In 2020 Petzl is releasing a totally new lightweight glacier climbing harness called the Fly and an updated version of the women’s Borea helmet.
Fly, a lightweight glacier harness (unisex)
The Petzl Fly is a lightweight glacier harness with no metal buckles — it is made entirely of textiles. While designing this harness, and taking out the heavier parts, namely the metal buckles and padding, Petzl added 3 new patents to their repertoire. One patent is for the removable foam that is in the waist and leg loops. Another patent is for the waist belt closure, where you can pull an elastic piece taut which will allow the user to open/close the waist adjustment and once that webbing is slack the adjustment will not move. The third patent is for the leg loop closure which uses a series of knots for adjustment.
This harness comes in at 150 grams for size medium before the padded leg loops are taken out. Pads gone, it’s 100 grams for the size small, making it a top 5 lightest harness. It’ll retail for $100 and be available in 2020.
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Borea, a hardshell climbing helmet (women’s)
Last year Petzl upgraded the Boreal (unisex/men’s) helmet and Petzl put a lot of effort to show climbers the benefits of greater protection to all sides of the head. Now it’s the Borea’s turn for this same upgraded treatment. This hardshell helmet is great for climbers who are hard on their gear (or just want a long-lasting helmet) while climbing, mountaineering, caving, canyoning, etc. The Borea also keeps the classic ponytail holder that Petzl is known for. If you want one ventilated helmet to do it all, this is a great choice.
Further on helmet testing: Traditionally, helmets are tested primarily to sustain impact from the top, and just to the side of the top. Petzl’s research shows that side impacts and back of the head impacts occur just as frequently. This is why they’ve extended their testing to include side impact and back of the head impacts just as well. This means the helmet rides lower on the back of the head to sustain that coverage. Overall, Petzl has reinforced the protection from lateral, frontal, and rear impacts. It’ll retail for $60, the same as the Boreal, and come out in 2020.
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New 2019 Winter Climbing Gear
In 2018 Petzl changed their entire ice tool line — they updated the Quark & Nomic & added the new Ergonomic. In 2019, Petzl is mostly coming out with new ice accessories, although they also made big updates to the Dart.
Dart crampon (updated)
$249 (crampon front only $149.95, antibotts $29.95), Fall 2019
The new Dart will replace the previous Dart and Dartwin crampons (the Lynx will stay in the line). The new Dart has modular front points that can be configured as a long or short mono-point, dual-point, or asymmetrical dual-points. The Dart will suddenly become an all-around crampon that can transform from ice climbing to mixed and dry tooling.
Underfoot, the dart also has a set of lateral secondary points to add stability on ice bulges or snow crossings. Of course, the front points will be replaceable and sold separately.
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See all the crampons currently available at:
https://weighmyrack.com/crampon
Fit Small toe bail
The Alpine Start is also reporting a replacement toe bail option. As the name suggests, it’s a smaller, narrower toe bail, to fit more modern boots. To see photos and more details, check out TAS’s Outdoor Retailer post.
Kit Cord-Tec accessory
$99.95, Fall 2019
The Kit Cord-Tec is an aluminum crampon heel and cord linking bar to transform the Irvis or Dart to a super lightweight rig. In addition to the lightweight nature, the cord linking bar will make packing even more compact. The corded “linking bar” will be the same as the Leopard LLF/Irvis Hybrid crampons and the current Cord-Tec replacement.
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Multihook ice accessory
$29.95, Fall 2019
The Multihook is a V-threading hook tool that can also clean ice out of ice screw tubes. The base of the hook has a serrated blade to cut ropes and cords. Conveniently, it can also can fit inside an ice screw for easy transport (see second photo).
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Octo ice screw holder
$29.95, Fall 2019
The Octo pouch is designed to securely store and transport ice screws. There are 8 compartments that hold ice screws, and you can transport an additional 4 ice screws, placing them between each double screw compartment. The black tabs you see in the middle of the screw holder act as locks and will prevent the screw from falling out no matter how you hold the case (exception: the 10cm screw is not long enough to lock). There is a mess pocket in the middle for additional accessories like frontpoint replacements or files.
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See all the ice accessories currently available at:
https://weighmyrack.com/iceaccessory
Ultralight Pouch crampon & ice screw holder
$29.95, 50 grams, Fall 2019
The Ultralight pouch is primarily designed for carrying crampons, but it could also transport ice screws. The design is inspired by Conrad Anker, who had used a US Postal Service mailer as his preferred transport method. The material is super light and tough, made from the same materials as racing sails. The Ultralight pouch has a waterproof film and drain holes.
To see all the new gear coming in 2019 from Black Diamond, CAMP/Cassin, La Sportiva, SCARPA
check out our 2019 Gear Post.
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Alison Dennis
Alison (she/her) runs WeighMyRack from her 17' travel trailer. She is currently touring the US and would love if you contacted her to meet up to talk about climbing, climbing gear, or if you have any fun and/or ridiculous adventure in mind.
[…] see more photos of the Dart here […]