The new Petzl Quark

The is a repostfrom earlyApril . But as we roll into the fall ice season andthe winter of / I thought it worth revisting for those looking to buying new tools. I'll have a new Nomic/Fusion comparison up soon as well. And a new Cobra/Quark comparison. And finally, since so few have gotten to use the newest Ergoanother set of comments on that tool as well from some recent alpine climbing with it.





New Quark buried in Neve with a lwt C-T adze.



Hardly new now as the first tools showed up here in the States back in Oct/Nov. of . The issues with the new Nomic and Ergo appeared and for one reason or another even the unaffected Quarks weren't available in large numbers again until mid Feb. . I played with a pair at the Bozeman Icefest. But wasn't able to get my own pair until the week before I left for Chamonix in late March.For may folks in the warmer parts of the USthe ice season was winding down by that time.the tools were available again. Hard to justify new tools at full price at the tail end of your season not knowing what will be available next year.



(I don't know ofanything new coming along for -)



More than a few waiting for the new Nomic. The Nomic may be worth the wait for some but easy to over look the more durable and likely a better all around tool, theQuark. Many will have a the option of even more/better choicesfor their own use by having the new all around Quark and the even more technical (than the Nomic) new Ergo available.



The new Quark is certainly built in the Nomic's image. The handle contours are very close and most importantly the aluminum heads are exactly the same profiles.



You have to look back at the original Quark to make a good comparison. Petzl has changed more than just the head of the tool. But changing the head made a new hammer and a new adze required on the newest tool. Even the picks were changed. Making them nowT rated instead of B rated in bothversions, the new ICE and New DRY. Add to that you get a slightly deeper pick angle on the newest Quark.







Below: pictured isthe new pick angle on the top over lay. The new pick is slightly steeper, may be 2 degrees.. Middle is the newestICEpicktip profile. The DRY versionis the same tip profile. The bottom picture is the older Cascade Nomic pick profile.









So as you can see, it aint your old Quark. The new Quark with a hammerweights in at 588g or 528g with no hammmer. The old Quark with a hammer installed is 682g.











With the new Quark that includes a second higher grip in both over all weights. With after market hammers and adzes available for the new Quark and the additional factory movable second grip the new Quark has a lot of options.



The newest Petzl factory hammer on the left on a new Quark. The C-T hammer on a original styleNomic right.Weights vary from 30g for the low profile C-T hamemr to 60g for the Petzl hammer.







The other improvement that Petzl made on thenew tool is a full size carabiner hole in the spike to clip umbilicals into. Big improvement.











This one ofmy personal Quarks, with fixed trigger for high daggering, a rubber grip wrapand a C-T hammer installed. Lots of options on how you set this tool up. And an incredibly versatile tool on any terrain. The Adze in the opening photo is its mate.



Snow slogs...







Used here to good effect onhard technical dry tooling. Jack Roberts on a bolted M7+ @ adry tooling area in France.







I have climbed with the Nomic almost exclusively since it became available. The Quark before that. Abandoning every other tool in my quiver sometimes to my detriment. Only the new Ergo has swayed me untilnow. The new Quark has taken the majority of technical advantages of the Nomic and added them to a more vestal shaft of the older Quark. All the while giving you a majority of the Nomic'sadvantages in one form or another (the moving slider grip) while offering some additional advantages on less technical ground. The new Quark is one of the few tools imo that rivalsand generally betters the original Nomic as a truly all around tool. Seems I am not the only one who thinks so. I suspect this guy at any given moment has a choice of ANY tool that Petzl makes. You think?







Hard not to be pleased with the newest Quark. For many the Quark will be a better (and more appreciated) all around tool.