This is a great ice climbing axe. It is extremely light. I first used it for some mountaineering…
- Ildar, 12/25/11

These are great light weight ice tools. Perfect for alpine climbs that include ice pitches. They perform well on water ice, but for ease of use could use bit of extra weight…
- Alec, 01/30/12
Seattle

This ice axe is meant for less technical styles of mountaineering but for self arresting and using it as a snow anchor, it works flawlessly. It's not the heaviest or the light…
- Adam, 12/07/10
Redmond, WA

Does everything a general mountaineering axe should! Ive taken mine up quite a number of peaks and shes shown a bit of wear but who wants a shinny axe anyway! Don't use her as…
- BEN, 03/10/10
CREIGHTON

I absolutely love these axes! I have nothing but good things to say about them. I climb a lot of ice, and own nomics, fusions and techs, and 9 out of 10 times, I grab these…
- Cory, 04/26/11
NY

I did really well on both ice and mixed routes last season. However, I would have purchased the nomics if they were in stock. Great second pick.…
- John, 03/15/11
Edmond, OK

I think it is great to be able to switch out the hammer and adze for whichever you will need. The handle allows you to maintain a solid grip longer than you could with any cla…
- Frank, 06/07/11
Chicago

The Vipers perform very well on waterfall ice. This tool is well-weighted and has a natural swing with very little reverberation upon striking. It is a bit chuckier than the N…
- Michael, 01/19/12

BD has made some nice improvements on the second gen fusion. Definitely a better swing on pure ice. The removable and clipable spike gives it a serious advantage over other t…
- Rhys, 10/31/11
Fort Collins

I found that the new fusions climb ice better than the old ones. Not great, but better than the previous gen. They excel at drytooling though. The new fusion IMO rocks the…
- Cory, 04/26/11
NY

It's light, but the pick still swings. The head has a T cross section to give your palm a large pressure surface for slamming the spike puppy home in dense snow. The had and…
- J. MARK, 06/22/09
PORTLAND

This axe is very light and great for glacier travel and high-altitude mountaineering when every ounce counts. It's extreme light weight hinders it a little when chopping step…
- ORLIN, 04/02/09
DENVER

It's even better than my multi-tool (some days, at least). This legendary relic (since Grivel NA is kaput) earned its status by not being afraid to be 'chunkier' where it need…
- HAI, 04/03/09
California

Tried this on glacier. little lightweight for making footholds/ladders.. but who does that anyway? I like that its simple, things tend to be very fancy with lots of rare ext…
- HANS-CHRISTIAN, 07/24/08
BERGEN HORDALAND

This was chosen, and it was a correct answer to me.It is beautiful,well-balanced,and easy to handle.…
- SWOONG, 01/20/11
Tokyo

for general mountaineering, this is a great axe. the steel in the pick and the spike will make sure it doesn't get dulled up, and its stainless steel, so no rusting and staini…
- Ted, 09/27/11
FoCo

If you're looking for a tool so light, you really don't know it's there, yet does exactly what a mountaineering axe should do, get this. I picked up this axe last season to r…
- Stephen, 09/27/11
Fort Collins

Great axe all around! The additional leash and grip helps a lot. What can you say, Black Diamond doesnt make bad products.…
- Nikolay, 05/03/11
Kiev, Ukraine

Best one in the business I've used. Great for overall mountaineering. It's really light weight and won't weigh you down. Very useful!…
- Quinn, 07/23/09

This is really the only ice axe I have used, so I can't compare it, but I was happy with it. It's not a walking stick, even at the largest size, you would have to be pretty sh…
- Daniel, 08/30/10
Canada

This tool is at home in moderate and steep alpine terrain, ice, snow, mixed you name it. It's lightness makes the Aztarex tools the choice for light and fast technical mounta…
- Robles, 08/17/09
Florida

This is a great mountaineering and ice climbing axe. It is extremely light. I first used it for some light mountaineering and found that the shaft worked just perfect to walk…
- Andres, 01/10/11

This is the best ice axe so far I have tried for mountaineering. Its length is ideal for hiking on small and medium grade snow field. On steep slopes, this baby's curved shaft…
- Hao, 12/07/11
Seattle

the only mountaineering axe i have and will ever use. it is so light and weight is everything at altitude. precise enough to climb with and strong enough to belay with. why ca…
- SAAD, 03/10/08
CHICAGO

The first thing you'll notice about this bad boy is that it is TALL, not quite an alpenstock but it makes a great walking stick on 35 degree snow. I liked the big pick, it mak…
- alan, 01/13/11
Oakland

This ice axe is the perfect one tool choice for climbing in the mountains. On one single trip, I lead a short pitch of ice, buried it for a boot-axe-belay, caned incessantly,…
- Patrick, 05/31/10
Westbrook

But Im a carbon fiber freak. I love it. Though the strap is annoying. So I removed it and added the sling by Grivel. w/e I used the Black Diamond axe/shv protector on it. and…
- ALAN, 01/06/11
NEW YORK

Used this in a winter class on Mount Washington and it worked like a charm. very easy to grip and confortable on the palm. Great for any new mountaineer. Very well built.…
- RICH, 03/30/08
HIGHLAND LAKES

Used this axe climbing in Cascades. It's slightly cheaper, pretty light, and its sturdy. Cant ask for much more out of an ice axe.…
- Michael, 07/10/11
Houston, TX

I bought 3 of these for an outdoor adventure group. Great piece of equipment for an intro into mountaineering. Students practiced self arrest at Nordhouse Dunes in Ludington…
- Louis, 01/12/11

Good piece of general mountaineering equipment at a great price. Great for beginners and also for everyday non-technical climbs. Weight is good, leash is nice. Great quality.…
- Mike, 01/26/12
Sea Level

For a T rated axe this is light, well balanced and does the job well. Got 65cm for walking and general moutaineering and used for belaying on easy to mod snow slopes performed…
- Terry, 01/26/12
Sydney, Australia

This is a nice mountaineering axe with a terrible leash. The leash just doesn't work very well, it always twists up and it doesn't fold over the top of the axe in a nice way.…
- Girard, 12/02/10
Maryland

This axe doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some of the other ones on the market, but for the price, it can't be beat. It feels really solid and has a nice steel head…
- Derek, 03/03/11
Columbus

I bought this ice axe for Mount Washington. The previous year I had used a Black Diamond 65 cm Raven. Good axe also, but for much of the climb we used the axe in the cane po…
- Brian, 03/09/12
Chicago

This has been a great axe, and when paired with the adze version, is a part of a very versatile axe system. The 57cm is a great length and the hammer pound in bomber pitons we…
- Jeremy, 12/11/10
Amarillo, TX

The adze/hammer option is great. It also comes with a leash in all models. This axe is comfortable to hold no matter which way you carry it and in my opinion second only to th…
- Frank, 06/07/11
Chicago