Alternative all around mountain tool recomendations.

Hi all.

I'm looking to upgrade to some new tools, and I'm interested in what other tools are out there that would work for traditional mountaineering, and some low class Ice and dry WI3/WI4.

My current top pick are.

1. Petzl Quarks - The ability to move the grips out of the way to facilitate walking, and the ability to change to different picks is what is really intrigues me. 
2. DMM Apex - Harder to obtain in Canada than Camp  X All mountain but I'm drawn to DMM due to me using DMM Rebels at the Craigg.
3. Camp X all mountain - Good price, but unable to fold hand grip, and unsure how it would preform for walking.
4. Petzl Sum Tec - Light weight, but can still be used for low angle ice  within reason, but would not use dry.

Are there any other tools out there that comes to mind? 

Thank you!

Grivel has the north machine (subpar to quark for walking cane) and the light machine (sum'tec like, but heavier)

Also axes without replaceable blades, like Blue Ice Akila (lighter sumtec), Petzl Gully(shorter sumtec with ice blades) might be viable option, especially for ice (you can put weights on them for more purchase). Their drawback is altough their blade are equivalent to Pur'ICE blades, they are not replaceable, the axe is not much more expensive than replacing only the blades. So using them for snow and ice and maybe occasional easy mix/dry without steinpulls and what not, they are more than adequate, especially the Akila with real spike and bit more heft/length. 

Spark is a light weight do-everything tool.

https://verticallstore.com/products/ice-rock-spark-ice-tool

Kruk is an even lighter more mountaineering focused tool.

https://verticallstore.com/products/kruk-ice-tool

It really depends on what you mean by “traditional mountaineering” because the only tool on that list that would be bearable for general glacier and snow use would be the sum tec. So no matter what tools you buy I’d highly recommend an actual ice axe for general mountaineering adventures.

Personally I’m not a huge fan of hybrid tools like the sum tec, they feel like they are the worst of both worlds. I hate the DMM apex with a burning passion, the picks are absolutely awful on ice, by far the worst ice picks on the market, and the aggressive curve in the shaft makes them difficult to plunge and use as a t slot, the x all suffers from this as well but at least the picks climb ice well.

The quark is a solid option, they’re light enough and you can configure them for a lot of different types of terrain, and despite what some people say, they climb steep ice great, I’ve climbed many pitches of WI5/WI6 on my quarks. North machines would also be worth looking into, they’re light enough, and although they may not have all the bells and whistles the quarks have, they do climb pretty sweet.

I’m a big fan of my north machines. 

The new Sum'Tecs are pretty sweet and probably would work for everything you listed. They are very similar to the Quark but lighter and without the molded lower grip. They would not be my choice for WI4 -- Quark/Nomic/Ergo certainly are better there, although with pick weights I'm sure it's possible on Sum'Tecs. One nice feature of the Sum'Tec is that they share the same pick, adze, hammer options as all the other Petzl technical tools. Unfortunately, there is no tool that is going to be perfect for traditional mountaineering and WI4. 

Colin Haley used a pair of sum tecs to solo the supercaneleta in the winter.

Was that a homebrew shortening? Looks sweet for the right use.

If you swap to the microhammers you can get even lite-er!

For routes with a decent amount of walking / glacier travel and steep snow / low-angle ice simuling, plus short sections of steeper ice, I really liked the combo of a Sum'tec adze plus a quark hammer. Think Baker north ridge or the Kautz on Rainier. Yes they are different lengths and swings, but after a couple TR laps climbing ice with that combo my brain was able to handle it. Self-arrest with a quark sucks, and the sum'tec isn't great but it's loads better. My buddy had 2 BD cobras and didn't feel confident self arresting so he brought a 3rd axe for the glacier travel. On steep snow I could hang the quark on my harness and use just the sum'tec for plunging / self-belay, then pull out the quark for ice headwall + simuling afterwards. Can't comment on dry tooling with either tho. 

Linnaeus wrote:

Was that a homebrew shortening? Looks sweet for the right use.

If you swap to the microhammers you can get even lite-er!

Yes! a little love with a drill and an angle grinder. And true! I will have to do that before taking it out for a spin.