Cobras vs Vipers?

I scripted this for upcoming Mike's Mail #14 but kinda fits into what your asking sorta....
anyhow thought I would throw it out there.

Ice climbing sounds strange and waterfall ice climbing sounds just plain stupid. Yet it is so Canadian it fits right in between hockey and dog sledding. Your question of tools which one and why I could see being a confusing one. Petzl, Black Diamond, and Grivel are the big players in the game at least here in North America. Not looking at mountaineering axes each of the big three have a couple high end ice tools.

First lets define the type of tool Climber4Him is talking about. We are not looking at the standard mountaineering axe 70cm or so in length. Straight shaft adze on one side of the head and a pick on the other. No we are talking about the more technical waterfall ice tools and their close relatives. We should note right now that even the worst waterfall tool on the market is heaps better then any tool we had 20 years ago.

I can go into a big long rant about the evolution of the ice tool but will spare you that because I have already done that. Check out this blog post “ Why would somebody prefer not to use leash less tools “

“ Any tool will work for you as long as you believe in it”

Guy Lacelle

There are good all round tools but that is very much like saying there are 4 season tires. Meaning that you can make them work and if your careful you won’t crash in our case that means hitting the ground. The two models that come to mind is the Black Diamond Carbon Fiber Cobra. The Petzl Quark also makes it in the all terrain vehicle status. C4H is asking for a reasonably priced tool. Dude we are talking waterfall ice climbing. Symbolically it represents everything that is wrong with the western world. Rack of screws = $780 Draws and slings = $150 Crampons = $200 Pack= $300 Boots = $600 High-tech layers =$2500+ Gas to typical climb $40 Coffee and donuts and lunch and thermos $15 Gear wears out so there is a cycle of equipment that has to be replaced constantly. Then at the end of the day I wash the whole experience down with $25 worth of beer at some sleazy climbers hangout. All this to climb a waterfall. Turn that around and how many water wells could I have drilled in some village in a poor part of Africa or India. How many lives could I have saved. So when you talk affordable or reasonable I guess I just think about it differently. Like the guy that goes shopping for a sailboat, if yeh have to ask, yeh can't afford it. For you however there are a few work arounds if your willing to buy second hand equipment. MEC has a resale website and switching gear in Canmore carries ice gear from time to time. Also check kajijiji

Black Diamond Carbon Fiber Cobra's
Carbon Fiber Black Diamond Cobra: These are beautifully crafted tools. The combination of carbon fiber and metal looks like something that the Apple design team dreamed up while under the watchful eye of Steve Jobs. The elegant curve is for more then just show it gives plenty of clearance allowing to place the well back into pockets and behind or between icicles. Locations that are more receptive to the violence

Rest of the article at following link Which ice tool

Thanks for all the further feedback. Even the "muddying of the waters" ha.

I ordered the Cobras and while they haven't come in yet, I climbed on my buddy's pair this weekend. I couldn't be happier with my choice. The vibration dampening of the carbon fiber shaft is like some kind of crazy black magic. I was able to get solid, one swing sticks in places where my old Ergo's would have shattered off huge dinner plates.

The only real issue I had was that the upper pinky rest seems too small for my big hands. however, that could stem from the balance of the upper pinky rest being different than that of my old tools. With my Ergo's I tended to swing with the Z Handle, then bump up to the pinky rest to pull myself up. Fortunately, I was on TR when I tried to do this with the Cobras and the tool pulled out. But for the rest of the pitch, I didn't really use the upper pinky rest at all and didn't feel like I needed to like I do with my Ergos.

Wow.. you didnt at least take a lap with the X Dreams? My buddy tried them a couple weeks ago at Pitchoff. He said it was cheating! He had Cobras.

I can't wait to cough up the coin for Blade Runners. More cheating!