Petzl Hammers?

Anyone used a Petzl Bongo, Tam Tam, or Jumbe Hammer? The names are fun too....
How are they? I'll be using it for the occasional pin, cleaning aid, funkness testing, maybe a few bolts, maybe some chossy alpine rock first ascents.

They are lighter and cheaper than the BD hammer.

I haven't used the Petzl hammers, but everytime I've tried something other than my old BD hammer I always go back to it. You should be able to pick one up second hand if the price is the issue.

I use a Tam Tam for drilling first ascents on lead. It is really light though and not great for pins or funking. I have placed a bunch of bolts by hand with it but would not suggest it as the bolts take forever. If you have a power drill it is not an issue, and it is nice to have a hammer you can barely feel hanging from your harness.

Remember that the head of the hammer is what does the job. More weight means less work and less fatigue for you. My BD really is not that heavy, maybe 16 ounces I'd venture, and I bought it on ebay with a bunch of pins. The old hammers are out there, just got to look and wait. Another option if you want to go dirtbag cheap is to get a regular brick layers hammer, drill a hole in the "pick" end and call it even.

Paul Shultz wrote:Remember that the head of the hammer is what does the job. More weight means less work and less fatigue for you.

You need to be careful with the weight however.

I thought I'd come up with a great idea....I bought a 2 lbs. drilling hammer for placing bolts while on TR or rappell. Then I started breaking bits left and right....not cheap bits either, these were Hilti bits. I went back to my BD hammer and haven't had an issue since.

josh

J. Thompson wrote: You need to be careful with the weight however. I thought I'd come up with a great idea....I bought a 2 lbs. drilling hammer for placing bolts while on TR or rappell. Then I started breaking bits left and right....not cheap bits either, these were Hilti bits. I went back to my BD hammer and haven't had an issue since.

Something to be said for that. Easy to blast the insert out of an SDS bit with hard hammering. Also, easy to bust high carbon steel rawl bits too (especially the 1/4" ones, heaven forbid anyone still places those small bolts).

I use a Grivel Thor which works great on softer rock. I find a quicker amount of hits with short rotations work much faster than slow, heavy hitting, especially in softer sandstone (and granite too, for that matter). Seems easier on the pipes, too.

-Brian in SLC
(cheers, Josh, and good to see you last week!)

I'm currently using a cheap framing hammer with a leash hole and a short sling girth hitched and taped in place for funking. Works fine except for the claw part.

Weight of course is a balance, but most pins placed are thin, and a lighter hammer will work ok for them - although a heavier hammer is certainly nicer for cleaning overdriven pins.

Hey If your lookin for a used bd wall hammer i prolly got one or two
setting in the storage unit if your willing to pay a fair price I might be interested in selling one. Both of the ones I might be willing to part with are in great shape still have the original slings and don't really have much wear n tear on em.. I also have an
Italian job can't remember who made it but it has a funkness hole, a
copper heading pick and a fairly serviceable hammer Im guessing it weighs in at about 16-22 oz bashed some pins with it works ok even
placed a copper head w/it and has a slot in the end of the handle for a sling. I believe I picked it up at sierra trading post a few years back id sell it for around 20 bucks the handle is a wee bit longer than the petzl