Black Diamond Raven Ice Axe with Grip - Anodized Light Gray

Recently attempted a climb of Mount Watson here in WA. Used this ice axe on a large snowfield I climbed to get within a few hundred feet of the summit.Ice axe performed excellently, and got me all the way to the cliff face below the summit without any issue.I did however, not gauge the cliffs properly, and took a wrong route, and ended up falling off those cliffs and back on the the snowfield. Got messed up pretty bad.But this ice axe survived the fall intact, and I was able to use it to do a controlled slide back down to camp and got help.So 5/5 for dong its job and being a tough (and light) piece of hardware in a tightspot.I get 0/5 for good sense and wearing proper rock climbing shoes on that climb.I suggest you all pair this purchase with a good monocular or binoculars, so you can study your prospective routes thoroughly in advance, so you don't end up in the ER at midnight like I did.

I love this ice axe! It was super handy on my ascents of Rainier/Baker/Adams this last climbing season.The leash made everything easier since I didn't have to worry about dropping it and the quality of the axe is top-knotch!Direct message me on Instagram for any specific questions about the axe or if you need any mountaineering questions answered :) - @zachoneverest

The only reason I didn't give this piolet 5 stars is because I have yet to use it...but it appears to be quite a light weight and solid unit. When I did my research on which ice axe to buy, Black Diamond kept popping up, and on Utube I saw it used by many people in their gear bags. I read reviews on a lot of sites and for the money, I think I made a good choice. I will be using The Raven when I go snowshoeing in the backcountry and having a probe and ice axe is an essential part of your life saving gear...I didn't want to be too cheap when it came to something that could ultimately save my life, but I also knew that I'm not going to be using it to climb, so I could go with a more moderately priced ice axe. The leash that comes with it means I'm good to go now! The price is the same, except maybe shipping cost, on almost every site I went to . Backcountry shipped for free, can't get any better than that and they are always quick. Can't wait for the powder! Go outside....

I prefer the traditional straight ice axes so I bought a set of these. A good price and it has held up well thus far. The leash is nice. Works good to cut steps int he snow and I've used one of them to anchor down my tent in high winds. I've not been gentle with these axes but so far they've held up great. I like them so much I bought a 65cm set for my girlfriend. If you are going to do climbing up a sheer ice face you may want to go with a technical set of axes but for general mountaineering these work great.

Excellent seller, timely service abd product was as described. The product itself was great, though I'm not an ice climber persay I did give this two runs up a solid ice climb/hike and it gave me that extra layer of safety, didn't dull with use and is light and easy to carry/pack.

I do a lot of hiking in Summit County Colorado and this gets me through the entire season-if you can find the rock pick for the summer. If you love hiking or are interested in learning how to climb using ice axes this is a great model to start with. The handle and lanyard help a lot! Spend the extra $10 bucks for these options. Youll be happy especially when you have you gloves on.

Long handle was a plus. Light weight and strong.

Very sturdy and lightweight! Recommend getting all of the spike covers at the same time!

Piolet en extremo ligero y resistente! Materiales de última generación con un diseño hermoso. Gran herramienta para subir sobre la nieve o hielo.

Top Händling , super zu nutzen , nutze es um Baustellen zu besichtigen im Wald Hang Berg

Ein gut verarbeiteter Eispickel, nur das Band ist etwas störend, dies kann aber leicht abgenommen werden.

Super Eispickel von Black Diamond, sehr leicht, sitzt sehr Ergonomisch in der Hand, hab für mein Bruder auch der gleiche bestellt!

Brilliant, light as a feather compared to my old one.