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Scottish mixed climbing can and does involve just about anything! A typical route may include steep angled snow, hard ice, rocky cracks, and a cornice to overcome, and in the course of climbing such a route just about every part of the axe will be used. (Scottish mixed should not be confused with Continental mixed - the latter is a very different pastime to Scottish mixed and is more akin to very, very steep ice climbing.)
Blades need to be tough as they will often be inserted in cracks and twisted (torqued) so that they can be pulled on to make progress. Hammer heads, adzes and even shafts, may be used in the same way, so wedge shaped hammers, wrinkly edged adzes, and straight, or, near straight, shafts are all useful assets. Shafts will also be used to plunge into cornices and for daggering up steepish hard-packed snow, so a good ferule and absence of clutter (Griprests etc) is also a good thing. In fact Griprests and their ilk can make these axes quite awkward to use when daggering the shafts on easier-angled slopes as they they can skid off alarmingly if slightly wrongly placed.
All this suggest that straight or almost straight shafted axes might be the best tools for the job, and indeed, straight or almost straight shafted axes are still preferred by many as they are easier to wield in confined spaces and when torquing the adzes or hammers they are less likely to lever out of position, but the problem with such tools is that they have to be used with leashes and leashes are a faff when placing gear. This though is not so much of a problem on easier angled climbs where hands off rests are the norm when it's time for a runner, and there are still a limited number of such axes being made for easier trad Scottish and Alpine routes.
Please note that although this section is headed "Leash Axes" this does not mean that all the axes listed are supplied with leashes, simply that they will require leashes before one can use them.
Built to a price-point - as they say, but functional and nicely balanced pair of bent-shafted tools with reverse curve picks, leashes and rubber ferule protectors included.
Beautiful lightweight ergonomically designed alpine axe with a very good feel. Axe or Hammer version available.
Very smart-looking alpine-type lightweight axe with a forged head. Available in 4 lengths in the axe (48cm, 53cm, 58cm, 66cm) and two in the hammer (48cm, 53cm).
An excellent well-balanced alpine axe, very similar axe to DMM's Cirque but on which the picks can be changed. It features DMM's new inset rubberised handle and is available in both Axe and Hammer versions.
Excellent lightweight well-balanced one piece alpine axe. It features DMM's new inset rubberised handle and is now available in both Axe and Hammer versions.
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