What is the best Abalakov hook?

Double Jwrote:

And how many threads does that last for?  My guess isn’t many. 

As many as needed actually. I have been using the one i made for a while now. Hardening the hook is the key. 

Off-topic, but if you go the DIY route, the springy steel stiffeners on a windshield wiper blade make great hooks. Curl a half inch loop in the non -hook end and it will ride nicely inside a long screw.

The petzl one works fine. I also use it as a nut tool and have gotten gear out that are stuck far too deep for a normal nut tool. 

Dr Logic wrote:

Sure. 

1. The hook curls back on itself too much, making grabbing the rope almost luck. 
2. It's really hard to open and because of the blade placement, I've cut myself a couple of times.
3. It's yellow. I hate yellow. 
4. It's okay for cleaning screws though. Plus in that, but I'm guessing any of them are good for that.

I've found that grivel makes good tools and that's about it. Everything else grivel makes isn't necessarily bad, it's just that someone else is doing it a little better. 

Fair enough, I m with you on point #3 

Coat hanger baby. Why spend $20 on what you got in your closet? 

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

Coat  hangers suck. Too flimsy for cleaning  screws. Try making it from a  wire insulation bat holder. They are made of spring steel.  

Coat hangers rule, been using them since people started using Abalakovs commonly in the early 90s, and you don't disturb the bats.

I've heard you can get rabies from insulation.

ok, after asking around some more I just bought myself the Petzl multihook for the upcoming ice season.
On the first outings I ll take it along my Grivel candella. If it sucks that will be on you guys ;)

Fabien Mwrote:

ok, after asking around some more I just bought myself the Petzl multihook for the upcoming ice season.
On the first outings I ll take it along my Grivel candella. If it sucks that will be on you guys ;)

Really good idea to bring two, anyway.   You’d really hate to have none.

mbkwrote:

Really good idea to bring two, anyway.   You’d really hate to have none.

that is good advice, thanks.
I never thought about droping my abalakov hook :(

If losing your only hook ever happened I see 3 options:
1/ Losing 1 to 3 screws (+ cordelette) per rap (most likely but less "desirable" option)
2/ Using the terrain to rap (tree, boulder, protruding ice, roots you can dig out, etc...)
3/ When possible, escaping on the side or from the top to walk down instead of rap (or reach some place where you can rap using the terrain)

Can you guys think of a fourth option? 

Idea: improvising a hook but with what? (if you don't have nuts with you)
In my bit and bobs kit I do carry 50 cms of fine wire but it is more for gear repair, pretty sure it wouldn't work as an improvised hook. 

Assuming that you are on  a  really big ice  feature and are bailing  because you couldn't  top out its going to cost you some screws.  There is a well  documented incident where a party bailed from  Gorillas in The Mist off of a pair of Quarks. Ice was too thin for  screws  or  threads... I always have 2 thread tools . One made from  spring  steel  installation bat holder that  is clipped to my  harness.  I  have  one of those  floppy riggs  with the  sliding  plastic  hook cover that I found at the base of Called  in my pack. 

Fabien Mwrote:

that is good advice, thanks.
I never thought about droping my abalakov hook :(

If losing your only hook ever happened I see 3 options:
1/ Loosing 1 to 3 screws (+ cordelette) per rap (most likely but less "desirable" option)
2/ Using the terrain to rap (tree, boulder, protruding ice, roots you can dig out, etc...)
3/ When possible, escaping on the side or from the top to walk down instead of rap (or reach some place where you can rap using the terrain)

Can you guys think of a fourth option? 

Idea: improvising a hook but with what? (if you don't have nuts with you)
In my bit and bobs kit I do carry 50 cms of fine wire but it is more for gear repair, pretty sure it wouldn't work as an improvised hook. 

I have actually used a dyneema sling to thread a piece of cord for a v-thread.  I don't think it would work using only the rope (naked thread) because of how supple/flimsy ropes are.  But if you have a stiff piece of cord you can use the sling to "help" the cord around the corner in the back then just push the stiff cord the rest of the way through.  Works even better if you get your sling wet first and then it freezes stiff!!

Marlin Thormanwrote:

I have actually used a dyneema sling to thread a piece of cord for a v-thread.  I don't think it would work using only the rope (naked thread) because of how supple/flimsy ropes are.  But if you have a stiff piece of cord you can use the sling to "help" the cord around the corner in the back then just push the stiff cord the rest of the way through.  Works even better if you get your sling wet first and then it freezes stiff!!

This method works. Theres a bunch of videos showing the process. I knew about this method, but I had only practiced once or twice. In the moment of bailing and after having lost/dropped my thread tool, as night settled in I was struggling for a long time to capture the rope in the sling loop and eventually my partner, correctly, said let's just go. So we started leaving screws and it cost us a pretty penny. Anyways, I now carry two thread tools because its stupid to leave screws due to being stupid or unprepared otherwise. Bring two tools and learn this method BEFORE you need it!

+1 for new petzl tool. I also liked the grivel before it got lost (see above).

I could care less about gear these days.  If it comes down to staying alive and  keeping my fingers and toes  i will  leave a screw  anytime.  I do however carry two  thread tools and two  headlamps. 

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

I could care less about gear these days.  If it comes down to staying alive and  keeping my fingers and toes  i will  leave a screw  anytime.  I do however carry two  thread tools and two  headlamps. 

Amen to that 

Matt.  Make one from an insulation  bat spring  clippy thing.  You will  never go back to regular  coat  hangers..

So, I received the multihook today.
Initial impressions:

The good:
It's orange like many of my gear and clothing
Blade is spring loaded, which feels solid
It is sharp enough right off the bat, unlike the Grivel
It got a back up blade that seems more serious than the one on the Grivel (I carry a knife anyway)

The bad:
It's shorter than the Grivel, it will not clean the longest screw all the way
I m not sure I ll be able to open it with gloves on (but I didn't try) it got more rigidity than the Grivel so you can't bend the handle to pop the blade open

The ugly:
The whole tool is more square than round so I m not sure it will be a good screw "puncher" (which the rounded Grivel is)
if you place the tool inside a long screw it is very loose. For sure it will fall right away so you have to clip it with a dedicated biner (the Grivel has special "wings" to make it stick to the inner part of a screw)

In short, so far, I m really not convinced, I ll update my review once I get to use it IRL