New Ice tool from BD?

Posting this because I'm a huge ridiculous ice climbing gear nerd.  

At least two recent Will Gadd Instagram posts have shown a purple tool.  See example below.  

Is this a Hydra with a new color? (Black Diamond seems to be going "purple" this year with lots of winter clothes)

Is this a new tool more like the old Fusions...?

I typically climb on Nomics and Ergos but....well....purple!  

Oh man, a purple Hydra might just be too much temptation to resist. (Only half joking:). 

That's more fuchsia than purple.  Would match my old Invernos.

Almost certainly a Hydra.  You guys know that you can get grip tape in almost any colour you want, right?   

@ Grant, colored grip tape is aid. 

I think they're just trying to compete with the Grivel pink tool. 

This is a hydra in a new colour - some amount of the sale goes to the musk ox foundation. 

What I find interesting is that Will is still climbing on Cobras for much of his climbing.  

Kai Larsonwrote:

What I find interesting is that Will is still climbing on Cobras for much of his climbing.  

When you're Will Gadd, you can climb on butter knives.

Grant Watsonwrote:

When you're Will Gadd, you can climb on butter knives.

Right, that's exactly what Kai said.

Kai Larsonwrote:

What I find interesting is that Will is still climbing on Cobras for much of his climbing.  

Cobras are the fucking bomb.

Gonna modernize and paint my Cobras Fuschia.  Maybe I’ll climb like Will Gadd 

Mark Pilatewrote:

Gonna modernize and paint my Cobras Fuschia.  Maybe I’ll climb like Will Gadd 

Fuschia Cobras are truck.  

Kai Larsonwrote:

What I find interesting is that Will is still climbing on Cobras for much of his climbing.  

I'm pretty confident that this isn't the case. I'm fairly certain that he switched over to Hydras in 2023 and hasn't looked back. He's been super vocal about the fact that the Hydra was the first tool that got him to want to give up his Cobras. All the media of him shot since that 2023 proto period has been of him on Hydras. 

NateCwrote:

I'm pretty confident that this isn't the case. I'm fairly certain that he switched over to Hydras in 2023 and hasn't looked back. He's been super vocal about the fact that the Hydra was the first tool that got him to want to give up his Cobras. All the media of him shot since that 2023 proto period has been of him on Hydras. 

Lot of stuff on his Instagrams show him climbing with Cobras, including things posted this year..   They could be old footage though.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZbRtgMgYY/

I think that Kili footage is from Will’s 2020 “Last Ascent” Red Bull film.

There’s a lot of old footage on IG. Jimmy Chin(‘s social media manager) posts Meru stuff like once a month. Gotta keep that cadence up if you want to please the algorithm gods…

Selling my old Vipers!

Kai Larsonwrote:

Lot of stuff on his Instagrams show him climbing with Cobras, including things posted this year..   They could be old footage though.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJZbRtgMgYY/

I looked through there and everything I saw him using Cobras on was footage from several years ago. 

Just saw Jimmy Chin’s pic of Will Gadd in the Ghost using good ol’ basic black Cobras.  Is that new or old pic?

Mark Pilatewrote:

Just saw Jimmy Chin’s pic of Will Gadd in the Ghost using good ol’ basic black Cobras.  Is that new or old pic?

Best guess is that it’s old. I’m guessing from the boots he’s wearing (Scarpa Rebel Ultra model) and the ice conditions.