Petzl Nomic

Great ice tool for waterfall ice and mixed climbing! Has taken me from Rjukan to the Alps and back again!

Great ice tool! I bought mine used though a friend (so I do not own the newest generation). It's been perfect for me, climbing WI 3-5 and mixed alpine routes. I can't think of much more to wish for in an ice tool.

I was so lucky as to get different blades with the tool, so one for training, one for mixed, one for alpine, and one for water ice. Great swing, even without weights.

The only thing I wonder about sometimes is that the tool sometimes feels a bit soft when dry tooling, like the blade is a bit loose. That might be because I'm not using Petzl's original screws for fastening the blades. It's nothing I notice climbing, only when training inside.

Overall, I would recommend this tool for everyone looking for a technical tool to do it all! If I need a new tool at some point, Petzl will be my first go-to place.

If you are a technical climber, this is the only tool you need. At home on rock, ice, mixed, and on sketchy approaches.

I have climbed on every iteration of the Nomics. I learned on gen 1, bought gen 2 and used it for 2 seasons leading up to wi5. I had no complaints, the tools took me places I couldn’t have dreamed of before my introduction to the sport.

Then I tried my friend’s 3rd gen tools. I didn’t think such improvement was possible from perfection. Durability issues were fixed in the head, the balance was improved, the hammer was added to improve durability and balance, the geometry of the pick weights was improved to help with mixed moves, and the hydroformed shaft is better to choke up on for the lower angle snow.

The new picks sink into the ice and clean like a hot knife through butter. These tools are absolutely amazing.

Background

3 seasons of ice and mixed with multiple models of tools

I'll preface the five-star rating by saying that I have never owned an off-the-shelf ice tool that performed this well without any modifications. I've owned or used most of the new generation leashless tools (Petzl Ergo, BD Fusion, Simond Scud/Coyote, Grivel Monster/X-Monster) and none have come close to the overall high performance of the Nomic.

Most of the tools listed above specialize in either ice climbing or mixed climbing, but the Nomic performs at the highest level for both ice and rock. It is rock solid on ice and the high clearance gets around the biggest ice features. For mixed climbing, it is incredibly stable, with next to no pick shift when you change between grips.

I would highly recommend this tool.