Mountain Project Logo

Favorite nut tool

Original Post
Nick Haha · · Choosing the path less trav… · Joined Oct 2017 · Points: 365

With so many brands to choose from, which nut tool brand do you prefer?

climber pat · · Las Cruces NM · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 301

I like the metolius feather nut tool.  I would be happy with any nut tool that has a built in clip and a widening at the top lesson the impact on my hand while tapping with the palm of my hand.   Lightweight is important to me, hence the build in clip so I don't have to use an additional carabiner carry the tool.

I have a trango shark tool which is too heavy for my taste, newbies get to carry this one.

Nick Haha · · Choosing the path less trav… · Joined Oct 2017 · Points: 365

I like your thoughts on the metolious feather nut tool.

Anonymous · · Unknown Hometown · Joined unknown · Points: 0

I've pretty much settled on the Wild Country Pro Key with Leash unless a better leash system is made and sold in the future. I like this better than a thin accessory cord leash to harness gear loop or just a wrist loop. It's got a fairly wide end for pounding  with the end of the hand, rock, or hex. If I'm too pumped to take the time to clip it back to my harness I can just let hang off the leash until I get to a better stance.

One thing I will say about really lightweight nut tools like the Metolius Feather Nut Tool that climber pat mentioned, is if you need to smack passive gear out with the side of the nut tool, having a heavier nut tool helps with that. But it is a personal preference and sometimes what kind of gear the leader is placing and how hard they are set. 

Mike Womack · · Orcutt, CA · Joined Mar 2014 · Points: 2,015

dmm nut buster has been pretty good for me.  I really like the padding, but it's annoying needing an extra biner for it. 

Nick Drake · · Kent, WA · Joined Jan 2015 · Points: 651

Second the feather, typically I'm not hammering too hard on passive gear, just using it to help fish out the smaller nuts. I use DMM offsets, wallnuts, and brass offsets which don't need to be set hard. If I used flat face nuts that tend to need an aggressive set I might want a beefier nut tool. 

Matt Himmelstein · · Orange, CA · Joined Jun 2014 · Points: 194
anotherclimber wrote:

I've pretty much settled on the Wild Country Pro Key with Leash unless a better leash system is made and sold in the future. I like this better than a thin accessory cord leash to harness gear loop or just a wrist loop. It's got a fairly wide end for pounding  with the end of the hand, rock, or hex. If I'm too pumped to take the time to clip it back to my harness I can just let hang off the leash until I get to a better stance.

One thing I will say about really lightweight nut tools like the Metolius Feather Nut Tool that climber pat mentioned, is if you need to smack passive gear out with the side of the nut tool, having a heavier nut tool helps with that. But it is a personal preference and sometimes what kind of gear the leader is placing and how hard they are set. 

+1 for the WC Pro Key.  When your partner wends in a nut, you want something durable enough to be able to take a pounding.  The extra material on the back end also makes it more comfortable to hit with the heel of your hand if you just need a little force.  I wish the clip on the harness side of the leach were a tad longer, but the leash itself is great.

hikingdrew · · Los Angeles, CA · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 38

Any tool with a hook end for prying out the bigger nuts and hexes. Steel is heavier but will last longer than aluminum if you do a lot of gardening..

Brandon Ribblett · · The road · Joined Mar 2016 · Points: 80

ive used a butter knife to get a welded nut out. it worked pretty good. 

Nick Haha · · Choosing the path less trav… · Joined Oct 2017 · Points: 365

It sounds like WC is the way to go, especially for a Clumsy person like myself!

Dead Head · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2017 · Points: 65

Metolius Torque.  I think the wrench feature could be a life-saver in a jam.

Fredrik Ehne · · Stockholm, Sweden · Joined Mar 2017 · Points: 0
Brandon Ribblett wrote:

ive used a butter knife to get a welded nut out. it worked pretty good. 

Did you use it to put butter on the nut to lubricate it?

