BD picks

[mzvarner]

I have the vipers, with the standard laser pick. I seem to break off a massive amount of ice, and make 3-4 swings to get them to stick even after i sharpen the picks. oone of my friends has the new Quarks and they stick with no dinner plates on 1-2 swings. I noticed his picks have a very dramaticy angle change at the front point, similar to the BD titan pick. Does this angle change make a dramatic difference on WI? What else could I try?

[Tom_Sjolseth]

I've actually noticed the opposite, depending on the ice. One of my climbing partners has a pair of Vipers with the standard pick, and his Vipers swing far better than my new Quarks (without pick weights) in brittle ice. He filed his picks fairly narrow, more narrow than the new picks, with a longer angle, so I imagine that accounts for some of the difference right there.

 

When the ice is softer, I find that my Quarks swing just as good, and are lighter to boot.

 

I also have swung the Nomics with pick weights and they swing noticeably better than my Quarks without pick weights, so the next time I go out on brittle ice, I'm going to put on a pair of pick weights and see if that makes a difference.

 

I have also noticed that if I alter my swing slightly (hard to describe just how), it changes how the Quarks place in brittle ice (they don't tend to dinner plate as much if I give the tool a bit more of a wrist flick towards the end of the swing).

 

I'm by no means an expert, so take my input with a grain of salt.

[Dane]

No the pick profile doesn't matter much. Although it can help. I'd done all kinds of shit to picks and generally prefer the standard BD and Petzl profiles. Even though they are so different. Angle and pick thickness does. Worth trashing a set of picks if the ice is really hard by shaving the pick down but you risk them breaking much easier when you do that.

 

Pick weights make a big difference on water ice and almost none in the alpine with Petzl tools unless of course you are on really hard ice.

[mzvarner]

Thanks Dane. (hope your enjoying your self in France)So are the titans noticeably thinner, or are all BD picks equally thick? I have not had a chance to compare them in person.

[EastCoastBastard]

the laser picks are b-rated and 3mm at the tip

the titan picks are t-rated and 4mm at the tip

(according to BD)

[Dane]

Petzl claims 3mm but are actually 3.2mm.

 

The thinner the pick the easier the penetration. Which is why most prefer the 3mm Laser in BD tools. I find the stock Laser easy to get in, hard to get out in comparison to Petzl.

[Maxtrax]

As Dane pointed out your picks are actually .2mm narrower than your friends so theoretically you should actually be displacing less ice and causing less fracturing/dinner plating. So I think this case might just boil down to swing. I have found that Petzl tools force me to execute more of a wrist flick to get good sticks whereas with BD tools I can get good sticks swinging almost entirely from the shoulder and I have to force myself to make more of a wrist flick. Regardless of tool brand or pick model I fracture less ice the less I swing from the shoulder and the more I seat the tool with a quick wrist flick.

 

 

[mzvarner]

cool, so sounds like i need to work on technique. But its funny because I do have some memorable climbs this season and they involved good sticks and the wrist flick. I guess its something to work on next year.