New X-Dream - rumor and innuendo

Might as well start up the rumor mill again. The new ones are on pre-order at REI right now. I was able to pre-order the total drys for my dry tooling needs, but the pre order seemed to disappear after I pre-ordered a set. Wanted a set since I held a pair at the camp headquarters in golden earlier in the year. 

New ones are available for pre order (if you select ship to store they will remove from the cart, you have to select ship to home)

C.A.M.P. X-Dream Ice Tool | REI Co-op https://share.google/gUwGsfhzovzCXjI7p

The total dry link is below:

C.A.M.P. X-Dream Total Dry Ice Tool | REI Co-op https://share.google/RKLpxczOkiCkNVj83

Cool to finally see these in a retail space. 

I like the removable spike.

New CAMP products

New suite of products on their page. Seems like it has updated from just showing the products this morning to now showing a drop down selection but out of stock for the things I've checked. 

Do we know if the new omni and ice picks are any better or harder than the old Mixte and ice picks?

Ellen Swrote:

Do we know if the new omni and ice picks are any better or harder than the old Mixte and ice picks?

From what I understand, only the dry pick is made with armox plus, the other picks are made with their same steel. But I could be mistaken, I’ll follow up with a camp guy I know

Matt Gravierwrote:

From what I understand, only the dry pick is made with armox plus, the other picks are made with their same steel. But I could be mistaken, I’ll follow up with a camp guy I know

@james d linked to the site that has all the details... the hard mixed is also Armox and looks to be tapered unlike the dry 2.0. The new omni is close to if not the same as the old mixte pick and the ice carries over from the past... so now you have 4 options from the factory.

The dry 2.0 has been a great pick and if the hard mixte is thin enough to get on real ice but be strong enough for hard dry moves, I bet it is a winner too...

Ellen Swrote:

Do we know if the new omni and ice picks are any better or harder than the old Mixte and ice picks?

Omni is the old mixer pick with a new name. No changes have been made is what I understand from a friend at CAMP. 

Nate C is correct the new Omni picks are the same as the old mixed picks.

I played around with new dry tool picks. Obviously they are thick and burley. They climbed pure ice okayish but if you file down the thickness at the tip they would probably make a decent ice pick. 

Any thoughts on the new handles?

Definitely a little lower volume, playing with them briefly i don't like them as much as the old handles 

what the general consensus on camp picks? From a pur’ice nomic user wondering what the compelling argument for x-dreams is other than ergonomics of the grip. Always thought the swing was off but would love to hear someone’s opinion. New tools look sweet and would love to try them

Matthias Wwrote:

what the general consensus on camp picks? From a pur’ice nomic user wondering what the compelling argument for x-dreams is other than ergonomics of the grip. Always thought the swing was off but would love to hear someone’s opinion. New tools look sweet and would love to try them

The pur’ice picks are better for sure, but I tune up my xdream picks, take down the volume a bit and then are just as good as Pur’ice.

For me it’s the handle ergonomics of the Xdream that makes it better than the Nomic.

the Xdream also has better clearance of the second grip position on bulgy bloby ice, sometimes its hard to match on the Nomic with how close the second position is to the ice. 

Matthias Wwrote:

what the general consensus on camp picks? From a pur’ice nomic user wondering what the compelling argument for x-dreams is other than ergonomics of the grip. Always thought the swing was off but would love to hear someone’s opinion. New tools look sweet and would love to try them

First AND second position is more comfortable. The “rest” on the Nomic isn’t wide enough and creates a pressure point on your hand. That’s been my experience anyway. Which mostly only comes into play when climbing mixed or dry tooling. Less relevant when only climbing ice. 

Follow up’s for both Matt and Ryan. First off thanks. Second, how do you guys like the robustness of the tool for higher grade mixed climbing? The adjustable hardware between handle and shaft just does not inspire confidence for torques.

Also how do you file the picks down? Slow and steady with file or take a buffing/conditioning pad to them? I’ve tried refining profiles on picks before and did not give me results I wanted. Maybe different on a pick that is already scent to begin with. Thanks in advance

Matthias Wwrote:

Follow up’s for both Matt and Ryan. First off thanks. Second, how do you guys like the robustness of the tool for higher grade mixed climbing? The adjustable hardware between handle and shaft just does not inspire confidence for torques.

