Best picks for xdreams for cold hard ice.

Just picked up a pair of xdreams cuz the handle is so much more ergo, I can literally hang on them for over 2x longer than nomics. 

However I hear bad reviews about the stock mixte picks. I will make those my go-to picks for ... Mixte, and ice that is either plastic, easy, hooked-out, or thin. 

But I wanna make sure I have the best picks possible for hard, cold, virgin, pure ice climbing. I'll baby those picks, they don't have to stand up to any rock abuse. 

What are people's 2025 recs given krukonogi unavailability? 

- camp ice picks, bad reviews but at $40 I can get new sharp picks 2-3x as often as more expensive options. I know that they aren't durable, but do they perform as well as the more expensive options when they're NEW? For reference, NEW petzl pur'ice picks feel like cheating to me.

- some also claim that camp mixte picks are thinner and climb ice better than camp ice picks? Opinions?

- steinle "for 80% iceclimbing and 20% rock", €171/pair, 3.5mm

- kruk psx00 out of stock 2.8mm

- howey tool 3mm, $175/pair. They don't make ice specific picks for camp like they do for petzl and bd; the closest is this.

Also clearly I WTB these if you have some for sale. 

Welcome to the Dreamer club, the big, beautiful X-Dream handles are the secret to not getting pumped for me.

I've owned a lot of XDream picks and the best are the Kruk PXS00, as you mentioned. However, they are really delicate and only for pure ice without a rock around for miles.

The Kruk PX0 (A,TN) are slightly thicker and taller but still climb hard ice better than any other pick except the 00s, and are much more durable and cheaper. Pic for comparison:

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Don't shoot the messenger about the price, but here are some 00s in stock:

https://pro-ice.equipment/replacement_picks/tproduct/435734599311-pxs00atn

The PX0s appear on that website too but are out of stock.

And more confirmation blog bias:

https://verticallstore.com/blogs/news/krukonogi-00a-picks

No, the previous stock Camp picks don't perform as well as these Kruks even when new. However, Camp updated their picks this year with the new X-Dreams so maybe they are better, but I would be surprised they come anywhere near the hard ice performance of the Kruks. Good luck.

Nord Ice also has PXS00 in stock. There’s a modular version now too with a replaceable front section which seems interesting (PXS00M2). You’d have to ask Stas about them though if they are good. I’ve never seen them in person, but the idea is cool. ProIce also has a version (PXS0000) with dead-blow pickweights as well. Probably designed for very delicate ice but again ask Stas.

CAMP’s new omni pick is just the mixt pick with a different name. They just simplified the pick lineup to be less confusing.

How sharp a pick is probably matters more than slight changes in geometry. The PXS series was designed for low ice displacement on very technical ice, in particular to be able to scratch. That low displacement helps on hard brittle ice but so does sharpening your picks a lot (or having fresh picks). I basically never sharpen my mixt picks except when the temps drop. And I only use my PXS’s to climb very thin or delicate ice where I’m tapping and scratching most of the time. But it never hurts to have nice gear on every climb.

The camp mixte picks climb well but are very soft steel. Expect to sharpen them very frequently.

The steinle picks are much harder steel but very thick picks. Much more effort required to get a good stick. Lots of ice displacement  

Tried to buy howey tool picks this fall, but they were turned back at the Canada-US border twice, and after over a month of waiting I decided to get a refund on the order.

 Beartooth alpine picks are never in stock.

Out of pent up frustration over the course of several seasons over the lack of good options for picks (and also having both handles break on my xdreams), I bought hydras. They are incredible 

Beartooth Alpine make great picks for the X Dream.  I have the ice version and it is really awesome for pure ice.  

Ellen Swrote:

Just picked up a pair of xdreams 

You are headed down the right way. It isn't that the stock picks are garbage, just that they are not durable. I am very interested in the new hard mixte pick based on my experience with the dry 2.0 has been positive.

Kruks can be had, just not cheap with some back channeling and based on what you describe, might be the best option for you. Some links up above might get you there.

The Beartooths are great, but they are no longer in business. The Stienle are junk based on my partner's experience. The Howeys as you mentioned are focused on dry/mixed. I like their dry picks. But not sure I have seen an x-dream ice pick from them.

