hikerfast
Active member
since another #@#$# stole my ice axe, im on the market. wonder if i can find a used one anywhere. ones with a long handle are best for shoving in the snow up ahead of you in steep places.
I'll sell you one just like the one you had for 48 dollars...even has the same scratches on it.hikerfast said:found a 49 dollar one, 90 cm at campmore for 49 so far. thanks for the input. what consignment store is it?
At 1lb 8oz it does seem a little bit on the heavy side.Woody48 said:Giggy,
I have an axe just like that one you posted the link to. I think it is heavy. I prefer my BD Raven (with rubber grip). It's not quite as light as the Raven but still has a good feel.
Woody48 said:Giggy,
I have an axe just like that one you posted the link to. I think it is heavy. I prefer my BD Raven (with rubber grip). It's not quite as light as the Raven but still has a good feel.
I suspect the light-weights might be a bit light if one has a lot of step cutting to do or if one tries to ice climb with them.giggy said:yes it is - right now, I have an old black diamond that is also heavy (about the same as this one) - kind of like the weight to help plunge into the snow nice and deep - but light is good too. While out west last year, I was playing with it a bit - the new raven and raven pro's - seem too light! I am sure they are fine, - just a personal opinion
Same here, except I got the Raven because the Raven Pro seemed to be a little too light and the head seemed rather small. I had also read a report of someone damaging the shaft on a Raven Pro while knocking snow off his crampons.Kevin Rooney said:I bought a BD Raven Pro shortly after they came out, and they're a thing of beauty as well as light. Sometimes it's a little too light. More often than not, I find I still reach for my old Grivel Pamir when heading out on trip. It's beat up, scratched and been repainted. But, they're sturdy, reasonably light (much more so than REI's Mountain Axe) and last forever.
Same here, except my regular axe is an old 70cm carbon fiber handle Chouinard. (A great axe--also useful for up to ~70 deg ice climbing.)When I know I'll need the axe, I carry the Grivel. When I'm carrying an axe for security, I carry the Raven Pro.
DougPaul said:Same here, except I got the Raven because the Raven Pro seemed to be a little too light and the head seemed rather small. I had also read a report of someone damaging the shaft on a Raven Pro while knocking snow off his crampons. Doug
Compare them next time you are in a store--the head on the Raven Pro is noticably smaller than the head on the Raven. I just compared my Chouinard axe with the Raven: the Raven pick is about 3/8 inch shorter, the adz is about 1/8 inch shorter and 1/2 inch narrower.Kevin Rooney said:I didn't notice the head being too small, and the report of shaft damage is probably a defect because in general it's an exceedingly strong axe. One of my reservations about it is the head is too strong, and it's tough to dull either end. Having them too sharp is a liability - on a long glissade down the headwall below Shasta's Red Rocks a few years ago, the head grazed my lip as I was braking and left a nasty gash, marring an otherwise great slide. I purposely dulled both ends a bit with a file, and was impressed with how hard the steel was. For my alpine purposes, having too sharp an axe is a bit of a liability.
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