Gear advice BD Vipers or Trango Raptors

Hey guys, First post, Limited Experience, Done a lot of reading but like to get direct conversation,

I'm looking for a set of entry-level tools I can do a few weekends of vertical ice (Ouray Top Rope) and set me up for possible entry into the mixed climbing and winter mountaineering stuff here in CO. Also looking for snap-on type crampons for the same goals. I already have some la sportiva nepal evos, a straight mountaineering axe, and strap-style crampons.

The tools above were what I was looking at. Open to all suggestions and advice. Thanks!

I'd say Cassin x-all mountain or Trango Raptors. You can't go wrong with the cassin x-all mountain, awesome tools that will work well on beginner routes and take you up through WI4/5. I've never used the Trango Raptors, but the design looks solid and they look like they'd be good tools. 

Love my X-All Mountains.  Sold my Vipers to buy them and won't go back.  But everybody's swing is a little different, so everybody will have different preferences on tools.  Best thing to do is to find some event (Ouray Ice Fest being one) at which you can demo a lot of different tools and see what works best for you.

Look for used.  Vipers are decent and common tools, and there are a lot of them out there for sale used--a pair should go for $250 or so.  Raptors, Cassins, and Nomics are well liked. Crampons--for steep ice, vertically-oriented front points are nice, as is the option for monopoints.  BD, Grivel and Petzl all make nice crampons with those options, as well as front toe bails which will work on your Nepals.  Again, consider used since you're just starting.  I saw some BD Switchblades for sale--avoid them--they're terrible.

I have used both Cassin Blade Runner and Black Diamond Cyborgs extensively and think both are great crampon options. My personal favorite are the Blade Runner. I love mono-point most of the time and they give me the option of dual point if I want. (but honestly, if I'm going to use a dual point I just grab my Cyborgs).

Vipers are pretty good. I've used every gen of the viper and the new ones are really nice, the orange ones are also nice. They don't climb mixed super nicely but they are great for both easy and steep ice

Thanks for the responses everyone!

I'm leaning towards the BD Vipers and Cyborgs, but I'll browse the used market for a while to see what pops up.

Much appreciated.

I owned vipers, then tried the nomads. Never used vipers again, even for pure ice.

Honestly, I loved my trango raptors, especially for the price point. Functioned really well up through intermediate ice with solid grip and well balanced pick weight. 

I think that comparing Vipers and Raptors doesn't make a ton of sense.  Vipers are a classic do-all alpine style ice tool, which will cover a wide range of activities, and not be as strong with very steep ice and mixed.  The Raptor is a more aggressive tool with the offset handle and aggressive geometry, which will tend to climb better on steep ice and mixed but may not be as good in the alpine.  Both are great, just depends on what you're trying to do.

You'd be better off comparing the Viper to Quarks, X-All Mountains, North Machines, etc., and comparing the Raptor to Nomics/Ergos, Fuel, X-Dreams, and Tech Machines.

For your stated objectives, Viper-style tools may be a better choice.  Quarks are also really good, and I absolutely love my Grivel Matrix Techs (old school precursor to the North Machine) for that type of climbing.

There are a million good crampons out there, and you'd be well-suited to digging around a bit to better understand the different styles (horizontal dual, horizontal mono, vertical dual, vertical mono) and reducing your search window a bit.