Also how do you file the picks down? Slow and steady with file or take a buffing/conditioning pad to them? I’ve tried refining profiles on picks before and did not give me results I wanted. Maybe different on a pick that is already scent to begin with. Thanks in advance

I file them by hand with a bastard file, doesnt take all that long and you can find Xdream picks quite a bit cheaper then Nomic picks.

reduced volume on the left, stock on the right. I can’t share some more details on how i do it if you want, i have had really good results reducing volume and tunnel them, they penetrate ice very nicely with little displacement, as good if not better than Pur’ice.

I have only had one minor issue with durability, the tool was still 100% structurally sound, yet Camp still warrantied it and sent me a brand new tool quickly no questions asked.

Lots of guys dry tool hard on Xdreams without issues, and we don’t have whole form page of them snapping off handles….

Camp sponsors the USA ice climbing team and a lot of them climb With the X dream. It definitely holds up to hard dry tooling use. I believe there have been some issues in the past with the head of the tool breaking, but the bolt attaching the shaft and the handle is not the weak point. 

Matthias Wwrote:

Follow up’s for both Matt and Ryan. First off thanks. Second, how do you guys like the robustness of the tool for higher grade mixed climbing? The adjustable hardware between handle and shaft just does not inspire confidence for torques.

Also how do you file the picks down? Slow and steady with file or take a buffing/conditioning pad to them? I’ve tried refining profiles on picks before and did not give me results I wanted. Maybe different on a pick that is already scent to begin with. Thanks in advance

I’m 199lbs and have been climbing on mixed/dry routes up to M9 with Xdreams for 3 years. I’ve had zero durability problems.

I realize that in many circles M9 isn’t “higher grade” but I’m still torquing and cranking hard on them. I think the difference in my size versus most others using the tools says something about their durability. 

Appreciate all the responses. Thank you. Will keep an eye for someone at the crag to borrow for a few swings. I think the only thing I’m still interested in is the swing. If my memory serves me right there was a different swing to sink the pick in. Kind of a more awkward hacking motion then a natural swinging motion.

Matthias Wwrote:

Appreciate all the responses. Thank you. Will keep an eye for someone at the crag to borrow for a few swings. I think the only thing I’m still interested in is the swing. If my memory serves me right there was a different swing to sink the pick in. Kind of a more awkward hacking motion then a natural swinging motion.

Again, this is my experience and opinion, but I think the X dream has a more forgiving swing than the Nomic. You can have the pivot point at the pinky and give a wrist flick like the Nomic and get good sticks, or you can have the pivot point at the index finger and “hack” as you said and still get sticks. 

Recently got a pair of the newest Xdream and climbed on them for the first time today. The improvements are subtle but it's clear that CAMP was listening and put that feedback into this revision. Firstly, the tools COME WITH head weights, removable spikes, micro hammers, and a really nice rubber grip that extends from the 2nd position pommel well up into the "third position" and is nice and cushy on the teeth when bitten. In the past most of these required additional purchases. It's a nice touch to not have to "accessorize" your new tools to get them functional.

The grip has subtle but positive changes. It feels slightly thinner than the old one, and the (for me) annoying "trigger" in the first position grip now has an option to be removed and replaced with a "no trigger" flat panel. This was a huge plus for me because in the past I had resorted to grinding the handle down and the trigger off with a belt sander which I never liked but it did create a handle I was happy with. The new handle is just right for me without modification. I didn't notice the pinky pommel changes and this is a positive. I loved the old pommel, but the new one is just as good for me. 

The new head weight is lower profile and much easier to swap on and off than the older 3 piece version. It's less obtrusive when mixed climbing and doesn't get in the way when slipping the pick into cracks. 

It's not a "game changer" or a complete redesign, but these are solid improvements that add value.

The plastic bit of the pinky pommel cracked on both my original handles. The first one camp replaced with an alpine handle. The other one cracked later and I haven't reached out to camp about it yet but I assume they'd replace it with a 2nd gen handle. I recall they told me then the new handle would be more durable. I've also read they ice up pretty easily which could be a non starter given the amount of wet ice they see. Thoughts or observations on either of those issues?