Ah, winter ... for many, it means dark days pulling plastic, waiting for warm temps and golden sun to return, and perhaps harboring a hankering to head for Joshua Tree or Hueco. But for others, winter is spelled f-u-n. Sub-zero temps, brittle ice, horizontal snowfall — if terms like that get your adrenal glands revving and your hands grasping for tools, then it’s time to check out what’s new in gear for this season.

Grivel Helix ice screw
Grivel’s 360 screw came out number one in our ice-screw review back in 2002, and for good reason. It churns into ice like a Bosch Bulldog tears into stone. A few folks, however, were left wishing the crank were a bit less bulky. Enter Grivel’s Helix ($52, 6 ounces for 15cm size, 20cm also available), which uses the same tube as the king-of-the-heap 360, but features a unique new crank that puts the cranking knob on one side of the screw’s axis and the hanger on the other.

The result is a screw with amazing bite right from the first turn. The cranks of other screws place leverage in one direction off the screw’s axis, but the Helix’s balance keeps it dead center. While it lacks the placement options of the 360’s folding handle, this screw still keeps a relatively low profile on the ice. Like all screws, the Helix racks best with its own brethren, but it still plays nice when slapped into a mixed rack. If you’re looking to start your first ice rack, or augment your existing one, the Helix definitely deserves a place there.
— Matt Stanley
Grivel: 801.463.7996, www.grivelnorthamerica.com

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Mammut Ice 45 pack
Carrying around all the pointy, sharp stuff necessary for ice climbing requires a well-designed holster. Mammut’s new Ice 45 pack ($165, 2700 cubic inches, three pounds, five ounces) handles the job well. The durable nylon fabric lasted my entire ‘04-’05 ice season, plus a couple overstuffed-with-cams Indian Creek trips, without a puncture. (Note: Screws, crampons, and other pointy objects should never be hastily thrown into the pack, for the sake of your pack, the pointy objects, and your own longevity.)

Thanks to Mammut’s new internal-frame, aluminum-tubing “Butterfly System” suspension, the Ice 45 comfortably carries loads up to 40 pounds. The pack’s sack is a lightweight, svelte design that eliminates the need to take the scissors for a trimming mission. Should you need to lighten it further, however, the waist belt, back pad, and aluminum frame are removable, dropping the weight to a very trim two pounds, five ounces. The lid is fixed — it would be nice if it floated for expansion room — and contains two compartments, one with a key clip, sealed with water-resistant zippers. The sack’s white interior lining conveniently brightens up the inside, which helps when you’re digging to find your stray energy bar that may have settled to the bottom.

The ice specific pack is designed to handily carry both leashed and ergonomic leashless handles, from the double-stacks of the Petzl Ergo and Grivel Racing Wing to the more radical dogleg of the Simond Coyote. There is no crampon attachment, which conveniently negates, in my mind, the need to cut off a clumsy pocket. It’s better to keep the pointies in a durable, puncture-proof pouch. Other features include a hydration pouch with shoulder-mounted tube clip, compression straps, and bungees mounted under the lid for overloading.

The Ice 45 also fits within requirements for airline carry-on baggage; don’t, however, use that as an excuse to try waltzing though security with leashless tools strapped on the outside — you’ll surely be arrested.
— Luke Laeser
Mammut: 800.451.5127, www.mammutusa.com