Best Ice Axes

Best Ice Axes

Best Overall Ice Axe: Petzl Summit Evo

Performance: The Summit Evo is ideal for all types of mountaineering, but especially for those who love challenging or steep climbs. Despite this, the Summit Evo is still light enough to be a viable alternative for practically any expedition that requires the use of an ax. This is a prolific choice if you want a model that can withstand many route conditions while being light enough for early-season alpine rock climbs.

Self-arresting: One of our favorite self-arresting devices is the Summit Evo. The Summit Evo's pick design is one of the reasons it self-arrests so easily; with just the proper amount of drop, It can slice into a variety of conditions without becoming choppy or incurring overbite.

Digging:  A great ax for slicing frozen tent platforms and excavating T-slots during a rescue. This well-designed, hot-forged adze functions admirably. The adze on the Summit Evo has just the proper level of droop to make smashing the ax into the snow smoother. Furthermore, the adze has a 45-degree cutting angle. It can penetrate solid snow surfaces with ease. Its gently rippled pattern adds strength, power. and torsion-resistance.

Steep ice terrain: The Summit Evo is a multipurpose climbing ax with a high steep snow tendency. It sports a hot-forged pick. This offers a thin structure but provides remarkable strength. It penetrates harder snow and ice better than models with broader picks because of its small contour.

Comfort: The Summit Evo, is most ergonomic when held in the pick forward position. Even so, whether you hold in self-arrest or the pick-backward positions, it is pretty smooth. Used in any angle, we felt the Summit Evo was quite supportive. The Summit Evo's ergonomics are enhanced by the lack of teeth on the pick where your palm holds the head. The thin center and delightfully formed adze of the Summit Evo add to its comfort.

Weight: This model would have been one of the lightest axes available only a decade ago. However, it currently ranks in the mid-range. The Summit Evo weighs 14 ounces, making it one of the lightweight performance-based versions on the market.

Value: The Summit Evo isn't the cheapest ice ax on the market, but it is a great ice ax with superb craftsmanship and a shaft that thrives on steep climbs. It is cheaper than its chief competitors. We are sure you will be pleased with your investment in Evo's strong protection.

Best Value for Money: Black Diamond Raven

Fundamental climbing goals, basic alpine hikes, and modest glacier routes are all areas where it shines. It's adequate for higher snow climbs, although there are a few more promising alternatives.

Performance: The Raven is ideal for general mountaineering, short snow climbs, and glacier ascents. It is adequate for difficult snow routes, but there are other better alternatives. If the terrain is steep and snowy, the Raven is not the best choice. Based on this, it will work for ski-mountaineering or alpine rock routes. Even though lighter options will work better. If you are just starting mountaineering and don't want to do anything too strenuous, the Raven is a perfect choice.

Self-arresting: In a side-by-side self-arrest experience, the Raven performs significantly below average. It is a broader pick that gives more bite or grip in softer snow, which aids in effectively slowing you down. In hard circumstances, though, the Raven fails to strike as effectively as other axes. It has a straight shaft, which is adequate for self-arresting, but the added leverage provided by a slightly curved shaft works far better.

Digging:  The Raven's adze is adequate for slicing away icy turf and slicing stairs, but it does not hit hard snow or ice as effectively as the many others. When the snow or ice is hard, you have to push much more with the Raven than other expensive models. And only to remove the same amount of ice. You will witness performance in softer snow when digging T-slots for crevasse rescue. The Raven ranges from good to slightly above normal and completes the task. 

Comfort: The Raven is like the rest of Black Diamond's Raven axes. It excels in terms of portability. No other model is as easy to carry as the Raven in self-arrest with pick rearward. It is superior to the competition. 

The Raven is unquestionably leading in the self-belay/pick forward position, garnering one of the top honors in the evaluation.

Weight: The Raven, at 16 ounces, is on the heavier side of ice axes, but not by much. The main distinction between the Raven and its more costly competitors is weight. The Raven is our Greatest Buy because we believe it is the best ice ax for the money.

Value: The Raven is a superb deal. At this price, it is half the cost of other models. While there are other superior overall performances, there aren't many in terms of overall alpine models. The Raven is more than adequate for many recreational mountaineers, and its price remains undoubtedly low.

