the screw. If you hit an air pocket you can tell, it starts turning much easier.
 CurlyStevo 05 Dec 2012
In reply to GridNorth:
you can always tell if you hit a large air pocket, ice stops coming out of the head and the screw stops having any resistance to going in.
OP GridNorth 05 Dec 2012
In reply to HarryB: I must never have hit one then because I have never detected a discernable difference. Hadn't thought about the ice not coming out of the end. Duh.
 GarethSL 05 Dec 2012
In reply to GridNorth: There is an extremely discernible difference! Just takes practice to get the right feel for what your screw is doing.

In fact this difference is probably far more noticeable with winding screws than those not, due to the smooth nature of placement, i.e. you feel the difference more than those which require endless hand cranking, because feedback from the screw is more constant.
 Milesy 05 Dec 2012
In reply to GridNorth:

It is really obvious when you screw into something really duff.
 nniff 05 Dec 2012
In reply to GridNorth:

It's a problem that's easily fixed.



Just take a file to the teeth and blunt them off a bit. I'm sure you'll appreciate the extra feedback your get when you place them.


Having borrowed someone's spare screw (that is to say the blunt one) last winter, I can't say that it was an improvement in any way.
 TobyA 05 Dec 2012
In reply to nniff: agree with everyone else, it's very obvious. I guess you've just been lucky. BTW, BD express screws are really 'new fangled' at all. My oldest expresses are now 14 or 15 years old, and the grivel designs have been around for a decade.
OP GridNorth 05 Dec 2012
In reply to TobyA:
> (In reply to nniff) agree with everyone else, it's very obvious. I guess you've just been lucky. BTW, BD express screws are really 'new fangled' at all. My oldest expresses are now 14 or 15 years old, and the grivel designs have been around for a decade.

I know I was just showing off my "old timer" credentials.

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