Ice axes
Product 2020
Woman, Man
The Petzl Gully ice-axe is designed for ski-mountaineering and mountaineering.
With a 45cm shoulder and 280g weight, it offers an interesting compromise between technicity and lightness. It’s luminous orange matches the numerous products in the tons on offer by the brand.
The Petzl Gully has an aluminum, slightly curved shaft. It has several notches on its lower part. These indentations clearly improve grip and gives you a better grip under your knuckles. Its beveled base is clearly not the best system for anchoring when it is rock hard or icy, but it means you can store it in your pack without risking disembowelment or puncturing the water bladder; been there, done that, got the tee-shirt!
There’s a hole on the rear side of the ice axe to connect a carabiner or leash. A plastic piece obstructs the base of the handle and makes it possible to block the wedge support.
The TRIGREST sliding pommel is easily adjustable, you unlock the pommel by pulling a small trigger, it slides easily along the entire shaft. When the desired height is reached, a simple pressure on the trigger is enough to lock it again. Note that this system can be easily manipulated when wearing gloves. When it is close to the head, it can be used as a cane axe provided the snow is not too hard. The use of the pommel on the lower part of the handle is intended more for technical mountaineering. It gives precision ice axe usage, the base of the hand rests on it, you feel more secure and supported. The forearms warm-up a lot slower! You can remove sliding pommel with a wrench and lose 15.3g in weight. The addition of the sliding pommel brings a real bonus point to the ice axe.
The steel pick is tapered, anchors well in the ice despite the axe being ultra-light. In front of where the head fits onto the shaft the pick has two holes, the first is for connecting to the axe when it’s used as a cane ice axe. The second gives the possibility of adding pick weights, thus improving anchoring. At the rear you have the choice between an adze or hammer. The adze is perforated, quite small (4cm). It takes patience and energy to clear the desired area. However, its beveled edge offers better penetration in the snow.
It is interesting to see an umpteenth category of products created to meet more and more practitioners. But is it really necessary?
Due to its small travel and its ultra-lightweight, the Petzl Gully has very little inertia in self-arresting, we would not take this ice axe knowing that there is verticality and technicality on the cards. It seems to be an excellent companion for alpine hikes.
Sure we are happy to have a compact and lightweight ice axe with pretty good anchorage. But wouldn’t a more technical ice axe be better to get you out of a bad situation more easily or progress more easily when difficulties increase?
Everyone, depending on their level of practice, will find an answer.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
Receive your answers by mail. Do you have a particular question concerning the design, use, durability or other about a tested product? We will answer your question personally.
