Anyone climb with the Camp (Cassin) X-all mountain ice tools
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I have been interested in the for a couple months now. But have been climbing on a loaned pair of BD cobra's. Im going to start saving up some cash and wondering if anyone could give me some insight on feel, durability, climbing ability, etc. I would REALLY appreciate it! Its honestly between those, the cobras, the fusions, or nomics. |
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I have the Cobras, Nomics and X all mountain. I choose to climb on the X all Mountain because I like them better. Think wood axe vs Scalpel. When you climb one and one the X all Mountain displaces less ice and is easier to get solid sticks. if you were in Utah you could go out with me and compare them all. |
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very different swing than the cobras. the pick is basically the old camp awax pick. only requires a wrist flick most of the time, I found that I tended to overdrive them and then had difficulty removing them once I climbed above them. I found the distance between the bottom and trigger to be a little tight for my meaty paws. |
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Actually funny you say that I may bein SLC in march. But hopefully i'll have a pair way before then. |
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Did you do a search? |
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Somewhere I did a bit of a longer post/review on the x-ice or x-mountain or x-mixed. All the same axe with different pics. Basically I really like them, the pics do need LOTS of sharpening to stop them sticking. Great all round axe, it really depends on your swing but for the price you can find them they are fantastic. Only 1 big problem. The grip is held on with a small bolt - I am sure its absolutely fine but it does wig me out - logically the only time it could be a problem is if you use the hole in the spike for a belay. |
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Just re-read your post and had a think. I would say Nomics or X- tools. If the X tools are cheap enough go for them, if not go for the nomics. I dont like the BD swing and I find that the design can at times be troublesome on cauliflower ice and I have a tendency to snap the pics - a problem I had all the way back to the origonal cobras. If you feel that the Nomics are not "mountain" enough just look up Uli Steck. The X tools are truly a fine axe and far more popular in europe, they are also more forgiving if you keep the teeth razor sharp. The great thing is all the axes you talk about are excellent - back in the day axes were fairly bad, ask anyone what their hands looked like after a few days on the ice with straight shafted axes and wool mits. |
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Thanks for all the reviews and opinions guys! I will thankfully be flying out to Ouray next Wed for the Festival so Im hoping to be able to try out the nomics, fusions, and the Cassin/camp. |
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Have used my brand new cassin all mountain tools on a few hard alpine mixed routes and some waterfalls within a month of getting them. they swing like a dream and are very versatile. definitely a different tool than the nomics, which I would have gone for if they had a proper spike. spot on design, though, definitely recommend them. |
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What are the differences between the X-AM and the Awax? More curved? Less curved? Lighter? I find that the Awax has a similar grip angle and climbs almost exactly the same as my Nomics. |
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Just climbed on my new x tools today. Very nice! A bit hard to |
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X-all mountain I found quite similar to awax. |
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I love my set of awax but I feel that camp doesn't support their tools for as long as bdel. I am still looking for the leashless hooks and can't find them anywhere, so it wories me I won't be able to find new picks if I need them later. I couldn't be happier with the swing and placements - so if the x-all-mtn is simular thats where my vote would be, but I have only used quarks and ergos in the past so take my opinion for what its worth. |
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I talked to CAMP last year and they said they were going to make AWAX hooks again soon. Maybe call them and check the status of that. Still lots of AWAX picks out there too, if you want to buy them up. |
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I got the all mountains now, they're great! Like the awax, but updated extremely well. Great balance. |
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My wife and I both climb on X-All's now. She bought a set first and I liked them so much that I sold a set of new Cobras to get the Cassin's. We climb everything with them - alpine ice, steep ice, thin ice, and even mixed. They are simply fantastic. The picks are so aggressive that they require only a light placement to be solid. They often times will get a good stick in otherwise bad ice due to the fact that they fracture and displace so little on the way in. There is also no learning curve with these tools. Literally the first time I climbed with my wife's, they felt so good I soloed a 100' grade 3 climb. That's not something I would normally do with a set of tools that weren't mine. I came home and bought a set the next day. |
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Update: I have broken three pairs of grips now (one of the old version, two of the new kind). CAMP has gladly sent me new ones in the mail for free, so great customer service on their part. The fact that the grips keep breaking is a bit disconcerting (both first and second position pommels keep cracking), but the tools still rock! Hopefully they will figure it out soon (it seems like the plastic material is just too soft) as I'm sure many others have the same issue. |
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erik rieger wrote:Update: I have broken three pairs of grips now (one of the old version, two of the new kind). CAMP has gladly sent me new ones in the mail for free, so great customer service on their part. The fact that the grips keep breaking is a bit disconcerting (both first and second position pommels keep cracking), but the tools still rock! Hopefully they will figure it out soon (it seems like the plastic material is just too soft) as I'm sure many others have the same issue.I have been doing some pre-season hanging/training with mine and have noticed some creaking noises. The handle system is only attached with one small allen key. Erik: do you have any photos of the handles? Would be interesting to see exactly where they failed. - I still have a set of the awax picks for sale - (SOLD) |
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I am going on my second season with my X-all mountains and think are a fantastic tool. The picks are well constructed and have lasted far longer than any other brand I have used, The swing weight is damn near perfect and all it takes is a light flick of the wrist and you are good to go. They hook great and climb mixed terrain as good as any tool I have ever owned. I use the gray handles as the stock orange and gray handle was too thin for my hands. The new grips have made a huge difference. They are lightweight and despite the aggressive geometry, it is a wonderful alpine tool that you can actually plunge with...imagine that! |