Ideal for skiiers, not so much for climbers

By reddirt Ranked #331 - Telemark Skiing July 21, 2009

Can you blame climbers for wanting this to work so they can ditch the boots/crampons/axe? I got this in advance of a trip to the Cascades, for routes that may include snowfield/glaciers as well as 5.9 climbing. I'm sure they will work well enough in a low speed self arrest situation but the collapsed length will be difficult (ok, completely impractical) to climb with.

Yeah, I know every retail description of these emphasize how great these are for skiing and say zero about climbing. And yeah, I know I should have taken a closer look at the specs, esp the collapsed length. It's 97–140 cm, 38–55 inches on BD's site, but that's if you take the whole thing apart, so Backcountry's specs are a bit more realistic, since traveling with them in two pieces risks bending the lower section.I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes this would collapse to a more manageable/packable length. I am sure I'm not the only person who wants to climb alpine routes while ditching the boots/crampons/ice axe. So I called BD & asked if this was possible. The answer is "yes, but it will def be more wobbly". I was told that it is compatible w/ the lower half of the Enduro Carbon fiber poles, (and of course not the BD poles I already own- trail compact) which will run $26 incl s/h directly from BD. I might cannibalize some of my other poles in an attempt to make this work. There are other products on the market that fit the needs of a climber, but at this point they're sold out in most places...

I'd give these 4.5 stars but since it's designed for skiing & the other 17 reviewers gave it a 5, including some genuine Powderwhores, I'll have to go w/ the flow & give it a 5.

View Details: Black Diamond Whippet Self-Arrest Ski Pole

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes | 0 No