Revolution 13cm

Speed of placement is the key to a modern ice screw. The screw needs to make that initial, crucial bite into the ice, then it needs to wind in quickly and smoothly. That way you can clip the thing and keep moving before you get too pumped to continue!

Making a state of the art ice screw is not easy; when we started designing the Revolution Ice screw we knew we had a difficult task ahead of us.

First of all we had to make a very high quality steel tube. The front teeth had to be razor sharp to ensure first time engagement. The outside teeth had to be precision ground so that they pull the tube in efficiently during the wind in, and then are able to hold the screw firmly in position when loaded.

The inside of the tube also had to be honed to a mirror finish to minimise any frictional resistance when it is being wound into the ice.

Initial tests proved that we had got all these elements spot on – the screws worked like a dream. A little more tinkering with the hot forged head unit and the Revolution Ice Screw was born.

Aside from excellent ice cutting performance we knew that the screw had to handle well at all times. Traditionally ice screws have hung in a tangled mess on the harness, snagging ropes and generally being hard to get at. These screws rack beautifully and are ‘quick on the draw’ just when you need them.