Black Diamond Raven Pro Ice Axe
Oct 16 2011
Tester
Information
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Name:
|
David
Wilkes |
E-Mail:
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amatbrewer@yahoo.net
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Age:
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46
|
Location:
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Yakima
Washington
USA |
Gender:
|
M
|
Height:
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5'11"
(1.80
m) |
Weight:
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175
lb (79 kg) |
|
Biography:
I
started
backpacking
in 1995 when I moved to
Washington State. Since then, I
have
backpacked in all seasons and
conditions. I prefer trips
on
rugged trails with plenty of
elevation gain. While I
continuously
strive to lighten my load,
comfort and safety are most
important to me.
I have finally managed to get my
basic cold weather pack weight,
not
including consumables, to under
30 lbs (14 kg).
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|
Product
Information
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Manufacturer:
|
Black
Dimond
|
Year
of
Manufacture:
|
2007
|
Manufacturer’s
Website:
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http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com
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MSRP:
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US$ 99.95
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Advertised
Weight:
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362 g, 13 oz (50 cm / 19.5 in)
|
Measured
Weight:
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425 g,
15 oz (Note: I have the 70 cm / 27.5 in version)
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|
|
Product
Description:
This is a basic mountaineering ice axe
for alpine climbing on low to
moderate angle terrain (vs. a technical
tool for climbing
steep/vertical ice) with a CEN-B rating
(vs. a CEN-T for technical
tools). It consists of a lightweight
aluminum shaft with a stainless
steel spike on one end and a
“investment-cast” one piece stainless
steel head on the other. The axe has a
straight shaft that is light gray with
the Black Diamond name and logo. The
spike has a cutout in the center
to save weight and creates an attachment
point. The adze side of the
head also contains a cutout, diamond
shaped, partly for decoration and
partly to save weight. The head has a
second cutout just above where
the head connects to the shaft; this is
the primary connection point,
for anchoring and/or a leash.
In reviewing the current version of this
axe the only change in the
design I can see is that it looks like
they have added another cut out
in the head just above the leash cutout.
The pick has an
aggressive sawtooth cut in to its
underside and a very sharp edge to
the point. The adze also has a very
sharp edge (not quite knife sharp,
more like a hatchet but ground only on
one side, the bottom).
I purchased the 70 cm size (28 in).
Note: Ice axes are normally listed in
metric units as a nod to their European
origin. |
|
Owner
Review
|
Use
- 1 climb of Mt Shasta (Northern California)
14,179 feet (4,322 m)
- 6-7 climbs of Mt Adams (Washington
Cascades) 12,281 ft (3,743 m)
- 2 climbs of Mt St Helens Washington
Cascades) 8,365 ft (2,550 m)
Review
The
Black Diamond Raven Pro was my first ice axe, I
purchased it in preparation
for climbing Mt Shasta (Northern California),
and prior to this I had
no experience with using an ice axe. Along with
the axe I purchased a
leash, but since this is an accessory I will not
go into detail about
that other than to say it is a good match for
the ice axe and installs
easily and securely.
Aside for one trip this summer this has been my
one and only axe for my alpine trips. On this
last trip I loaned my
Raven to a first time climber (it made sense to
give her the lighter
and shorter axe) and in its place used a very
old axe I picked up
because it was so cheap (longer and weighs more
than twice as much). I
only mention this as it is my main reference for
comparing the comfort,
weight, and length of the Raven.
One of the things I like best
about the Raven is how comfortable it is in my
hand. Since I don’t do
technical climbing, the majority of the time I
am using the axe as an
aid in walking with the axe head in my hand. The
head and neck (where
the head attaches to the shaft) are narrow
enough to comfortably fit in
my hand and all of the edges are rounded and
smooth making it
comfortable even when wearing only thin liner
gloves. Note: I don’t
think I have ever used this without wearing at
least a pair of thin
liner gloves. My other axe has a much wider
head/neck and does not have
the rounded edges and I found it could get
uncomfortable when
using/carrying it for extended periods even with
gloves.
I have
used the axe as a belay anchor when stopping on steep
terrain by plunging
the shaft into the snow, along with the leash,
it has worked quite well
for this being easy to insert and remove. On one
trip up Mt Adams the
conditions were rather poor with high winds and
the surface was mostly
hard ice. On this trip I was unable to plunge
the shaft into the
snow/ice to create an anchor so used the pick.
The pick penetrated the
ice quite well and held firmly. On a few
occasions I have used the adz
head to carve seats and/or platforms into steep
slopes to provide a
stable spot for myself and others to rest. The
small adz head is not
very efficient for moving snow/ice but it very
effective at carving
and/or chipping away the ice. In camp I have
also used the adz head to
chop out chunks of ice for melting and it worked
very well.
Aside
from use as walking aid, the second most use I
have gotten out of this
axe is for glissading where I use it with the
spike of the handle in
the snow for braking, and when necessary for self-arrest. In addition
to practice and teaching others, I have had to
use the axe for self-arrest a few times when getting out of control
during a glissade and/or
when other sliders have unexpectedly stopped in
the way. These have
occurred in various conditions from soft snow to
crusted snow to hard
ice and in every case the axe has performed
flawlessly (if it had not I
might not be here to write this). I should note
that the axe can get a
real workout when I am glissading. I have been
known to get a bit wild
and have even managed to melt the pocket of my
pack during one
high-speed glissade in icy conditions.
One additional use I have
gotten out of the tool is as an improvised
hatchet. I have used the
adze to chop off small (pencil to finger thick)
branches for use as
kindling.
My only regret about this axe is its length.
Since
getting some experience I believe a longer shaft
would have been a
better choice for me. As I mentioned, this was
my first axe and while I
had done some research into what I thought I
needed, I could find no
good consensus on the proper length, so I went
with the majority
opinion by getting one that when held by the
head in my hand extends to
about my ankle. I figured I would simply replace
it with what I really
needed after I broke or wore out this one.
Unfortunately, so far from
what I can tell I doubt I will “need” to replace
this axe in the
foreseeable future. Aside for a few nicks and
scratches on the shaft
(cosmetic only) the axe is showing virtually no
signs of wear and no
indications as to any part that might fail. So
it is looking like if I
ever hope to replace this axe, I will need to
sell, give away, or lose
this one.
Summary
What can I say about a tool like
this? It does exactly what it is intended for,
with no extras and no
problems. As far as I can tell it is an ideal
balance of
strength/durability and weight. Made of only 3
parts (head, shaft, and
spike) all securely attached with no signs of
loosening or wear, all
indications are that this could last a lifetime
(of course I try not to
think about it failing and my life ending could
just happen to
coincide…). Aside for not getting the longer
version I have had no
regret in my purchase of this product.
Likes:
- Lightweight
- Simple, with few extras
- Durable
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Dislikes:
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