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[pct-l] Ice Axe Standards
ULA not only *admits* that it is a non-technical, it was *designed* to be
non-technical.
It's like the outfitter that tries to sell me a winter tent by telling me
this model has been to K2. I now know three things:
1. It is wildly over designed for what I'm going to use it for.
2. It is going to cost way more than I want to spend.
3. It is going to be much heavier than I want to carry.
Because I'm not going to K2.
But I will specifically be thru hiking. So it's designed for exactly the
purpose to which I would put it.
And I would trust my life to it, should I trip. But that is just me.
Jerry
http://www.BackpackGearTest.org : the most comprehensive interactive gear
reviews and tests on the planet.
-----Original Message-----
From: eric lee [mailto:thebeave7@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 10:06 PM
To: jerrygoller@backpackgeartest.org; pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: RE: [pct-l] Ice Axe Standards
Jerry don't second guess yourself, ULA does admit this ax is designed only
for "non-technical use". I did send a few emails back and forth with the
designer of the Helix, and he informed me that the ax isn't designed for
technical mountaineering, but specifically for through hikers. I agree, in
that I would not trust my life to this tool if I were to slip on an icey
slope near any high sierra pass.
http://www.ula-equipment.com/helix.htm
As a realatively new mountaineer(3 full winters under my belt) I've seen too
many people hurt in the past few years to take unnecessary chances on snow.
Just my opinion.
Eric
>From: "Jerry Goller" <jerrygoller@backpackgeartest.org>
>To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
>Subject: RE: [pct-l] Ice Axe Standards
>Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 21:55:16 -0700
>
>Oh, wait.....I just figured it out. *BackpackingLight.com*, a general
>retailer and manufacturer of their own line of lightweight gear, is
>putting the disclaimer on it, not ULA, the actual Helix manufacturer.
>
>Oh, well....that's different.
>
>BTW, I'm not a serious mountaineer nor do I plan to be one. I'll use an
>ice axe, or Whippet, or Snowscopic or whatever, just for self arrest,
>but not anything technical.
>
>I'd never use the Helix as a mountaineering ice axe though. But then, I
>doubt I'd use anything else, either.... ;o)
>
>Jerry
>
>
>http://www.BackpackGearTest.org : the most comprehensive interactive
>gear reviews and tests on the planet.
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
>[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Doodad PCT
>Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 9:28 PM
>To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
>Subject: [pct-l] Ice Axe Standards
>
>I'm concerned about backpackers' purchasing and using an important tool
>like an ice axe which hasn't been properly tested for minimum safety
>standards.
>An ice axe is a serious mountaineering tool, whether it is used by a
>"backpacker" or a "mountaineer." If you are using an ice axe in a
>situation where a slip could lead to a quickly-accelerating slide
>toward dangerous terrain below, you need to be able to execute a
>self-arrest.
>
>There has been some dicussion about the ULA Helix Ice Axe:
>
>http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ula_helix_ice_
>axe_c
>arbon_fiber.html?id=9br9M4Eg:71.112.49.226
>
>The Helix is marketed with the following warning:
>
>WARNING: THE HELIX IS NOT CERTIFIED BY ANY RECOGNIZED MOUNTAINEERING
>SAFETY ORGANIZATION TO MEET ANY LEVEL OF MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS.
>USING THIS TOOL FOR THE FOLLOWING TECHNIQUES MAY RESULT IN ITS FAILURE
>WHICH MAY CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH: ICE AXE ARREST, BOOT AXE
>BELAYS, PLUNGED SHAFT BELAY/ARREST, PIOLET PANNE, PIOLET POIGNARD,
>PIOLET ANCRE, PIOLET TRACTION, DRY TOOLING, OR OTHER TECHNIQUES BEST SUITED
FOR B- OR T-RATED ICE TOOLS.
>
>The universally-recognized safety standards organization for
>mountaineering equipment is the Swiss-based UIAA. See the UIAA standards
for ice axes:
>
>http://www.uiaa.ch/web.test/visual/Safety/PictUIAA152-EN13089Ice-Tools.
>pdf
>
>I can't imagine why anybody would want to carry an ice axe, no matter
>how lightweight, if it can't used for a self-arrest. My Diamond ice
>axe is rated "B" according to UIAA. If I need to use it for a
>self-arrest, I don't have to worry about its possibly coming apart in
>those seconds when my life or health could depend on it.
>
>Doodad
>PCT Northbound 2006
>
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