Best Choice for Deep Snow and Ice: Petzl Sum'Tec

The new Sum'Tec seems to draw inspiration from the intention to bring one or two for basic glacier climbs or steep north slopes.

Performance: The Sum'Tec is an excellent choice for ordinary mountaineering routes and shines when the terrain becomes rough or tricky. The only minor disadvantage for modest climbing approaches is that it has a backward curve pick, which is a few ounces bulkier than typical basic mountaineering versions. It’s a little excessive for simple snow climbs.

Nevertheless, it works effectively with an additional ice tool for longer routes and can even climb mild ice when used in pairs.

Self-arresting: The Sum'Tec is a star scorer, but because of its forceful reverse curve selection, it fared only reasonably well in self-arrest. The Sum'Tec can readily self-arrest even in the harder snow. Yet, the reverse curve pick seems to make it less smooth. It has a choppy or jarring feel about it. There are other models with reverse curve selections that provide similar results.

Digging:  The Sum'Tec's interchangeable head allows it to be equipped with either an adze or a hammer based on the target and the time. We value such qualities for ice mountaineering because the adze is often used through mid-summer when the snow is softer.

The best part is the adze of the Sum'Tec drills anchors, slashes tent platforms, and chops steps. It operates admirably and is one of the best-performing models in our evaluation in this classification, especially in the deepest snow.

Comfort: The Sum'Tec underperformed in one aspect, convenience to tote, although being acceptable overall. The Sum'Tec is more comfortable in self-arrest mode than in self-belay/pick backward mode. The general form of the head is great. However, when used with bare hands or thin gloves in a self-arrest position, the teeth closest to the shaft are felt.

Weight: The Sum'Tec is a little heavier than other mountaineering axes at 17 ounces. But not by much; it provides plenty of performance for the 2-5 extra ounces.

Value: The Sum-tec is pricier than other variants. Nevertheless, for extra dollars, you get a better-performing hot-forged pick. You will also save an ounce of weight and gain a modular adze. Furthermore, instead of only deep snow, you receive an ice ax to climb intermediate water ice with.

Best and Ideal Lightweight: Petzl Ride

It's also one of the most comfortable models to transport. It competes with other lightweight versions, but it provides top-notch all-around performance that is difficult to surpass, especially given its 8.4-ounce weight.

Performance: Our recommended pick for multifunctional and superlight expeditions is Petzl Ride. It's almost as light as the lightest ax we evaluated, yet it still has a surprisingly functional steelhead/adze. It comes in just one length - 45cm. But, in practice, it works perfectly. It's perfect for alpine treks when you will require an ice ax and may experience a variety of situations.

Supposing the terrain you want to cross isn't particularly challenging, and every ounce counts. The Ride is ideal for ski-mountaineering, accessing alpine climbs, early-season hiking, and even some simple mountaineering.

Self-arresting: We appreciate the design of the Ride's selection because it hits a good mix with self-arrest capability and steel snow competence. Its head is curved for a lighter ax and penetrates hard snow and ice remarkably effectively considering its heft. People will observe that this design has a slim pick best tailored to digging into the snow and moving up hard trails.

Digging:  The adze on the Ride is lesser in size than most basic climbing versions. Its adze is remarkably precise, making it more practical than other ultra-light versions with even smaller aluminum adzes. Perhaps, due to the Ride's superior ability to chip away at ice or hard snow compared to other counterparts.

Comfort: The Ride in the pick forward position is a comfortable 12-ounce ax. But it is easiest to carry in the self-arrest/pick backward position. Petzl eliminated all of the teeth on the pick, providing for a smooth, comfortable grip. While this is a small design feature upgrade, we appreciate it.

Weight: The Ride, at 8.4 ounces, is the lightest ax with steelhead and one of the lightest overall. The Ride is quite light. Because of its design attributes, the Ride may attain superior efficiency despite its low weight. It is the smallest of the lightest variants and is only offered in 45cm length. In comparison, the adze is small, and both the pick and the adze have holes.

Despite this, we didn't feel like Petzl scrimped on its steep snow climbing capability or ability to self-arrest - two of the most crucial features of an ice ax.

Value: The Ride is comparable to many contemporary models that have an identical, light design approach. It's also one of the smaller versions with a pick and adze made of steel. The Ride, like other ultralight models, is adaptable. We discovered it to be more varied than many sub-12-ounce versions.