Clay Ellis

Ice axes
Technical ice tools are available with either bent or straight shafts and either hammerheads or adzes. For vertical ice, most climbers use bent-shafts (one hammer, one adze) between 45 and 50 centimeters long. This design allows for a more natural swing and—because of the pick's sharper angle—makes it easier to reach around troublesome obstacles like bulges and ice mushrooms. Expert climbers, though, often carry two hammers to nail pitons with either hand without worrying about a sharp adze near the face—the sport is dangerous enough.

1) Black Diamond Rage
The $210 Rage was designed according to a simple premise: create a tool with the performance characteristics of Black Diamond's top-of-the-line Cobra without the sting of its $300 price tag. The two tools have similarly curved high-clearance shafts, but whereas the Cobra is constructed of expensive carbon fiber, the Rage is made from 7075 aluminum. Weighing 25.3 ounces, it's the heaviest tool I tested, but I was impressed with its well-balanced, forceful swing-weight and routinely sank its thin, exceedingly sharp pick on my first try.

2) DMM Fly
Lyon hotel roomsAs the name implies, the Fly is light (23.8 ounces), but at $166 it's also one of the least expensive tools on the market. With the straightest shaft in this review, it has less clearance for reaching around obstacles. A drawback? Depends on the application; it's better for plunging into the snow, which makes the Fly an excellent choice for alpine climbing, though it's still a fine inexpensive tool for vertical ice. The hammerhead is tilted slightly downward, making it easy to drive home pitons and screws, and the rough, anodized shaft is nice and grippy for choking up while dry tooling—climbing rock with your ice tools.

3)Grivel Light Machine
The radical curve of the $235 Light Machine threw me off at first, but after some practice I came to enjoy the ability to reach around normally frustrating obstacles, and I've since climbed countless pitches with this tool. At 22.4 ounces, it's the lightest ax I tested, and its particularly skinny shaft is great for climbers with small hands. Unfortunately, the small hammerhead and bent shaft make nailing awkward. The knuckle protector is also rather large, and that, combined with the severe bend in the shaft, makes it difficult to sink the Machine tool into snow.

4) Charlet Moser Quark
The longer you climb, the more you'll value versatile equipment. So unless you fancy upgrading a year from now, consider the Quark ($250). At 23.4 ounces, it has enough heft for a nice swing, but it won't wear you out on a long climb. Initially, I feared the Quark would have too little head weight. I found just the opposite. The Quark performs as well, if not better, than any tool I've swung. The open geometry of the head provides exceptional clearance, but the shaft curve is gradual enough for snow-plunging. An unbeatable all-arounder.