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[Admin Al]

I've been happy with my Cobras for the past 2 years. they take what I dish out & come back for more. I got a Viper & it seems to be more of the same. great swing, great sticks, good price.

lots of folks have Quarks & you either love em or hate em. I tried a pair last year & didn't care for the swing myself. to each his/her own.

there a a number of new tools out there that are getting some press. Grivel has a new one, there are others. what do folks think?

Al

[dogboy]

As Al knows, I have had Quarks for two seasons, and love them.  I replaced my old Rambos this year with Vipers...I used them once only, but so far I don't like them as much as the Quarks.  The Quarks take a while to get used to, but once you get used to the short, somewhat choppy swing, they're great, particularly on thin ice.  Every swing seems to stick perfectly, and you can swing them so softly that climbing verglass seems like a joy...my girlfriend also has used the vipers, and did not like them as much as the Quarks...to me, the vipers are a little too heavy and simply require too hard of a swing to compare to the Quarks...but, I'm certainly going to give them a full season before making up my mind....

[Alex]

as with lots of things, sometimes it takes a really shitty tool to really appreciate what you can do with even a DECENT one. The first tool I got was one of the first ever made...one of these really short, stubby European-made hammers with a wicked steeply-drooped pick. Climbing with this thing is a sheer nightmare. When you climb using this tool and ANYTHING else you essentially have one working hand and one that sort of helps a little, but not really...


I used this thing with a very simple, straight-shaft and rather long (55 cm) Grivel alpine tool, and loved it (the Grivel). No need for any of those fancy curved shafts...give me two of these and I will be happy.

[Jaims]

I used to have an old pair of Charlet Quasars, until I smashed my knuckles into bits on steep ice, and s**t my pants pulling over bulges when you can't get the picks in! They're fantastic in Scotland for T-axe belays, but not much fun on cascades!

Eventually forked out for a pair of cobras, and found a pair of the quick-release leashes - they're fantastic! it makes placing screws so much easier, but the little clippy bit attached to the axe keeps flipping over. Any suggestions? I think I might just glue them down to the shaft!

[scottie_c]

BD cobras were my first choice when I initially bought some tools.

There was a ClimbHigh warehouse blowout sale not too long ago... managed to get a pair of Grivel Top Machines.

My friends has BD Black Prophets which are solid tools.

Hard sayin' not knowin' if you are new, and dont know whatcha r  lookin' for

[wiregate]

I had climbed on DMM Predators and I was a huge fan of them.  I thought they were the greatest thing until I tried my parter's new Lite Machines last season.  All of a sudden I realized that my tools were freakin heavy and the design of the pick required a big heavy swing rather than the wrist flick that the grivels favor.  

That experience opened my eyes and I tried several tools last season including Rages, DMM Fly and Alien, and Quarks.  I just bought Quarks last week and I can't wait to use them.  I like the lighter weight, nice curve, narrow grip, and the pick options are better than the DMM options right now.

I thought the Viper was a decent tool, but it seems heavily weighted toward the head and very pricey considering it doesn't come with leashes.

[Admin Al]

that's why there are so many tools out there now. lots of options for every taste. <g>

Al

[Shawn]

Had CM Quasars for past 5 years and my wife had Najas.  Najas too light in the head and Quasar picks just plain bite.  They shatter way too much ice. Just got a pair of Cobras for me and Vipers for her. I had a chance a few weeks ago to try out the Cobras and they are amazing.  Haven't tried the Vipers but i think they will be nice too.  I tried the Quarks a couple of years ago and could not stand them.  

[Steve D]

I just purchased Quarks, so I will give some feedback soon..  This is my 5th pair of ICE tools, the last two were Pulsars then Quasars, so I seem to be a good Charlet Moser customer..  I hope I will be as happy as I have been with the past tools..

Steve D

PS :  UPS scale weight today with B/D leashes 1.55 #'s, Quasars were 1.83 #'s each.  So this will take 1/2 # out of my pack for Alpine days when weight matters..

[Admin Al]

just got a couple of new tools from Trango to test out - the Lightening Hook and the Madame hook. thanks Mal. they both look very interesting. I tested the Captain Hook last year and really liked them, especially for the price. Trango says that they've resolved the only problem I found - the pick bolts loostening up. we shall see.

the Madame Hook is really radical and designed mainly for leashless climbing.

http://www.trango.com/showitem.cfm?catnum=27&itemnum=182

the picks look really nice and the leash that they sent feels good too. it's a bit like the Machine leash. I'm planning on getting out on Thursday so I'll let you know how they feel in ice.

Al

[dogboy]

Wow...the handle looks suspiciously like the one Simond uses on the Scud....

[Guy Tremblay]

What a great idea !!  Being able to do both, ice and mixed with or without the leaches...  The only problem I see is the weigth of the Madame Hook with the leach less handle... dam too heavy    At 922 grams a tool, that is 256g more per tool than what the Charlet-Moser Ergo offer  

Weight matters so much for leach less climbing... lets see if they are going to put their tools trough a serious weigth lost program  

[wiregate]

Well, I've had the Quarks for a couple of months now and wanted to report back.  I rigged them with a pair of BD android leashes and I'm very happy with them.

They're definitely lighter than what I was used to, and they seem to stick on the first swing all the time.  I love the reach over bulges and I find that the pick and hammer really work well torqued in cracks for mixed climbs.  I've played on some mixed climbs at the Flume and the rock finish on Pegasus over the past couple of weeks and they felt really solid on small edges and different cracks.

I'm interested in hearing any other feedback on the Quarks, especially on leash systems and the alternative picks available from CM.

[Sir_mix_allot]

I have the Rages and the Quarks and I love them
however, I hate the Cobras and the Viper to me they are no more then a gimmick got rid of mine like a bad habit