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Ice and Snow Gear

Types of Ice and Snow Gear

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Mountaineering Axes/Piolets

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Ice Tools

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Crampons

Top Picks

How we choose: The best ice and snow gear highlighted here were selected based on 96 reviews of 62 products. Our top picks are those that are readily-available in the United States and have received the highest overall ratings from reviewers.

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Top Ice Tool

Petzl Nomic

user rating: 5 of 5 (3 reviews)

Great ice tool for waterfall ice and mixed climbing! Has taken me from Rjukan to the Alps and back again!

Reasons to Buy

  • Versitile
  • Robust
  • Effective

Reasons to Avoid

  • A bit expensive

Great ice tool! I bought mine used though a friend (so I do not own the newest generation). It's been perfect for me, climbing WI 3-5 and mixed alpine routes. I can't think of much more to wish for in an ice tool. I was so lucky as to get different blades with the tool, so one for training, one for mixed, one for alpine, and one for water ice. Great swing, even without weights. The only thing I wonder about sometimes is that the tool sometimes feels a bit soft when dry tooling, like the blade is a bit loose.

Read more: Petzl Nomic reviews (3)

Top Mountaineering Axe/Piolet

Black Diamond Raven with Grip

user rating: 5 of 5 (2 reviews)

If you have ever wondered if you need an ice axe, the answer is yes and this is probably the one you need.

Reasons to Buy

  • Lightweight
  • Inexpensive
  • Cool grip
  • Feels good in hand
  • Durable
  • Solid swing

Reasons to Avoid

  • People still use wrist straps?

When your mountaineering requires a little pick swinging, but not enough to justify a hybrid tool like the Black Diamond Venom (I lost mine, then bought another later) the Raven is a very good choice.  The Raven is my fourth ice axe. I have climbed Mt. Adams, St. Helens, and I just returned from using my Raven on my second summit of Mt Rainier. I've also used axes on several smaller summit scrambles. My needs are mostly along the lines of balance, self-arrest, and lower angle snow climbing (up to 45 degrees).  Conditions Tested I used the Raven on Mt.

Read more: Black Diamond Raven with Grip reviews (2)

Top Crampon

Petzl Leopard FL

user rating: 5 of 5 (1 review)

The Petzl Leopard FL is an aluminum crampon featuring a Dyneema cord adjustment system. The crampon is so light you won't hate yourself for carrying them when you didn't need them. They are so easy to use and so effective you'll be glad you have them when you do need them.

Reasons to Buy

  • Lightweight
  • Compact
  • Ease of use

Reasons to Avoid

  • Limited size range
  • Possible wear on dyneema cord
  • Aluminum subject to wear/breakage

Specifications: All aluminum construction optimized for snow travel Ten points (with dual front points) assure traction on icy terrain Very lightweight 360 gm/12 ounces for pair CORD-TECH optimizes volume when packed in their included bag  Tool free adjustment assures secure fit  Binding system suitable for use with hiking and approach shoes, without heel or toe welts Boot sizes 36-46 EU/6-12 US MSRP $169.95   Adjustment: The holes on the front piece allow for length adjustment of front points.

Read more: Petzl Leopard FL review (1)

Mountaineering Axe/Piolet

Black Diamond Venom Hammer Ice Axe

user rating: 5 of 5 (1 review)

When you need a second tool, but not necessarily a technical ice tool.

Reasons to Buy

  • Curved shaft
  • Moderate weight
  • Rubber grip
  • Comes with a wrist leash
  • Replaceable pick
  • Safer self-arest
  • Less expensive than a dedicated ice tool

Reasons to Avoid

  • A compromise tool
  • One ounce heavier than the adze option

"You know when it's good picket snow when you drive one in and you really wish you had a hammer." These were the words of wisdom from my crevasse rescue instructor. He was basically saying that snow should be really hard if you intend to place a picket in vertically, otherwise you should bury it dead-man style.  "So I need to bring two tools?" I asked. "No," was his response. "Well if all I have is a hammer, then how do I dig in the snow?" What do you say to that smart guy? "With a shovel, which is way better than an ice axe, or dig with the picket itself," The guide countered. Oh, um OK, so I guess I don't know everything yet.  It makes sense.

