CAMP USA Corsa Ice Axe

I was looking for an ice axe I could take with me while climbing overseas. This is the lightest axe on the market currently! I tried it out on a spring snow climb recently and was amazed how lightweight it was compared to my more trad raven ice pro axe from REI.

One bit of caution - the spike has a tendency to get filled with snow/dirt. Secondly, I'd suggest using the axe on snow and not dirt/rock. In one outing, after hitting couple granite rocks, the end of my new axe is partially marked. Lightweight is not always the strongest stuff.

Obviously, you wouldn't wanna use an axe this light for ice climbing or hardcore snow travel, but as a general-use ultra-light axe, the Corsa is king. I paired this with a simple leash I made from webbing with two loops, and it's perfect. Super light, dependable, and the tip seems to keep an edge pretty well. I'd also recommend this as a backup axe for those of you that are into snow climbing.

While ski touring this axe fell off my pack. I found it months later after the snow melted up in a tree . NO RUST. This is the perfect axe to bring when part of you feels like you don't really need to bring one.

I bought this axe as my first axe for ski touring. Since I bought a Black Diamond Raven Pro for mountaineering. Even though the Corsa is lighter, I still end up taking the Raven Pro 99% of the time, as I think if ever need to use the axe to self-arrest I want the confidence of the steel pick. The aluminum pick really seems a bit questionable.

Perefect if you are travelling on low angle snow (<45 degrees) and don't want to haul a heavy axe like BD Raven. I have almost never used my Raven every since I got this one. My axe always draws attention from the group for its lightness.

I bought this as a lightweight ski mountaineering tool - basically, the hassle of carrying an ice axe had gotten to the point where I typically just didn't carry one, and was instead relying on whippets as a primary snow climbing tool. While whippets are great in many applications, they don't exactly offer the security of an ice axe in situations requiring a self belay, nor is a whippet very good at tunneling through a cornice.

I've been really happy with the Corsa. It's incredibly light and compact so that it's not an inconvenience to carry, and really useful in situations where an ice axe is useful. If I hadn't already owned a good quality axe, I probably would have opted instead for a short, lightweight Black Diamond or Grivel axe with a steel head, as the Corsa's aluminum head is laughable.