The Mixed Climber and Drytooler
Shoulder season is a great time to head to a drytooling crag to prepare for the ice and mixed season. Here are some of the best on the market.
Black Diamond
Reactor $330
The Reactor’s big handle makes hanging around on a steep mixed route easier. The Reactor transitions smoothly from rock to ice as your stone-scratching skills are put to the test on steep curtains. The shaft is made of strong and lightweight aluminum. And the Reactor is only 610 grams, which makes it Black Diamond’s lightest mixed tool. A great option for early season drytooling and mid-season ice laps.
Petzl
Ergonomic $445
The Ergonomic combines features from the much-loved Nomic and Ergo and has proven to be an excellent, versatile tool for difficult mixed climbing and drytooling. Once you get used to the swing, there’s no going back to earlier generation Nomics. The pronounced curve gives the head a lot of clearance and creates a strong pulling angle, which helps reduce the pump. It comes with a dry pick, pick weights, a small hammer and grip-rest. Highly recommended.
Grivel
X Monster $155
The X Monster is a specialized tool designed for climbers hoping to push their grades on steep climbs. While they’re not made for levering or torqueing (you’ll bend the shaft), the forged steel pick takes a long time to wear down. They’re shorter than most tools, but the weight distribution is nearly perfect. They perform is all conditions and on all terrain. These are the best option for an affordable, durable and powerful tool. And they look radical.
Cassin
X Dream $290
The Cassin X Dream is a top performing tool for drytooling and vertical ice routes. It comes with an adjustable ergonomic handle (which can be changed by five degrees) and the shaft gives a lot of clearance for big bulges. It handles nicely and gives you precise pick placements. The mixed pick is a great option for brittle and thin ice. The overlay on the shaft helps keep your hands warm when making tricky mixed moves. The deep-set handle gives you plenty of space for warm and bulky gloves.
DMM
Switch Hammer $330
The Switch has been one of our favourite shoulder-season tools for the past few years. It’s one of the burliest on the market. The ergonomic handle is roomy, swings well and can handle hard torques and pulls in awkward rock placements. It’s one of the few tools that comes with a small eyelet that you can thread a cord through for a leash, and there are a number of clip-in points. After drytool season, add the pick weights (included) to switch the tool to a hard-ice machine.
Grivel
Dark Machine $265
The Dark Machines are technical tools meant for ice, mixed and drytooling. They are very light (490 g) partly because of their G-bone carbon-composite shaft and full-carbon handle. As one of the most well-balanced tools, the Dark Machine is designed mainly for ice climbing but doubles as a great early season training tool. The geometry offers a higher centre of gravity (more towards the head), that allows a much better swing. The head is compatible with the vario Blade System, which is an innovative light and modular system for interchangeable blades and accessories: minihammer, hammer and adze on all blade options.
Cassin
X Dream Mixed Pick $53
The T-rated, hot-forged pick is designed specifically to be compatible with Cassin X Dream ice tools. The leveled pick is designed to balance performance on technical rock and ice mixed terrain. The small hammer plate is there for balance and the teeth configuration reaches farther down the shaft. We found it works great for hard-to-reach hooks and three-dimensional mixed.
Grivel
G20 Plus $250
As one of the most precise monopoint crampons on the market, the G20 Plus should be on every hard winter climber’s rack. These are the lightest crampon their class and are compatible with many different boot styles. They’re easy to adjust and perform excellent on both pure ice and mixed routes. These are an upgrade of the venerated G20, which are top of the line but lack a replaceable front point. The Plus delivers a replaceable frontpoint, and it’s also outstanding in power and stiffness. Highly recommended.
Black Diamond
Stinger $250
The Stinger is Black Diamond’s lightweight, stainless steel monopoint crampon for steep ice and mixed climbing. It features an asymmetrical design and an easy-to-replace frontpoint. These excel on hard smooth ice, as well as mixed and thin ice where the risk of shattering ice is high. There angle is spot on for climbers who are comfortable on their feet. The secondary points engage with little action on bullet ice. They’re burlier than some monos, but that’s a good thing on those all-day objectives. Thanks to their girth, you feel very stable on off-balance moves.
DMM
Vault Wire Gate $53
The Vault is a durable, light and secure tool holder that can be used on everything from harnesses and kit bags to vehicles. The twopart aluminum alloy Vault is secured using the included stainless-steel bolt. It’s easy to use with one hand, has a low-profile nose and will outlast many similar racking biners.
Black Diamond
Torque Glove $80
One of the most important pieces of gear for early season ice and mixed are your gloves. You need well-crafted hand layers that provide dexterity and finesse to link hard moves. One of the best on the market are the Black Diamond Torque Gloves. They have a brushed inner and soft-shell outer to help keep the elements away. The low-profile design and tacky palms help you grip your tools and make measured placements.
Petzl
Luna $105
The Luna is one of the best winter harnesses tailored for female climbers. The construction evenly distributes pressure and is supportive and comfortable on steep and rambly routes. It has flexible rear gear loops that won’t interfere with your pack and the angled front loops help you to organize and access gear easier. Having a comfortable harness can make or break your day at the drytool crag where you might be taking some whippers, so be sure you bring the right one. The Luna is one of the top choices for all-year climbing, but is highly recommended for mixed and ice.
Edelrid
Boa Pro Dry $270
The Boa is a great rope for all types of climbing, from multi-pitch to cragging. It’s beefy enough for long-day drytool sessions, but skinny and supple enough for long ice routes. The dry treatment meets the uiaa water repellent standards, absorbing less than two per cent of its weight when wet. The pink and turquoise helps it pop on long ice pitches, which is great for photos. One of our favourite ropes for fall/winter 2020.
Black Diamond
9.4 Dry $290
The 9.4 Dry by Black Diamond has been one of our go-to shoulder-season and midwinter ropes for the past few years. By balancing pro-level performance with durability, this is the ideal rope for big climbs that demand a strong line day after day. The dry treatment on the rope gives it a bit of a tacky feel, which helps when clipping with gloves on. After months of winter use, this rope showed very little wear and no structural damage, such as sheath slippage or flattening. If you’re looking for a rope that will give you bang for your buck, then look no further than the 9.4 Dry.—gripped