Petzl Charlet Quark Ice Axe

Hard ice tool with curved upper handle. Comes complete with clipper leashes. The curved upper handle of the Quark gives excellent clearance that facilitates placements in sculpted ice flows, and delicate mantles while negotiating overhangs and changes of incline. The axe's weight distribution allows the force to be focused onto the pick and facilitates straight-arm placements.The forged pick is thinner at the tip and has beveled teeth to help prevent the ice shattering. The trapezoidal shape of the hammer makes it easier to jam into cracks in mixed terrain and dry tooling. The many teeth that run along the underside of the pick ensure stability regardless of the ice's thickness. The steep angle of the first tooth makes for better placements in thin ice and hooking onto the tiniest of edges. The teeth running along the inside of the pick's curve ensure sound hook placements. The entire length of the dual density grip is smooth to allow the climber to grip the base of the handle to maximize the axe's reach. The small size of the spike helps the climber prevent snagging the wall face while swinging the tool.

Site	Price	Postage	Total
	£130.00	£1.95	£131.95

   User Reviews

General comments: Very nice tool which makes ice climbing feel easy! Ice is what they are designed for and here they certainly perform excellently. The curved shaft means no bashed knuckles and the narrow, sharp 'B' rated ice fall picks (which come as standard) are very good in ice, with minimum effort required in swing to get good penetration and with minimum ice shattering resulting. They are of a medium weight compared to others and this seems to suit me well, with enough weight to aid ice penetration but not so much that you tire quickly. The soft, rubberised grip is also very nice, giving a secure feel, even when wearing iced-up gloves. The small first tooth is very good in thin ice (and I imagine small hooks but haven't climbed that hard yet!). But what about for mixed climbing? Well, I haven't climbed very hard yet (up to Scottish grade V) but so far they've also been generally good for mixed. The curved shaft actually makes for good, secure hooks onto ledges and also for hooking chockstones etc. in cracks. Where they might fall down a little may be on torquing, particularly in horizontal cracks, where the curve of the shaft may (slightly) inhibit a secure placement. The 'B' rated picks also may not be able to stand up to torquing on steep ground, but stronger 'T'-rated picks can be bought to fit if your going to be doing harder mixed climbs. Having said all of this, my axes have not let me down in any way on any of the ice or mixed stuff I've done so far!

Pros: Great on ice, first-time placements. Well designed picks. Nice 'feel' and balance. Good for "hooking orientated" mixed.

Cons: Perhaps not so good for 'torquing orientated' mixed.

General comments: It is often said that the Quark is the best steep ice tool on the market and, having owned a pair for a couple of seasons now, I am inclined to agree. The first thing that you notice when climbing with them is how exceptionally well weighted they are, in comparison with DMM Xenos and Flies at least. Combined with the Petzl Clipper Leash system you have a recipe for an awesome tool. The leash itself is easily adjusted and very easily unclipped and re-clipped while on the route so no problems there. The adze is a good size for cutting away ice and the spike at the bottom of the shaft permits easy plunging despite the curved shaft. On water ice the Quarks perform flawlessly - the curve in the shaft protects your knuckles while you climb and allows you to reach over bulges in the ice with ease and the razor sharp b-rated cascade picks make placing your axes easy. On mixed ground the Quarks perform well with the curved shaft providing excellent clearance for hooking. However you would want to buy a set of mixed picks to keep your pure ice picks sharp...just bear in mind that these aren't cheap!

Pros: Very well balanced, well put together and not too pricey when you consider that they come with an excellent leash system included,

Cons: Replacement picks are expensive and the material that the top of the shaft is made of is quite soft and easily damaged when mixed climbing in my experience.

General comments: I could write 2000 words never mind 200 about this benchmark ice tool. Third winter season with my Quarks drawing to a close and they continue to perform well and inspire confidence on steep ice. Mine came complete with clipper leashes which perform well on all terrain. In December 2005 I retro fitted the Charlet Petzl Griprests which now come as standard on the latest model of Quark. This was a fiddly job which involved cutting away the end of the rubber grip. The result was great although it took a little time to get used to the tool sometimes rotating around the griprest if it came into contact with the ice before the pick. Who cares about the tools plunging ability when it improves technical climbing this much? Returning to Chamonix icefalls in January I embraced the leash less revolution and fitted a pair of Grivel finger rests (small size, painted yellow). These are awesome! They allow you to place the pick very accurately when climbing and eliminate any tool rotation when placing the pick, a RECOMMENEDED modification if you want to go leash less. They have a tendency to slide down the shaft even when well tightened so I have wrapped a couple of turns of duct tape below them to reduce slippage. I am not a super strong climber but have converted to leash less with much trouble. The ability to place ice screws easily, switch tools and shake out when pumped is wonderful. Touch wood, I haven’t yet dropped a tool and may well attach umbilicals for longer alpine routes which are slightly more committing. This season four more of my friends have purchased Quarks and its certainly not for fashion. We’re all climbing better than ever before!

Pros: Best technical tool on the market. Supplied with clipper leashes. Griprest.

Cons: Need to fit Grivel finger rest for best leashless performance.

General comments: I have now owned a pair of quarks for 4 years and have been extremely satisfied with their performance. I have steadily upgraded the tools as new attachments have come out i.e. Griprests and clipper leashes. In addition, I have also purchased a pair of T-Rated picks which are thicker and stronger than the ones which come with the tools originally. These are mega strong and suitable for the gnarliest mixed climbing. However, I have recently switched back to climbing in Scotland mostly with the B-Rated icefall picks because they climb so much better in ice than the thicker T-rated picks. The downside to this is that I have to re-sharpen the thin icefall picks a lot if I have been mixed climbing and this is steadily shortening the picks! Fitting the griprest, (or buying the current tools with them fitted) unfortunately covers the clipping eye on the bottom spike. There is however a small hole in the griprest through which it is possible to thread 4mm accessory cord to make a clipping loop…this is highly recommended. Also the griprest affects the plunging ability of the quarks quite significantly, therefore be aware that you have to make much more effort to plunge the tool, and that on easy angle hard neve or ice you will have to revert to using the picks for proper security. This is a small price to pay for awesome steep ice and mixed climbing ability and having climbed with several other state of the art tools, these are the best so far……Finger rest please Petzlcharlet!

Pros: Awesome steep ice and mixed ability...lasting well so far despite the trendy look

Cons: Griprest compromises clipping into the spike and makes plunging in the cane position more difficult.

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