BD Whippets

[iain]

Any of you skier types use them? They seem kindof pricey.

[iain]

There have been some steep icy skin tracks where I would have felt good having them though.

[mtnnut]

No doubt about it, the price I'm sure discourages some from getting them. They work pretty good though. You just need to decide whether you want those or the one that Life-Link sells.

 

Whippets are better in harder snow since they are slender like an ice tool. Good for booting up on steeper climbs with the feeling of nearly having two tools in each hand. On very soft snow, however, they just slide through it. On the moderate firmness to soft consistancy, the grip on the Life-Links has a better chance of digging in.

 

With either, I would recommend two (a pair) for skiing. For booting up stuff that feels a little more exposed than what you want with two whippets alone, sometimes an axe in one hand and a whippet in the other is sufficient. It feels modestly more secure than an axe alone, but a little shy of two tools. At times it is nice to have the length of the pole on the downhill side while the ice axe is in the uphill hand.

[iain]

thanks for the input. I think I will get a pair since they should last a long time. I think it's pretty underhanded of BD to make you buy a set of 80 dollar poles first, then lay down almost that amount again to replace the top part of your poles.

 

-Iain

[Rainier_Wolfscastle]

I think you can just buy the whippet shaft and a seperate lower section from BD. No need to buy another set of poles.

[iain]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rainier Wolfscastle:

I think you can just buy the whippet shaft and a seperate lower section from BD. No need to buy another set of poles.

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If that's true it makes much more sense. I've only seen the conversion kit available. I've had some BD poles for a long time already, so I'll just use the lower sections from those.

[cj001f]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rainier Wolfscastle:

I think you can just buy the whippet shaft and a seperate lower section from BD. No need to buy another set of poles.

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Exp. Probe Pol spare shaft (no baskets) $28.95 - you could probably use the cheaper Traverse pole bottom, since probe poles suck.

 

If there's anyone whose actually tried to arrest with a Whippet - Can you put enough muscle down with one arm to arrest with a whippet?

[Skisports]

I use a whippet for skiing all the time. In steep chutes I perfer two whippets. I don't like skiing with a ice axe because it throws of your rythme when you are skiing hard terrain. Some times I just use a whippet and a ski pole.

When I am not in questionalbe terrain

 

They are pricey but if you look around on the internet you can find the 25% or more somewhere.

I highly recomend one. But before use start useing them make sure you know where you hands are when you ski. I use to teach skiing and I see hands all over the place and that can get dangerous.

[Lowell_Skoog]

I have a pair of whippets, but I think they are absurdly expensive. I also am not 100% confident in their security. Last spring while starting a tour on the North Cascades highway, I clawed the top of the snowbank next to the road with my whippet, cranked on it, and the pick came loose. It is held onto the shaft by a cheesey spring-latch. I've never actually arrested with them. A whippet is nice to supplement an ice axe when climbing moderate hard snow, like on the north face of Mt Buckner or something like that.

 

I used Ramer self arrest poles for years before whippets came out and I still like them. Most of the time I ski with one Ramer and one whippet, on the theory that you never know what the snow conditions will be like. I think arrest grips are most useful for security for climbing, "extreme skinning" and for catching a minor slip the moment it starts.

 

Did you know that back in the 1930s, when NW ski mountaineers carried super long ice axes, it was common practice to ski glaciers with both ski poles in one hand and the axe (held like a self-arrest pole) in the other? It's an old concept!

[Chepe]

I thought a whippet was a dog breed

 

[ 11-25-2002, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: Chepe ]

[Winter]

I thought whippits were hippie crack.

[allthumbs]

I thought whippit was what I did in the privacy of my home.

[Skisports]

Trask I thought you had to pay for your whippets

[allthumbs]

No comment...I'm broke.