[pct-l] aluminum vs steel ice axe head

[Steel-Eye]

Good afternoon Sean,



That little CAMP Corsa Nanotech on the link you sent looks like a very nice 
ice axe, but I can’t tell from the photos how the adz is made.



The two adz ears of the little Camp axe broke very close to the handle, but 
that failure should not be damming to the manufacturer or type.  This wasn’t 
an instance of chopping steps in the usual late-season snowpack.  We were 
faced with finding some steps across about 6 ft. of sheet ice that had 
frozen from drip water onto a relatively smooth, sloped, rock surface.  The 
young man with the axe exhibited considerable effort and enthusiasm in the 
try, but he finally gave up when both adz edges broke.  The result was no 
big deal: We had to go about 50 yds. around on another route.



If it were my axe I wouldn’t have even tried to chop that ice.  For hiking, 
I continue to have confidence in the ultra-lite aluminum axes for arrest and 
for whacking a few steps in snowpack.



Steel-Eye,




^^^^^^^^^^  Join other hikers at:  http://www.aldhawest.org/  ^^^^^^^^^^





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sean Nordeen" <sean at lifesadventures.net>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>; <chelin at teleport.com>; <kks202 at excite.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 11:38 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] aluminum vs steel ice axe head


Steel-Eye,

That answers a suspicion I had about those aluminum axes.  I own a Camp 
XLA210 aluminum axe and while I've think it is fine for self arresting in 
the spring, I have been suspicious of how it would hold up if one had to do 
a lot of cutting steps.  Since you saw how it broke, do you think this camp 
hybrid axe would have broken also? 
http://www.prolitegear.com/camp_corsa_nanotech.html

If it was just the edge, then I would think this one would have been fine, 
but if it broke closer to the handle then this one is a waste also.

-Sean


---------------------------------------------------------
...While trail hiking I don’t believe I need a sturdy alpine-qualified axe 
so I got an 9.4 oz. aluminum Cassin Ghost to which I’ve added a wrist strap 
and a slip-resistant surface on the lower handle. I didn’t carry it in the 
Sierras, but a hiking companion had an ultra-lite Camp, which he used to 
chop ice off rocks on the back side of Mather Pass, and the adz blades broke 
off. http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=188368

Steel-Eye