Alpinisto wrote:For those who have gone the 1 axe/1 tool route previously, I'm assuming you bring the tool with the hammer, for pounding in pickets and tent stakes and the like, since the axe will already have the adze, correct?

Yep. Though you can pound in pickets using the spine of the axe too.

Here's a stupid quick question. Is the length of the Ice Axe a measurement of just the shaft, or does it include the point at the bottom, to the top of the steel head.

It's the total length of the axe, from the bottom of the spike to the top of the head.

rhyang wrote:It's the total length of the axe, from the bottom of the spike to the top of the head.

Thanks a bunch!

Has anyone used the Sum'Tec for self-arrest? I'm considering one for trips with a lot of moderate ice (Lib Ridge in June, for starters). I will bring a technical tool as well, but the Sum'Tec would be a nicer second tool than an Air Tech Evo or Summit.

But, I'll be one of a two-member glacier travel team and don't want to give up anything in being able to hold a crevasse fall. That's unlikely, but a far sketchier scenario than the moderate ice on the route.