Black Diamond

Fuel Ice Tool

Fuel for Sending

I bought a hammer and a tool after climbing with a pair last season. The concentration of the weight toward the head, the pick angle, and the grip angle make solid sticks much easier than with my previous tools. The grip angle, and being able to customize the fit with the spacers included, help with the pump on steel terrain. Testing them first made having them a must, and now I can’t wait for next season.

Great Ice Tool

Bought a pair in 2015. Use them all the time. Well balanced, secure handle adjustment, excellent feel. Durable. I bought a pair of Petzl Quarks at the same time - have used them twice, mostly lend to friends.

Beast of a tool

Toughest one out there. If a little heavy. Most definitely worth it for more sport-y missions. Waiting for the hammer option to come back in stock so I can grab my second

Really well balanced!

Finally I got to try them here in north Patagonia, San Martin de Los Andes and they felt really good! Good balance between weight and performance!

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Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

I've tried many of the ice tools currently on the market (Nomic, Cobra, Viper, X dream, North Machine, Tech machine, Quarks, Raptors, and the Fuel). The Fuel was by far my least favorite for several reasons. I had tremendous difficulty getting good sticks with it. Every other tool I've listed above was much better even if just using for a lap or two. Additionally I had considerable issues with the single bolt holding the pick work loose, as well as the hex bolt for the handle working loose. This happened several times, to the point that I started bringing hex tools to tighten them between laps. Ultimately I lost confidence in these tools, especially on lead, and so parted with them. Recently I borrowed a pair for a lap, wondering if maybe I just hadn't given them a fair chance. 35 meters later, the pick bolt loosening and tons of poor quality sticks later I vowed to never again swing a pair. Notably BDs latest tool (the reactor - which I haven't swung yet) goes back to a more reliable two bolt head for the pick, and the handle adjustment abandons the single hex bolt in tension from the fuel. I would recommend any of the other tools I listed above over this.

My go to Ice tools for the Ouray ice park! Mixed, vertical ice, or even steep approaches. These tools do it all. They are light, protect your knuckles, you never lose them in the snow, and they are photogenic! Thanks black diamond.

One tool for everything.

I like simplicity. One set for dry-tooling and all sorts of Ice climbig. That's BD Fuel. They are not ideal on low angle Ice, but that doesn't matter - my bodyweight is on my crampons anyways. The curve of the shaft gives me feeling of safety when hooking. Swing is specific to more agresive tools as I assumed. I took me 2 days to get used to that. I haven't found any downsides for dry-tooling. They are strong and predictable.

Swing is king

Felt great swinging these and the angle ratio is really good. Pumpels & grip are also placed pretty well. Get rowdy

Excellent for ice and mixed

Picked up a pair last season to compliment my Cobras. Took some mileage to adjust to the different swing on ice, but so far loving them on both mixed and pure ice. As stated previously, they feel like what you want out of a winter tool - solid, burly and can stand up to abuse. Adding the spacers to the grip allows for proper adjustments on hand size, which I find nice depending of temps/glove thickness. Nicely balanced overall, and really enjoying them.

There are great mixed climbing tools.

I bought these tools specifically for mixed and dry tooling climbing. They are among the best for that. They are stiff and have excellent reach. It is easy to move your hands up and down the shafts. The mixed climbing picks are strong and reliable. They are not the best for pure ice climbing, however, and I prefer to climb ice with the cobras.