In comparison, the handle in its Ice setting definitely feels a bit more strenuous and more taxing when hanging out in figure-4s. This eases the angle at which your wrist sits when you grab the handle, and makes manoeuvres over a horizontal roof a bit easier. The Dry handle setting steepens the handle angle by 12-degrees (versus the Ice setting), making the handle sit almost parallel to the pick. You’re now 4 bolts in to a 13 bolt route… It’s all slightly contrived, extremely demanding of every single muscle in your body and also incredibly fun.įor this rather acrobatic route, I set the X-Dream handle to their Dry setting, retained the smallest finger insert and used the Mixed pick. If you hold the swing and remain on the rock, you know you’re on the right hold! Now immediately tuck in and reach up with your left tool, going for a bomber ledge. Basically extend, reach around the edge, feel around and hope you’re on the right spot, at which point it’s a figure-9 onto the tool and a release resulting in a swing out into space. From there you go into a stein in the roof, clip, then there is another large, this time around 5-foot (maybe more, maybe less, it’s hard to tell when you’re upside down) move over an edge to a thin, dicey hold that you can’t actually see. The first large move in the roof is around a 4-foot reach to a large secure edge, onto which you figure-4 to clip. The start involves some relatively delicate placements on vertical to slightly-overhanging ground before moving into the roof. The X-Dream has so many options it’s going to take a while to find the ideal settings for different types of climbing!īut, on to performance… as I’ve mentioned I’ve only had the X-Dreams out for three sessions, but they have been very, very impressive.ĭay 1 was an outing to the Cineplex projecting Steel Koan, an almost-exclusively horizontal roof rated at M13+. Disclaimer: I haven’t yet used the Ice pick. You can see the slight angle difference well here. That’s a substantial difference just in the price of extra picks! By comparison, the Dry pick for Nomics is $59 while the Ice is $53. The pick prices are impressive, too: $35 for the Mixed and Comp, $45 for the Ice. I’m very impressed with the range of customization options and accessories available for the X-Dream. There are three different picks available for the X-Dream, all easily interchangeable via a single bolt: a dedicated Ice pick with a small hammer a Mixed pick with a slightly more aggressive pick angle, smaller hammer and more aggressive teeth over the head for steinpulls and a Comp pick for, well, comps with a large front tooth for secure placements on plastic and even more aggressive head teeth. As you can see the angle is adjustable between two settings - Dry & Ice - and the finger-trigger is adjustable as well (the little black insert in the handle). The one-piece grip/handle of the X-Dream. The handle angle is adjustable via a single bolt at the shaft joint, and though at first it appears like it might flex, there is absolutely no movement between the handle and shaft interface. The handle is made of a single piece of aluminum from the pommel/hand-guard to the shaft attachment point, with adjustable finger trigger inserts. ![]() It is a pleasure to hold, and promotes a natural, open-thumbed swing. The handle is also the most comfortable I’ve wrapped my hands around, with a generous palm rest, nice profile and anatomical shaping. This feeling of lightness can be attributed to the tools’ balance point, which in my highly unscientific test looks to be about mid-way on the shaft (whereas the Nomic’s balance point is around an inch further up the shaft). Upon first impression, this tool feels extremely light, even though it is only 11 grams lighter than the gen-2 Nomic (597 vs 608). The X-Dream on the first few moves of Caveman M10… the handle’s Dry setting is awesome for fully horizontal drytooling! I’m just going to come out and say it: the Cassin X-Dream is the best ice and mixed tool I’ve tried to date. Granted, I’ve only used them three times but first impressions count for a lot when you know what to look for…
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