Master Scratcher Pick

12 reviews

$105.00 USD

Tool Model Nomic/Ergo/Quark No Hammer Nomic/Ergo/Quark Hammered Hydra No Hammer Hydra Hammered X-Dream/All Mountain No Hammer X-Dream/All Mountain Hammered Dark Machine/North Machine No Hammer Dark Machine/North Machine Hammered

From your home crag to the high alpine, the Master Scratcher is purpose built for true mixed climbing. Tapered to 2.5mm before sharpening, it climbs ice better than stock pure ice picks but with 2x their durability.

Less aggressive angle for pure ice performance and solid purchase on the scratchiest of mixed terrain.
Front beak shaped for security on thin ice and longer out-of-the-box performance as you sharpen.
Unique, wear resistant metal choice for lifespan.
Top mohawk for steins and using tool as a functional cane on low angle ice and snow.
Bottom mohawk for increased stability and purchase in picked-out holes, shell ice, snice, and for hooking curtains and daggers.

So if you want a set of 2, add 2 to your cart.

Yes! Both Black Diamond and Grivel have unique head widths that differ from Petzl and CAMP. Rather than having to source entirely different metal and complicating the manufacturing process, we include a spacer with every pick for the perfect fit.

Each pick was modeled directly to the latest version of each tool as of launch. This is a list of which other tools we know for a fact fit these picks. If you have any questions on whether our picks will fit your tool, please reach out to info@beartoothalpine.com

Nomic/Egronomic/Quark: Forecast Tools

Hydra: N/A

X-Dream/All Mountain: N/A

Dark Machine/North Machine: Tech Machine

FAQs

The Ice Hawk is the overall and durationally thinnest pick commercially available (that we know of). It does not have much rigidity or impact resistance, so you are very likely to beak and/or bend the pick on rock. Our official recommendation is NO. That being said, a couple of our team members sometimes use the pick on hard mixed routes for features like daggers. You just have to be ok with potentially messing up the pick.

Both picks climb ice better than stock picks. Choose the Ice Hawk if 1) You want the best performance on ice you can get 2) You feel like you can control the pick on thin terrain and not hit rock when you do not want to via light wrist flicks or scratching. Given an effort level, the Ice Hawk will penetrate deeper into the ice than you think. Choose the Master Scratcher if you are worried about the Ice Hawk's durability but still want better ice performance.

Both the Ice Hawk and Master Scratcher, but especially the Ice Hawk, climb ice so much better than stock picks that we find pick weights overdrive the picks, making them get stuck more often. The lightning hole on the pick is meant for clipping the tool to an Ice Clipper with a full rack of screws, not pick weights. But, do as you'd like :)

First, see the pick weight FAQ above. Because of the Ice Hawk and Master's increased ice performance, they displace much less ice than a stock pick. This means the hole the pick makes is tighter, which is more secure. These picks were designed to make the sport easier, so climb easier! Lighten your swings up and, if you want to make a looser, deeper hole, flick a couple times instead of hero swinging to bury the pick.

If you anticipate needing to place pitons (and you don't carry a dedicated piton hammer), then get a hammered pick. If you do not place pitons, then you do not need a hammered pick. We leave a couple mm's of steel sticking out the back on non-hammered picks that helps protect the head of your tool and can be used to place or reinforce a piton if needed.

We warranty our picks against snapping. To read the full warranty policy, click here.