KUŹNIA SZPEJU Replacement Pick for Elite Climb Raptor

A few months ago, I already bought a drytooling pick from Kuznia Szpeju for my Ergonomic and tested it on my training tower. With the confidence I gained in their pick and the drytooling grips, I decided to also get the replacement pick for the lightweight carbon ice tools Elite Climb Raptor. This report is only a first impression and is mainly intended to help others find the product more easily.

The picks are probably not certified! That is something to keep in mind when purchasing.

The picks come in a sleek black color. They have the two holes for mounting to the shaft, a large hole for clipping into an ice screw clipper, and two holes for Petzl pick weights.

Here is a comparison with the original Elite Climb pick (bottom in the image). It is noticeable that the “beard” on the Kuznia Szpeju pick is shorter and more rounded. It also lacks the hexagonal cutout at the rear that can be used when changing picks. The serrations and the hole for the ice screw clipper are also different.

The pick angle is slightly more aggressive than the original.

On the original, the upper serration is rather subtle.

On the Kuznia Szpeju pick, it is a bit more aggressive.

With the black pick, the look of the Elite Climb ice tool becomes even nicer, in my opinion.

Conclusion

The pick appears to be well made. So far, I have only used it a little in ice, but I haven’t noticed anything negative.

The only downside is that the picks are not certified. To build some confidence, I had previously bought drytooling picks for my Ergonomics and tested them on top rope. But of course… certification would definitely be nicer 🙂

Kuznia Szpeju also offers a drytooling pick for the Elite Climb Raptor.

I will update this report once I have used the pick more extensively.

You can find my review of the Elite Climb Raptor ice tool here.