DMM Spire Tech

A lightweight ice axe for mountaineering.

The Spire Tech is a thoughtfully designed super lightweight winter tool. The
bent shaft and machined grips make it suitable for technical or sustained terrain when walking, mountaineering or ski touring. The refined design and rivetted
construction result in a tough axe which will take a battering and yet weighs in at under 350g.

• High strength steel alloy pick, adze, and spike for excellent purchase and durability.
• Machined chamfers on both the pick and adze, for efficient penetration of ice and neve.
• Ergonomic pick and bung, for a comfortable grip.
• Strong and light anodised aluminium shaft, for reliable support.
• Gently curved shaft for excellent swing and penetration as well as clearance for daggering up steep neve.
• A durable spike and bung for ease of penetration in hard and soft snow.
• Large tethering points in the pick and spike, for ease of clipping and security.
• Machined grooves for additional grip, when moving through technical ground.

Type 1 (see below).

New Axe Tests
B and T Ratings have been superseded by new EN Ratings, Type 1 and Type 2:
Both have the same test and strength requirement for the shaft strength test (which best simulates the buried axe/T-Slot technique), so either axe type can be used for belaying from the shaft in a buried axe belay. Where the differences between Type 1 and 2 become more obvious is in the lab tests that try to simulate torqueing/stein pulling and really test the strength of the pick and the pick-shaft interface, with the loads required for Type 2 tools being significantly higher.

So in summary:
Type 1: Standard walking and alpine mountaineering axes, suitable for ice axe belaying, but not designed for hard modern mixed climbing involving torqueing picks etc.
Type 2: Modern leashless tools suitable for ice axe belaying, and also designed for hard modern mixed climbing involving torqueing picks etc.

Thus it is not strictly true that Type 1 = B and Type 2 = T as both tests pass the old T shaft test and Type 2 axes are now being tested for properties that were not previously tested for.