What are your favorite ice screws?

Curious what peoples favorite ice screws are. And how about that spindle thing for cranking them in faster? is it worth the extra $15-$20?

Grivel vs Petzl?

Most people I climb with have BD screws. And yes, the handle is worth it: there is no point to purchasing screws without a "coffee grinder" type handle. Buy used if you can't afford them new.

Any modern, crank driven screw will serve you well.

I've always found Black Diamond express screws to perform quite well, as long as you don't grind the tips into rock.. which is easy to do as a fledgling ice leader. Maybe find cheap used ones to start out with, on easy ice when it's possibly thinner than you think and screw-dulling is a high potential. I think the BD's are better than Petzl.

Honestly - everyone makes a good ice screw now.

BD's rack smoothly and go in fast, but the tiny coffee grinder knob tends to wear out my glove fingers. They have left holes in most of my thumbs. The Grivel 360 and the Grivel Helix are both fantastic, and I'm seriously liking the new Petzl screws as well.

Bottom line - buy whatever is cheapest. You won't be disappointed.

Your rack should be mostly 13cm and 16cm screws. You only need 1 or 2 screws longer than that.

Jon H wrote:...BD's rack smoothly and go in fast, but the tiny coffee grinder knob tends to wear out my glove fingers. They have left holes in most of my thumbs. ...

Fan of Turbo Express here. The Petzl/Charlet screws go in great though.

I just chose the ones that rack best.

When I first started, I ordered the non coffee grinder Express screw, they messed up the order and I got the Turbo. I've never gotten anything since.

Some folks on here and elsewhere can sharpen screws to like new. So that's awesome.

One thing I remember talking to someone about (I think Mal, but can't recall), is that Grivel screws have a rounded outer thread and the edge rolled under. BD has a sharp outer thread. If you just toss into the pack and nick up that outer edge, it makes them harder to place. Grivel in theory should be less affected by this. Regardless, if you take care of your screws and give the shaft a quick wipe with cooking oil, they go in nearly perfect every time.

BD express turbos are great. Just picked up the new petzl screw and I'll test them out this weekend, but assuming they start and go in as good as they are advertised I think they are money. Lighter than BD and the hanger is smaller than BD so it can fit into a more narrow place. It also fits better in your hand when you're doing the initial bite. AND they rack super well with my current BDs.

BD are the norm but Grivel has tweaked their screws to be comparable, minus the racking issues.
If you need your screws sharpened, check with rocknice2, he does large batches two times a year in his machine shop. ( icescrewsharpening.com/)

Thanks, guys!

I own the Black Diamond Express, the Grivel Helix and have used many others but the new Petzl Laser Speed Ice Screw is my new favorite by a long way. I have only used them on one trip up the Cowlitz glacier, Rainier and the last month local water ice so no clue as to durability but functionally the best ice screw I have ever used. The crank and clip-in-point just makes sense. I can easily get 2 quick draws into it and with the crank folded up it is only slightly bigger than a normal sport bolt. I just bought the newest Petzl Laser Speed Light Ice Screw and it is super light but Utah got jealous of Hawaii and all our fresh ice came down so have not had a chance to use it yet.

If I was on the market for brand new screws, I would get the new Petzl ones.