Comparison of the best ice axes on the market 2024: Petzl Nomic vs Grivel Dark Machine

I am a proud owner of the well-known Nomic ice axe from Petzl. For the second year they have not betrayed me on any ice, every jam with them was a pleasure. Until this season, when my ice climbing companion got the ice axes, which were admired by more than one Adamsport customer, namely Grivel Dark Machine. Our new challenge together this year began and that was to test these two rivals, not in any place, but right in the European ice climbing mecca, the valleys of Mont Blanc.

I am a proud owner of the well-known Nomic ice axe from Petzl. For the second year they have not betrayed me on any ice, every jam with them was a pleasure. Until this season, when my ice climbing companion got the ice axes, which were admired by more than one Adamsport customer, namely Grivel Dark Machine. Our new challenge together this year began and that was to test these two rivals, not in any place, but right in the European ice climbing mecca, the valleys of Mont Blanc.

Petzl Nomic

With its weight of 585g, it is perfectly weighted especially for the middle of the body, the swing with this ice axe is accurate even for a less strong individual or a "gentle" ice-lover. The grip size can be adjusted in three stages, so the axe adapts to all hands. The option of adding a hammer or blade makes this the most versatile ice axe on the market. But let's move on to the ice climbing itself.

On very hard ice, the Nomic, notches and doesn't let go, doesn't bounce, holds beautifully when loaded and thus gives the climber especially confidence. I had no problem with the tip bouncing, even when changing the angle of the pick. It's true that when climbing all day long in hard ice, I personally, as a delicate woman, feel the weight of the ice pick in my hands, but it's nothing I would have realized if I hadn't focused on it for the test. With the softer afternoon ice, everything literally went like clockwork.

The Nomic has a perfectly constructed handle that can be snapped into higher positions, so if I needed to traverse on lesser ice gradients, I just snapped the ice axe.

As it happens in the Alps, every now and then you have to improvise in mixed terrain, in which the ice axe also did not disappoint me, and even though I had PURE´ICE tips installed, I did not notice any major shortage.

The Petz Nomic is an ice axe whose true potential is only recognised from the intermediate ice classifications onwards.

Grivel Dark Machine

Carbon fibre cap with beautiful aesthetics and a weight of 490g. A weapon that is produced less every year than some of us would like. The first sight of this beauty made me drool. The ice axe itself is built for hard, technical, steep ice routes. I imagine that on ice like the Repentance WI6, this ice axe will be a star.

The balancing of the Dark Machine, is perfect. Right from the first comparison with the Nomic, the difference in weight is noticeable. When swinging with this pick, you can tell how the Grivel factory has tinkered with the balance on the tip, which is seriously great. You can't unfortunately adjust the handle width, for me this wasn't a problem, but it's possible that for someone with XXL hands this could be an issue.

When climbing 90° sections of ice that were in perfect condition (neither icy nor, hard), the purpose of this ice pick was immediately clear to me. Even with a slight swing of the hand, with the tip loaded, this ice axe held and I didn't have to worry about slipping out. There was also a noticeable difference with the installation of Grivel Katana tips, which I definitely recommend when purchasing a Dark Machin. After climbing all day with the Grivel Dark machine, I seriously felt those 100g less in my hands. During mix and match passes, it was obvious that the manufacturer has been focused on making pure drytool weapons in the past.

I have to admit I was a little worried about damaging the handle, I don't think it was any worse than the Nomic's, but my climbing companion felt the same way and taped the axe up instead, which I recommend you do too.

When climbing very hard ice, you have to hit the ice axe harder, otherwise the ice axe will just bounce off. So the weight took its toll and unfortunately I was not the only one who registered this problem. 

The Dark Machine is simply the ice axe you reach for when you want to climb some of your really technically challenging projects.

Summary

If you climb recreational difficulty ice a few times a year and are thinking about Nomic, you won't feel much difference. It may help your head and morale though, not so much your wallet. :D

The Nomic is the perfect companion for intermediate ice, Tatra and alpine mixes. It's an (almost) universal ice axe you can use almost everywhere I can think of, great balance, good price and quality, not for nothing almost all climbers climb with Nomic.

However, if you already have one pair of versatile appl ice axes at home and you're focusing on a hard drytool route, or you have some ice project of difficulty 5 or more, I'd go for the Grivel Dark Machine. This ice axe isn't a miracle cure for your problems, but it can certainly help and ease the way to conquering your climbing project, at the very least it will fool your head and that's what most of us need.

Zuzana Rajčanová