Petzl Ride Ice Axe
When the going gets steep, the Ride ice-axe from Petzl steps up to answer the call. Purpose-built for steep skiing, the Ride has a steel head, curved shaft, and a pick tapered to 3mm. These features ensure that you get a placement you can count on when you’re picking or plunging. The Petzl Ride axe is durable enough for daily ski mountaineering yet still impressively light. It will be your go-to skimo axe for years.
- Steel head offers the same performance as a classic axe.
- Machined grip and curved shaft offer improved handling and self-arrest performance.
- Bright orange color is eye catching so everyone knows you're cool enough to need an axe.
- Compact enough to fit inside a pack which reduces chance of injury if you run out of cool points on the descent.
- CE certified.
| Specifications | |
| Lengths (cm) | 45 |
|
Weight |
248g |
| Specs Verified | Yes |
| Design | |
|
|
Tempered steel head, 7075 aluminum handle |
| Skimo Co Says | |
| Usage | Ski mountaineering, alpinism, mountaineering |
| Notes | Steel head for long-term picking |
| Bottom Line | Purpose-built for ski mountaineering |
| Compare to other Ice Axes | |
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Questions & Reviews
This is an excellent axe for many people. It is the cheapest axe skimo sells, and also one of the lightest. Works very well for use in soft snow, and fits nicely inside the pack which is very convenient in certain situations. You can buy the Petzl Trigrest for this axe which fits perfectly, and adds a lot of functionality.
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I love this piolet. Light enough to bring on every trip, yet sturdy enough to get you out of a jam. I used it on Mt. Adams and loved the weight and utility. Doesn’t swing as well as a heavier axe, but gets the job done—if the snows that hard and you need an axe do you really want to ski it anyway? The price is great too. Could also use it for early season hikes in the PNW.
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The ride was one of my first forays into light, ski mountaineering ice axes several years ago. Before, I was a classic, short piolet user (BD Raven Pro) for summer ski mountaineering, but this became a standard tool for putting in the winter booter when I moved from UT to WA in 2016.
The pros:
-Light, leave it in/on your pack, who cares if you don't need it, weight
-You can voile strap it to a standard ski pole (poor man's whippet pole) for descent if touring out of a small pack or skiing something really consequential (large hands mandatory)
-Durable shaft, plugged to prevent snow from filling it (unlike those older Camp axes)
-It can open most beer bottle/cap combinations with slot in the pick
-Light insurance for touring windswept, firm gullies where true water ice isn't encountered
-Will stop a fall, good size for splitboard/ski descents with it in hand
Cons:
-The join between the pick and shaft can start to feel a bit loose if you throw it at a log, as may be done in an apres axe throwing contest (I have done this)
-The pick has cut-outs that make it lighter, but the plastic cap makes me think the shaft is the more trustworthy "business end."
-Not as sturdy as gully
-Light for make real swings sans pick weights
To sum up my assessment, an IFMGA-certified friend told me last year when I pulled this out of my pack, "that's a great axe and I love it for soft snow, but I think the gully is a better daily driver for ski mountaineering with any mixedish conditions (ice, shallow rock)."
I have explained it to another friend, "it's the aluminum crampons of ice axes, great for 90% of the conditions you bring them for (firm snow, winter ski mountaineering conditions), but you might encounter the 10% conditions and have to bail if it isn't working (water ice, rock)."
The pros:
-Light, leave it in/on your pack, who cares if you don't need it, weight
-You can voile strap it to a standard ski pole (poor man's whippet pole) for descent if touring out of a small pack or skiing something really consequential (large hands mandatory)
-Durable shaft, plugged to prevent snow from filling it (unlike those older Camp axes)
-It can open most beer bottle/cap combinations with slot in the pick
-Light insurance for touring windswept, firm gullies where true water ice isn't encountered
-Will stop a fall, good size for splitboard/ski descents with it in hand
Cons:
-The join between the pick and shaft can start to feel a bit loose if you throw it at a log, as may be done in an apres axe throwing contest (I have done this)
-The pick has cut-outs that make it lighter, but the plastic cap makes me think the shaft is the more trustworthy "business end."
-Not as sturdy as gully
-Light for make real swings sans pick weights
To sum up my assessment, an IFMGA-certified friend told me last year when I pulled this out of my pack, "that's a great axe and I love it for soft snow, but I think the gully is a better daily driver for ski mountaineering with any mixedish conditions (ice, shallow rock)."
I have explained it to another friend, "it's the aluminum crampons of ice axes, great for 90% of the conditions you bring them for (firm snow, winter ski mountaineering conditions), but you might encounter the 10% conditions and have to bail if it isn't working (water ice, rock)."
Comment on this review:
4/19/2020
How to decide between the Ride and Gully? Context: Looking to get an axe or pair of axes mainly for steep Couloir snow climbs where you might come across some firm icy sections, but likely no vertical ice.
4/19/2020
Hey Chris, thanks for reaching out! Here are the main differences. The Gully has a slight recurve shape to the pick(which makes it better suited to climbing), comes with the sliding pommel, and can accept pick weights. The Ride has a pick with a more classic curve(better suited to self-arrest), can accept a sliding pommel(but is not included), and is not compatible with pick weights. The shafts and spikes are essentially identical. The Ride is listed as being slightly lighter, which is due to the more material being cut out of the pick, as well as the lack of sliding pommel.
Personally, I prefer the versatility of the Gully in most steep scenarios, and based on your description, I think you might as well!
Personally, I prefer the versatility of the Gully in most steep scenarios, and based on your description, I think you might as well!
Answer this question:
Simple and light. I got rid of my Camp Nano as soon as I had one day with this. It's a touch heavier but the resin plug keeps it from filling with snow so it's lighter in that regard. The curve is nice and the resin head makes it nicer to carry with thin gloves. My only complaint is that it doesn't have a pinkie rest like the Sum-tec but I stole one off my Quarks and it's good to go. Held up to a winter in Chamonix and spring on the Coast just fine so seems bomber in that regard. Possibly slightly too short for some skimo races (PDG?)?
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