Has anyone had issues with the BD Cobras shaft cracking?

i just bought a new pair of Cobras and on the third day out the shaft on one of the tools is cracked, dented and has a small hole. No mixed or dry tooling, nor was I swinging like an ape, they were only used on ice. I'm curious to know if this is a isolated issue or if they are just manky

Contact BD ASAP.

Yep did that, still waiting on a response

Cobras are pretty damn strong. There's a video floating around the net of some BD engineers "testing" the axe by beating the shaft over a concrete curb until failure. It's amazing how long the thing lasted. Two or three minutes of straight beating IIRC.

I had Cobras for 3 seasons, probably put at least 100 days onto them including big alpine routes, M8 drytooling with all sorts of torquing, etc. Never had an issue. I'm relatively confident Cobras are actually stronger than most of the stamped aluminum tools like Nomics and X-Dreams which are only held together by two rivets.

Steven Latino wrote:i just bought a new pair of Cobras and on the third day out the shaft on one of the tools is cracked, dented and has a small hole. No mixed or dry tooling, nor was I swinging like an ape, they were only used on ice. I'm curious to know if this is a isolated issue or if they are just manky

Sounds like a puncture. Ice can be pretty sharp.
It may be a manufacturers defect.

I've owned then since they came out and think they are very tough. Had them fall of my harness from 100' up and land on rock. Nothing happened except a few scratches.

Can you post a photo?

I was expecting to see the hole at the front of the shaft.

Looks like a puncture. Is it possible that you had crampons or something sharp against the shaft while stuffing it into your trunk or something.

It's possible that it's a manufacturing defect. Maybe they didn't pressurize the tube liner enough or hold it long enough to compress the layers of weave and resin. Maybe they didn't put the required amount of layers into the shaft.
This is easy enough to prove so your lucky. All you need to do is cut the shaft in half at the damaged area. This will expose any lamination defects.

I would call BD and be very nice with them. A lot of times they replace gear as a good will jesture. Don't cut anything until you contact BD though.

I really hope you get a new tool out of this.

Yeah, mine have done literally hundreds (maybe closing in on a thousand+) pitches of ice, are beat to sh*t from ice, mixed, you name it, and they've never cracked or failed. I'm actually close to replacing them not because of any failure but just because of all they've been through and keep on tickin'. More me getting paranoid than and sign of failure/weakness on their part. I suspect BD will take care of you (welllll, OK, that was the old BD, I have no idea what policies are like now with the new owners - I'll be interested to learn though).

Most definitely, I mailed the tool into BD and they sent me an email today letting me know it's about to be inspected. I'll post a reply when they make their decision

Kinda looks like it was stepped on with a crampon

Good luck Steven. It really appears that the shaft was struck by the pick of your other tool, punctured by a crampon, or an ice screw either while climbing or in transit to the crag. Contact BD, they're the experts and have seen it all before. Hopefully, the decision will be in your favor and you'll get a replacement.

If BD doesn't replace the tool for you, pm me. I work with carbon fiber and can tell you how to repair it. ---chris

That looks like normal wear and tear…..

Normal wear and tear after 3 days of use?

Yes, I have the same problem. Can post a photo later. Would love to hear what happens with your case and how long the whole thing takes place. Would be difficult to lose an expensive tool for the whole season without replacement.