And to mirror another comment in this post, the stock hydra picks are very good (all three of them)

Sunny-Dwrote:

Beartooth Alpine make great picks for the X Dream.  I have the ice version and it is really awesome for pure ice.  

That is suprising and it looks like their web site is active, but no products available.. I bought some last year and they are good. Also have the Howie and no complaints. Caveat: I am a long time plebe ice climber.

Nord Ice and Pro Ice aren’t currently shipping to the US due to uncertainty with customs. Subject to change of course, you can message them directly. They could potentially coordinate smuggling for those desperate enough.

I literally switched to Nomics because the super soft CAMP picks forced me to explore other options and I was tired of spending a bunch of money on aftermarket picks which never lived up to expectations. I broke a Howey Tool pick in half on a pure WI4 pitch, and bent a Beartooth Alpine pick on a fat WI3, literally the first time I climbed with them. I haven't found an aftermarket pick for any tool that outperforms the Petzl Pur'ice.

Terry Parkerwrote:

That is suprising and it looks like their web site is active, but no products available.. I bought some last year and they are good. Also have the Howie and no complaints. Caveat: I am a long time plebe ice climber.

Unfortunately, Beartooth Alpine is not producing picks at this time.  The owner is having some issues, and is not able to continue.  Hopefully, he returns.  I got to try their picks on a set of Hydra's last year, and was really impressed.  You have to dial back your swing, or you will bury the tool.  

I should be able to receive packages in Canada when I visit. But looks like Kruk will run me $267 USD at least :/ 

Does no one like howey tool?

Does anyone know what (F) refers to in Kruk speak?

Do we know whether the new CAMP picks are made from the same soft steel as the old picks, or a new compound?

(F) is a Finish steel. I’ve heard it’s slightly harder than the normal Krukonogi (A) steel, but consequently more brittle. The (S) is armox advance, the same metal as the new CAMP dry 2.0.

New CAMP omni picks aren’t new. Identical metal and geometry to the mixte. Just a different name.

is the result of (F) being brittle, that they could snap in half while ice climbing? 

The idea of a pick snapping seems unbelievable to me, but there are plenty of reports of it happening. 

I am not concerned if they would snap while torquing drytooling (I'll use some beater picks for drytooling)

Being more brittle and being likely to snap while ice climbing are very different things. A pick can be made of more brittle steel and be fine but a different pick made of less brittle metal could snap. Usually it’s errors in design or temper that delineate the two from what I understand.

For instance CAMP’s new hard mixt and dry 2.0 picks are made out of an incredibly brittle steel. But that doesn’t mean they are going to be snapping left and right, especially just ice climbing. A friend of mine did snap a prototype pair a few years ago, but CAMP realized they messed up the temper on that pair. I conversely bent a pair of the same picks. Same metal different result. 

I’d message Nord Ice for more details about how this particular metal performs though. I don’t have any first hand experience with it. Nord Ice is just Krukonogi made in Finland fyi. Different steel same guy. 

Re: howey, I loved their mixed pick for a general ice and scratchy mixed pick on my old green BD fusions better than any stock BD pick, as well as on a friends nomic with the mixed pick.

 I’ve picked up xdreams for this season and intend to grab some howey mixed picks and Petzl pick weights as I’ve been told they’re still great by a lot of locals, I just haven’t actually swung my own pair yet. 

Ellen Swrote:

I should be able to receive packages in Canada when I visit. But looks like Kruk will run me $267 USD at least :/ 

Does no one like howey tool?

Does anyone know what (F) refers to in Kruk speak?

Do we know whether the new CAMP picks are made from the same soft steel as the old picks, or a new compound?

I like howey 

Edit to add that I snapped a howey pick as well. But I still like them. 

Howey tool (which I really liked until this one broke...I never climbed mixed with this pick, only pure ice)

Terrifying 

Nick I think you're just cursed

isn't it crazy that CAMP just released a new version of the xdream but didn't address everyone's major complaint about xdreams...?

Ellen Swrote:

Nick I think you're just cursed

That might be true now that you mention it

Ellen Swrote:

isn't it crazy that CAMP just released a new version of the xdream but didn't address everyone's major complaint about xdreams...?

Has anyone laid eyes on the "Hard Mixte" pick? They don't give a great description on the website but if that pick climbs as well as the old Mixte pick on ice, it could be the solution everyone wants.