You might think that with more than 150 years of practice, the makers of ice axes — that indispensable tool of mountaineer, glacier traveler, and snowfield crosser alike — would have perfected their art by now.

GORP's test crew in the field,
ice axes in hand

Well, you might be surprised, as we were, when we subjected a slew of mountaineering ice axes to rigorous field testing and uncovered significant differences in the tools' performance and design.

	Choose Your Weapon

Did we find the perfect ice axe? No, because even the best axe in the test left room for improvement, but we came close. In all, we put 11 axes through the paces. We zeroed in on mountaineering axes — tools equally at home on Everest and K2 as they are on Mounts Rainier and Washington. Every model in the test retails for less than $100. In our opinion, there is no need to pay more than that for an axe, and in fact some of the best axes can be had for less than $70.

We found that the highest rated axes combined a well-balanced head and shaft to deliver sturdy chopping, easy swinging, fail-safe arresting in all snow types, and swift boot-axe belays. These high flyers also had a head so smooth and ergonomic that at times we even forgot we were carrying them.

To find out which axes performed sharply and which were dull, read on.

Move on to What to Look For

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