Linnaeus · · ID · Joined Aug 2011 · Points: 0

You can add a small piece of 1/4" rubber fuel line (cut with a slit) onto the heel of the BD nut tool, and then a couple wraps of electrical tape to secure it. This allows you to pound on it easily without hurting your hand. 

Gavin W · · NW WA · Joined Feb 2015 · Points: 181

BDs tool with the built in clip is pretty good. A bit heavier than the Feather, but burlier as well. I have and use both, generally carry the Feather but will bring the BD if I expect gear to get welded. 

Anonymous · · Unknown Hometown · Joined unknown · Points: 0

Not a fan of the lightweight ones but than I did break a metolius nut tool (not the feather but the normal heavy duty one) onetime getting a stuck cam out. Don't think any of the lightweight ones would have lasted half as long as it.

Racechinees . · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2017 · Points: 0

I think I have an old DMM one, which has double hooks on one side; perfect for pulling the trigger on cams that are a bit too deep. Don't know the name and can;t seem to find it on there website anymore.

For winter; Petzl Multihook; because it also works for abalaklov's. 

Patrik · · Third rock from Sun · Joined Jun 2010 · Points: 30

Two features are required for my liking:

1) The "non-business" end should be concave (or flat), not convex.

2) There should be no padding at the "non-business" end.

Both these make it a ton easier and more efficient to bang (or more like "ping") on the nut tool with a biner/rock/hammer. Hugely more successful than banging on it with the palm of your hand. 

AFAIK, no one makes a nut tool with a sharp point that you can engage on the tiniest piece of metal "outside" the wire on RPs. But it is fairly easy to file off the rounded features (at least on aluminum tools). 

Roy Suggett · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 9,136

this more of a cleaning tool.  I like that it lets me pound a bit with the heal of my hand without bruising too much.  It is beefy enough to lever off loose flakes, scrape lichen, pull cables. and tap stubborn nuts.   

TheBirdman Friedman · · Eldorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 65

Can't believe nobody has said "Deez" yet. 

Anonymous · · Unknown Hometown · Joined unknown · Points: 0
Patrik wrote:

Two features are required for my liking:

1) The "non-business" end should be concave (or flat), not convex.

2) There should be no padding at the "non-business" end.

Both these make it a ton easier and more efficient to bang (or more like "ping") on the nut tool with a biner/rock/hammer. Hugely more successful than banging on it with the palm of your hand. 

AFAIK, no one makes a nut tool with a sharp point that you can engage on the tiniest piece of metal "outside" the wire on RPs. But it is fairly easy to file off the rounded features (at least on aluminum tools). 

I don't know that I've ever seen any modern nut tools currently sold with flat ends. But I totally agree that there should be no padding on the end you pound the tool with. If it doesn't come out by smacking the side of the nut tool against the stuck passive gear, or with some gentle palm taps against it, it needs a rock, or hex to smack against it. Having padding will interfere with this. The sharp end for removing micro nuts is a great idea! I may have to play around with that at some point. Thank you for the idea. 

One other point to add about the Wild Country Pro Key with Leash. If for some reason you get one of them with the Leash connected to the nut tool with a metal key chain ring like in the following link:

http://www.wildcountry.com/en/pro-key-with-leash/

Versus one were the leash is directly attached to the nut tool like in the following link:

https://www.backcountry.com/wild-country-pro-key-nut-tool-wdc0025

Remove that metal key chain ring and replace it with a small loop of the thickest accessory cord that will fit through the hole in the nut tool. (Of course make sure to run the leash end through the cord before tying it off.) The metal key chain ring gets in the way of being able to pound against the end of the nut tool. The small loop of accessory cord resolves that issue.

EWilliams · · Truckee, CA · Joined Aug 2014 · Points: 40

Metolius feather nut tool 21 grams. Trango piranha 20 grams. Trango shark 83 grams. I’ll continue to carry a separate knife and nut tool. The wild country leash option is gimmicky. Regarding winter nut removal ice tools work quite well. 

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Climbing Gear Discussion
Post a Reply to "Favorite nut tool"

Log In to Reply
Welcome

Join the Community! It's FREE

Already have an account? Login to close this notice.