A lightweight ice axe for technical mountaineering with a clever sliding hand rest. This axe would be an excellent choice for anyone whose main interest is in technical alpine and expedition climbing.
A compromise between a classic mountaineering ice axe and an ice climbing axe, the Sum'Tec is a versatile, lightweight, technical ice axe. It is easy to use in piolet canne (shaft first) mode with its stainless steel spike and its slightly curved shaft. In climbing mode, the Ice Pick is tapered at the tip for easy penetration in any ice and the the sliding Trigrest hand rest (adjustable without tools) means that it can be used leashless.
Large holes in the head and in the spike accommodate a karabiner.
How does the new version of the Sum'Tec compare with the original model? On the plus side, the new adjustable Trigrest is a lot neater than before and can be slid right to the base of the shaft, there is a milled grip for your hand, and it is compatible with Petzl accessories for Quark, Nomic and Ergo ice axes. Against this it has lost the beautiful forged Alpix pick, but that pick was only B rated whilst the new one is T.
Pick type: T. Shaft type: T (meaning it can be belayed from).
Weight: ca 470g.
NB Price is per single axe. Also, no leash is supplied with this axe.
Please note that despite Petzl marketing this axe as 55cm in length it is actually more like 52.5cm!