ice screw review, climbing guides, petzl, aluminum, montana alpine guides, hyalite canyon

Petzl Laser Speed Light Ice Screw Review by MAG

The new Petzl Laser Speed Light Ice Screws will cut around 1/3 of the weight off a standard set of all steel ice screws. Petzl achieved this by using an aluminum tube and hanger with a steel tip insert on the tube for durability where it’s needed.

Petzl Laser Speed Light Petzl Laser Speed BD Express
13 cm 91 g 128g 134g
17cm 100g 143g 145g (16 cm)
21cm 110g 161g 168g (22 cm)

Ice Screw Weight Comparison Chart

If you were to arrange three screws from each length from the table above (13, 17, & 21cm) for a total of nine screws the Petzl Laser Speed Light Ice Screws would weigh in at 438g (15.5 oz) lighter than the BD Express and 393g (13.9oz) lighter than the Petzl Speed. This alone was enough to make us want an entire set. Saving on weight has its obvious advantages from water ice climbing to high altitude peaks where weight can really make a difference. As with anything new to the market there is always some hesitation and question as to how it will perform. This is especially true when it comes to shedding weight, as durability and or functionality are often sacrificed. These screws do not follow that unfortunate trend and perform just as well as any other ice screw, if not better.

In the past eight weeks MAG guides have tested Petzl Laser Speed Ice Screws on a variety of ice climbs in Hyalite Canyon, MT. Temperatures in our testing ranged from bitter cold “bullet proof ice” to soft dripping ice (above freezing temps). Ice climbs ranged from WI6 pencils to 500’ multi-pitch outings. There is no noticeable sacrifice on placement between the new Speed Light Ice Screws and other screws on our rack. The shape of the hanger, teeth, and threads allows for quick ice screw placements, which in turn limits the amount of time you have to hang by one arm.

The smaller aluminum hanger has the same low profile and ergonomic design on both Petzl screws, which facilitates placement in irregular or sculpted ice. Once the first few threads are in, pop out the integrated folding crank for rapid screw in and screw out. As with other screws the lever end has a nice cone shaped, color-coded trigger for ease of length identification and speed of placement.

The only disadvantage found is that they cost around $20 more than regular ice screws. The weight savings make the cost much easier to digest. After the eight weeks of incessant testing we are fully sold as these screws cut the weight with no sacrifice to performance. Partner these ice screws with Petzl’s Lim’Ice – a sharpener for ice screws, and you have a set up that will remain light and sharp making this a very worthy investment.

Montana Alpine Guides 2014 VetEx Hyalite Trip

Nice work to everyone who made it up for Montana Alpine Guides (MAG) 2014 VetEx Hyalite Ice Trip. Another solid crew of folks who were all eager to learn and eager to climb 4 days in a row! A huge thanks out to the fellow MAG guides, Nate Opp, Peter Ramos, Anne Gilbert, Aki Joy as well as Conrad Anker and The North Face, and Petzl for the demo tools. Of course none of this could not have happened with out the endless drive and energy from Stacy Bare and NicK Watson of VetEx and Sierra Club Outdoors. To all the Vets/climbers who made the effort to drive the winter roads to make it to one of our nations finest ice climbing venues, thanks to Josh Brandon, Bruce Black, Dave Fierner, Dennis Conner, Mike Pickerel, Dan Shoemaker, Dan Wiwczar, Demond Mullins, John Krueger, Samantha Tinsley, Eddie Owens, Dave Lee.

Read more about the expedition in “Outdoors” section of Bozeman Daily Chronicle
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/sports/outdoors/article_27a8213a-a4cd-11e3-adf8-001a4bcf887a.html