Read more: Black Diamond Venom Hammer Ice Axe review (1)

Crampon

Petzl Vasak

user rating: 5 of 5 (4 reviews)

Other crampons I have used: Grivel G14 Grivel Rambocomp Stubai Ultralight Black Diamond Sabretooth Grivel G10 The Bad: The anti-snowballing plates on the bottom become damaged fairly easy when mixed climbing. The Good: Great performers on mixed terrain. A good variety of options for the binding systems. Light for a well built steel crampon. Broad and forward directed front points. Good for snow climbing. Easily adjusts to many sizes. Price Paid: $139.95 Review 11-23-2006 (by Ray Borbon): I picked these Petzl - Charlet Vasak crampons up in 2004 from Pro Mountain Sports in Seattle.

Read more: Petzl Vasak reviews (4)

Explore more top-rated ice and snow gear from Petzl:

Mountaineering Axe/Piolet

CAMP Corsa Nanotech

user rating: 5 of 5 (2 reviews)

This is all the ice axe you need for any mountaineering objective that doesn't require a technical ice tool. There is simply no reason to own or consider using a more traditional / heavier ice axe, even for trips that involve mostly glacier walking. This axe is so light you'll never hesitate to bring it with you when other bigger axes might seem like a drag.

Reasons to Buy

  • Extremely light
  • Sharp, durable steel pick
  • All the ice axe you need for mountaineering

Reasons to Avoid

  • None

I've used this ice axe on a few dozen alpine climbing trips over the last two years in various mountain ranges in Washington and British Columbia. The best feature is of course its light weight which makes it less of a drag to carry on long approaches that are so common in the Cascades. The slightly lighter all-aluminum version is less useful because of the aluminum pick and spike, but the Nanotech version with its steel pick and spike is all the ice axe I've ever needed. Shortly after getting the Corsa Nanotech, I did a long glacier climb and decided to bring my old Raven Pro ice axe for more walking comfort.

Read more: CAMP Corsa Nanotech reviews (2)

Crampon

Black Diamond Sabretooth

user rating: 4.5 of 5 (3 reviews)

Great versatile steel crampon for hard snow and icy conditions, in flat terrain, mountain uphill, and vertical faces.

Reasons to Buy

  • low weight
  • secure binding
  • manufacturing quality
  • resistance
  • anti-balling plates

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 and vertical ice These crampons (C2) are more technical without sacrificing suitability on easier terrain, due to the shape and orientation of the secondary points which allow to climb on icy vertical faces.

Read more: Black Diamond Sabretooth reviews (3)

Explore more top-rated ice and snow gear from Black Diamond:

Crampon

Grivel G12

user rating: 4.5 of 5 (3 reviews)

The benchmark mountaineering crampon that most people need. This will get you up any mountain in the world.

Reasons to Buy

  • Durable
  • Fit most boots,
  • Forward pointing secondary points allow this to climb quite technical terrain
  • Easy to put on and adjust

Reasons to Avoid

  • Frontpoints could be longer
  • Older design (not as curved) is lagging behind modern boots, though it still fits fine.

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 (toe strap, wire heel) gives a totally secure fit. If your boots are extremely asymmetrical you would want a different linking bar.

Read more: Grivel G12 reviews (3)

Crampon

CAMP Stalker Universal

user rating: 4.5 of 5 (3 reviews)

I bought these during a promotional sale at EMS. EMS by the way has the cheapest price on these even though it isn't listed here. They go for $99 I think on EMS.com The only reason these get 4.5 stars instead of 5 is that if you pack them incorrectly, they are literally almost impossible to adjust for size when putting them back on your boots. It has the typical peg adjusting system. In order to fit them into the pack they come in, they must be adjusted to a smaller size. When doing this, make sure the metal piece that slides and the peg goes into, goes UNDER the antibot plate, not over it.

Read more: CAMP Stalker Universal reviews (3)

Crampon

Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro

user rating: 4 of 5 (5 reviews)

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.

Reasons to Buy

  • Rock solid pieces of steel
  • Fast and firm mount to boots or removal
  • Anti-snow "bots" work very well
  • Points are large and strong for great traction on snow, ice, wet wood, etc

Reasons to Avoid

  • Not good in any kind of gravel or rocks
  • Made of carbon steel, not stainless steel, so subject to rust where the paint is rubbed off
  • Somewhat more volume and weight than rubber-mounted pegs

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 rubber spikes, etc. and decided to go with these. We have used them for four long day hikes on mountain trails covered with packed snow and ice.

Read more: Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro reviews (5)

More Ice and Snow Gear

Trailspace reviewers have shared 96 reviews of 62 different ice and snow gear. Narrow your search and view more specific ice/snow climbing device recommendations in these categories:

Mountaineering Axes/Piolets

Ice Tools

Crampons

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