Blue Ice Bluebird Evo Ice Axe

After looking around the web researching axes and not seeing much for reviews on this axe, I figured I'd write a initial thoughts review and do an update once I get a chance to test it in winter conditions. The aluminum shaft has a nice bead-blasted grippy finish that feels good with or with out gloves. The head is designed to be held pick forward, but feels okay facing backwards, but not as comfortable as the BD Raven. The curved shaft gives it a more natural feeling swinging in my opinion than the straight shaft. The pick is very sharp, much sharper than a lot of other general mountaineering axes I looked at. I recommend getting a pick/adze protector if you get one.