Solid Screw

By Matthew Agarwala Ranked #66 - Ice Climbing May 6, 2010

Pros:
1. Stephen Koch uses them - probably the best endorsement a product can get.
2. place fast and easy thanks to the swivel head
3. stay sharp
4. they rack pretty well with the petzl caritool (not well with the BD ice clipper)
5. the second can clean them easily and knock out the ice on the spot
6. can get 2 biners through hanger if you use small biners *DMM phantoms are great for this

Cons:
1. the arm between the screw and the hanger gets in the way so you have to excavate lots of ice out of tight spaces
2. clipping the screw part way through the placement sounds like a great idea, but is pretty hard to do in practice. I find that it ends up taking more time and increasing the chance of falling on an incomplete placement. You have to make sure the screw is placed deep enough that when you clip the rope the weight of the rope doesn't change the angle or pull the screw. Then, when finishing the placement, you have to fight the weight of your rope for the upwards half of each rotation. If I really need an oh $#!+ piece I still find it faster to clip a sling to a well placed tool.

View Details: Petzl Laser Sonic Ice Screw

Helpful Votes: 2 Yes