rate these suckers

[iain]

I couldn't tell the difference in weight holding a cobra in one hand and a black prophet in the other. I'm sure the weight distribution is better in the cobra though. They also have identical grip size.

 

Quarks are good for cheating on ice climbs above your ability by hooking the pick line

[NYC007]

the thought that the CFBP's swing felt more natural, then the funky cobras

[Dr_Crash]

M_v_M are you talking about this

 

 

versus this

 

 

If so then the 2nd image is of the "new" Quark with the pinky rest attached.

 

Dumb question: does anybody expect to be able to put those shafts in snow (plunging, or for belay or whatever though boot-ax belays are weird anyway)? I know that Petzl say that it's one of the nice features of the Aztar for instance, and it's the ax that backcountrygear.net puts in their alpine ice package. The shaft is straighter too.

 

I'll try to borrow tools before I have to buy some so I can get some experience with a few, but if I wanted a set of ice tools for alpine climbing, would the Aztar be a better choice than the Quark? Or will the Quark be just as nice (though a bit heavier) and perform better when playing on waterfall ice?

 

Aztar:

 

 

drC - Ice newbie.

[fenderfour]

Keep it cheap and light in the alpine:

 

[Don_Serl]

Keep it cheap and light in the alpine

 

only if it's non-technical (i.e., snow/neve, in which anything works). and you can hardly imagine how to fall off anyway.

 

why would you want anything less than the easiest placing, most secure tool in your quiver on, say, a 400m alpine ice route? you're probably simul-climbing, or maybe soloing. what's that, maybe 2000-3000 placements? isn't it important to make each one of them with the minimum energy output? and to be comfortable and confident of every one of them?

 

gimme good tools, and screw the concerns with shaft-plunging. as for boot-axe belays, again, not on a "real" climb. T-slotting the tool is better, but even that's pretty sketchy.

 

cheers,

[Dru]

Ive never had problems plunging the Quark shaft and I have used them a lot in the alpine.

[Dr_Crash]

Thanks Dru/Don. That's what I wanted to know.

 

Would you say the Quark is a better tool than the Aztar? The Aztar is lighter I think, and have read it's a "lightened version of the Quark for alpine" though we all know marketing will say whatever they want...

 

drC

[iain]

Well the cobras/black prophets have been used to climb some of the hardest alpine routes in the world, so I wouldn't worry about the weight of the quarks so much. Surely there are other limiting factors in climbing besides the weight of the ice tools.

[Dru]

I think the Quark is better than the Aztar for waterfalls and the Aztar is a better tool for alpine. It depends on what you want to do with it in other words. If you just want one tool to do everything I'd get the one thats better at what you plan to do the most of.

[Alex]

The Aztar is a slightly shorter tool than the quark, which accounts for some of the weight difference.