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Ice and Snow Gear

The best ice and snow gear, reviewed and curated by the Trailspace community. The latest review was added on August 28, 2023. Stores' prices and availability are updated daily.

user rating: 5 of 5 (3)
Petzl Nomic Ice Tool
$300 - $309
user rating: 5 of 5 (2)
Black Diamond Raven with Grip Mountaineering Axe
$125
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Petzl Leopard FL Crampon
$112 - $164
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Black Diamond Venom Hammer Ice Axe Mountaineering Axe
$180
user rating: 5 of 5 (4)
Petzl Vasak Crampon
$110 - $174
user rating: 5 of 5 (2)
CAMP Corsa Nanotech Mountaineering Axe
$160
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (3)
Black Diamond Sabretooth Crampon
$200
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Petzl Sum'Tec Mountaineering Axe
$210
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (3)
Grivel G12 Crampon
$175 - $199
user rating: 5 of 5 (3)
Black Diamond Raven Pro Mountaineering Axe
$18 - $795
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (3)
CAMP Stalker Universal Crampon
$120 - $139
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Petzl Summit 2 Mountaineering Axe
$140
user rating: 4 of 5 (5)
Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro Crampon
$62
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1)
Black Diamond Serac Crampon
$75 - $200
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1)
Petzl Lynx Crampon
$250 - $259
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1)
CAMP X-Dream Ice Tool
$280 - $329
user rating: 4 of 5 (3)
Black Diamond Contact Strap Crampon
$170 - $179
user rating: 3 of 5 (2)
Black Diamond Raven Mountaineering Axe
$59 - $140
user rating: 3.5 of 5 (3)
Black Diamond Neve Strap Crampon
$112
user rating: 4 of 5 (2)
Grivel G10 Crampon
$160
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1)
Black Diamond Snaggletooth Crampon
$230
user rating: 4 of 5 (1)
Black Diamond Viper Ice Tool
$260
user rating: 3 of 5 (2)
Kahtoola KTS Hiking Crampons Crampon
$170
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (2)
DMM Cirque Mountaineering Axe
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (2)
Black Diamond Cyborg Crampon
$210 MSRP
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Stubai Tour Lite Telescoping Mountaineering Axe
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Stubai Tirol Crampon
 
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Simond Chacal Ice Tool
user rating: 4 of 5 (2)
Black Diamond Fusion Ice Tool
$280 MSRP
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1)
Cassin X-Alp Ice Tool
user rating: 4 of 5 (2)
Omega Pacific Mountain Axe Mountaineering Axe
$68 MSRP
user rating: 3 of 5 (1)
Grivel X Monster Ice Tool
 
user rating: 5 of 5 (2)
Chouinard Equipment Blue Composite Shaft Ice Axe w/Curved Pick Ice Tool
discontinued
 
user rating: 4 of 5 (2)
Forrest Mjolnir Ice Tool
discontinued
 
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
MacInnes-Peck Terrordactyl Ice Tool
discontinued
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1)
CAMP Ice Rider Crampon
discontinued
 
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Grivel Taa-K-Oon Alp Ice Tool
discontinued
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Grivel Racing Wing Ice Tool
discontinued
user rating: 4 of 5 (1)
SMC Superblue Hinged Crampons Crampon
discontinued
user rating: 4 of 5 (1)
Grivel Nepal Steel Mountaineering Axe
discontinued
user rating: 3.5 of 5 (1)
CAMP Vector Nanotech Crampon
$280 MSRP
discontinued

In order to show you the most useful information, we have omitted some products.

Recent Ice/Snow Climbing Device Reviews

rated 1 of 5 stars
Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro

Lost one in the snow on my very first use because the strap mechanism meant to keep them on your feet just plain doesn't work. The traction they provided was helpful for the few hours that I owned them, but obviously that does no good if you don't have it. Also, customer service was unhelpful. Bought these to try them out. At first they seemed pretty good because they appeared to provide good traction. However, I soon found that they are, in fact, a fatally flawed product. The straps that are supposed… Full review

rated 5 of 5 stars
Petzl Nomic

If you are a technical climber, this is the only tool you need. At home on rock, ice, mixed, and on sketchy approaches. I have climbed on every iteration of the Nomics. I learned on gen 1, bought gen 2 and used it for 2 seasons leading up to wi5. I had no complaints, the tools took me places I couldn’t have dreamed of before my introduction to the sport. Then I tried my friend’s 3rd gen tools. I didn’t think such improvement was possible from perfection. Durability issues were fixed in the… Full review

rated 5 of 5 stars
Black Diamond Sabretooth

Great versatile steel crampon for hard snow and icy conditions, in flat terrain, mountain uphill, and vertical faces. I had initially chosen the Black Diamond Serac Clip for my first pair of crampons, but they had been unavailable for quite some time up until a few days before my outing, and amongst available options I chose the Sabretooth Clip (Hybrid). I am glad I did, as I got a lot more versatility for the same price and weight. Bindings, compatible boot types and suitability for flat, uphill… Full review

rated 5 of 5 stars
Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro

Excellent performance on ice, packed snow, or greasy logs. Easy on and off boots. Solid connection to boots for great control on flats or slopes. We bought these after trying snowshoeing on the mountain trails on the North Shore of Vancouver. The trails get packed down pretty hard very quickly and only the crampons of the snowshoes really do any work. So we decided to drop the snowshoes and go with spikes. We looked at many different varieties including the rubber mounted carbide pegs, chain and… Full review

rated 4 of 5 stars
Grivel G12

The benchmark mountaineering crampon that most people need. This will get you up any mountain in the world. This is the crampon 90% of people need. I have climbed vertical ice, steep snow, and even dry tooling. Sure, there are better crampons for really steep stuff, but if you only want one crampon, this is a good one. Steve House climbed Nanga Parbat Royal Face in this. Stevie Haston climbed Scotch on the rocks in this. I find it fits my boots well (La Sportiva and Hanwags models) and the Newmatic… Full review

rated 1 of 5 stars
Black Diamond Neve Strap

These do not work at all with Altra trail shoes. The crampons slide off the toe box. My foot slid out multiple times while traversing a very sketchy icy slope. Full review

rated 4.5 of 5 stars
Black Diamond Snaggletooth

Good precision and grip, but slightly heavy. I bought them for mixed climbing routes with a lot of rock climbing involved and they proved very adequate for the task indeed. I used them with a pair of La Sportiva Baturas and they performed very well with great feeling and precision. However there was this incident on the downclimb when one of the crampons suddenly came off without particular reason. I had them fitted really hard, so I don't know what happened but since then I am a bit cautious. Full review

rated 4 of 5 stars
Black Diamond Contact Strap

Easy to fit on and great traction. These were very easy to fit to my boots (10.5D), and fast to get set up. I really appreciate crampons that are a breeze to put on and take off. It's not often I have an easy place to put them on when I get to ice, snow, etc. And the first time using them, I could feel a lot of secure traction on snow and scree fields. Full review

rated 5 of 5 stars
Stubai Tour Lite Telescoping

This is a great tool for exploring a wide range of terrain. The telescoping feature is reliable and well designed. After much research  I finally bought the Stubai telescoping axe as a versatile hiking tool. The first thing I noticed about this tool was how well it was built . It has an aluminum head. Delivered with snow basket. Perfect for trekking and glacier walking. Its telescopic shaft can be adjusted according to individual requirements from 60 to 95 cm. It works well for me as I am 6'1"… Full review

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