Too Pretty to Climb With

Skibowrote:

Forgot those loudawson.com/24935/rooster…

Mugs Stump on Dance of the Woo Li Masters

LL Binerwrote:

Then the brits copied the Americans: a pair of Snowdon Mouldings Curvers, kin to Chouinard's Zeroes

Yes they had the textured orange paint 

Rob Cotterwrote:

Well I’m not buying used anything after seeing so many tools hit the deck at Vail from 50 meters up and bounce off into the ether...

MIcro-Fractures braj....

Marty Theriaultwrote:

Have you seen or handled them ? the Anchar are less aggressive than the classic nomic or xdreams. The only thing aggressive with these are the front tooth of the blades they come with ( comp blades ). Put some Ice specific blades on these and they climb ice like a dream ! 

Hey Marty, it was certain interesting using yours in Quebec last year! But I do feel that these are not the most suitable for climbing ice, and I wouldn't recommend them if you were just getting into ice/dry and only had one set of tools.

They are certainly beautiful though ;). 

Grant Kleeveswrote:

I feel like almost everyone is missing that these aren't so much "ice tools" as much as "sport" tools designed for dry tooling competition holds, while you can use them on rock, and I suppose if you really want to, ice, you most likely aren't going to like them, the swing is absolutely awful, and they are so aggressive that it can be really hard to get the pick into the hold, in addition, as said above, I'm not into dropping $600 tools that might shatter out of a cave...pretty much if you aren't pulling upward of M11-12 in caves with a fairly small amount of ice or using them for competitions there are better tools for the job...if, however, you want to stay on some of the techier comp holds out there these days these feel like cheating...

 the long lower grip is so you can match hands on the lower grip, and the upper grip is high so it gives a little extra reach and keeps you closer to the wall when  in a stein (teeth on the back of the head engaged with the wall)

I'd encourage everyone to watch some world cup competitions on youtube to see how these things get used, definitely a niche item, but when you need it you need it, almost nobody competes these days on stock ice tools or picks, the tiny edge you get out of purpose-specific equipment makes a difference...

“These tools” are not those tried by the above author as the set I possess are the 4.3 model made expressly for me, this a more heavily reinforced tool designed and built to my specifications for outdoor crag use, they are fitted with the PSVD(A) picks which is a superb blade for outdoor mixed and ice applications. Likely he encountered the 4.1 version equipped with the PAN77(A)H pick which is for use on artificial holds/panels, I have seen a number of climbers using these at Vail and in the 2021 Ouray event with varying degrees of success.

After a partial season on the 4.3s my impression is that the tool excels on vertical plus limestone and hanging ice structures, the tool has excellent reach and the ability to match hands within the main grip frees me from the primary vs secondary grip conundrum. The tool swings just fine, definitely some BD Fusion 1&2 DNA in this rig, this pick tends to bounce back out of the hole so I basically create a hole with my swing then pull on it rather like a drytool placement. The titanium bolts tend to loosen up in the aluminum head with lots of swinging so perhaps Loctite? No I wouldn’t climb Sorcerer with these...

In synopsis the tool has a solid confidence instilling feel, they can tend to “munch” on holes in soft rock a bit, and the narrow diameter ergonomic handle takes some getting used to, Mine are covered in Gamma Supreme tape two rolls per tool, which is a durable, sticky, low volume wrap. I do have the indoor picks, no I have not used them.

So are they worth the $1.8k per set price tag? That depends on what you would like your climbing experience to be, I for one don’t like surprises in the form of tools popping off holds and these are insanely secure. A KIA or Subaru will get you down the road but if you’re used to a Porsche, well, then that’s your ride...