Air Tech

Have owned one for 3 years and love it.

Unlike the ultra light all aluminium backcountry-ski axes, the Air Tech (still quite light) has a proper steel shaft pick, which will take years of walking support also on rock and the most beautiful chrom-molubdenium-steel head on the market.

If occationally you have to swing the pick into hard snow/ice, you need the weight of a steel head, which furthermore will survive that accidential blow to the underlying rock. I find that the Air Tech even bite into water-ice, allowing me to do easiy ice climbing with that and one technical axe (Rambo II). Carrying those and one trekking pole, I have two-handed support all the way from valley to summit.

Since you rarely equip mountaineering piolets with leaches, pulling yourself up steeper ice will often send the glove sliding down the smooth shaft. Here, the rubber handle of the Air Tech gives me a good grip even with thick mitts. After three years the rubber is still holding up nicely, so don't worry about its durability. The rubber does, however, mean that it is slightly more difficult to plant the axe head deep in the glacier for belays etc.

For this reason, I would check out the new Air Tech Evolution (look at www.grivel.it). It features the same great head and foot on a slightly bent shaft without rubber, but a hand-stop which slides up to the head when not in use. Though I don't know whether the bent shaft will be good for walking on shallow glaciers.

Use mine for some years now. Love it, too.

Extremely durable after years of use

Best lightweight compromise out there. Have used mine for 5 years in all sorts of alpine situations. Will bite even on hard steep glacier ice. The new evolution bent shaft version might be easier on the knuckles on ice.

After my previous ultra light axe (I forgot which model, the brand was Camp) literally broke - yes, I know, my bad, it was only meant for glacier walks and the occational self arrest, not for anything more serious - I got one of these and it's really great! If I would loose it somehow, I would buy another one right away.