Video Gear Review: Black Diamond Whippet Ski Pole

Reuben from Next Adventure talks about the legendary Whippet Ski Pole from Black Diamond. The Whippet is the ultimate ski mountaineering tool combining a sturdy pole with a stainless-steel pick for added safety on steep icy terrain. - Hey, I’m Reuben from Next Adventure. We’re here today talking about the Whippet and the Carbon Whippet from Black Diamond. The Whippet is an awesome ski-mountaineering tool from Black Diamond. It’s a trekking pole with an ice axe pick mounted on the top of the grip. With an easy to adjust FlickLock Pro, you can adjust the Whippet to height and climb with it. The Carbon Whippet features 3-piece construction, with two telescoping carbon shafts and two FlickLock pros. The standard Whippet is less expensive, features two aluminum shafts, and is less compact. It also features just one FlickLock Pro. The standard Whippet is adjustable from 97cm to 140cm, while the Carbon Whippet is adjustable from 68cm to 140cm. The aluminum Whippet is 430 grams while the Carbon Whippet weighs 475 grams. They both feature a stainless-steel pick which is easy to self-arrest with and works almost as well as an alpine ice axe. When alpine climbing or ski mountaineering on Mt. Hood, I often find myself in the position of wanting a trekking pole but feeling like I need to have some sort of ice axe out in order to protect a potential fall. This is where the Whippet comes in. I can confidently save my back while using a trekking pole but still have the security of having a pick to self-arrest with. As soon as the terrain gets steeper I’ll typically keep out the Whippet, stow my other trekking pole, and pull out a more aggressive ice axe like the Black Diamond Venom. I find that this combination of tools is much more useful as well as more versatile than an alpine ax and two trekking poles. One thing to keep in mind about the Whippet, it is not ‘B’ rated like an ice axe, and should not be used instead of one. This is a tool that combines the ice axe and the trekking pole for use on intermediate terrain. These are the Whippets we carry from Black Diamond, check them out in our store or online at nextadventure.net