An extreamly versitile ice tool!

[fishingonly2002]

hey gurs, I just thought I would bring another sport to ice fishing. ice climbing! the screws are so frikin nifty to have on the ice, you can burry a screw in about 5 seconds using just your finger tip. some things I have used it for

-anchoring a guys shack on a windy day
-anchoring my dogs leash so it would run after the dog sledding dogs on chocorua
-checking ice thckness
-drilling it right next to a hole and attaching my stringer to it
-I forgot my cleats one day, and couldnt get any traction on the ice while trying to dig my hole, I drilled in two ice screws and stepped on top of them and drilled right through

my dad also likes them incase someone went in, throw them a rope attached to an ice screw as opposed to yourself, that way nobody else gets dragged in by a frantic sturggler.

they are pretty pricey, but so nifty out on the ice, look at your local mountaineering shop and look through their consignment area, you should find a few pretty cheap.

just thought I share a nifty tool with you guys.



~Neal

[pikemaster789]

sounds neat, I might have to look into it

[ravinerat]

I've been using one for years. They are great for every aspect of ice fishing or ice travel.

RR

[brittlab]

They look pretty useful. I may need to look into getting a few. you were right they are pricey. I could probably make someting similar for much less

[Blaine]

Hmmmm.... Do they really drill that quick? I might have to give them a try. Define "pricey"

[Bean]

Define "pricey"

I looked online and ones like he posted a photo of were around $65 each. Others I saw similar to it were around $50-60 each.

[fishingonly2002]

the thing I know from experience is that ice climbers are some of the cockiest mofo's out there, and will get made fun of by every other climber if he doesnt have that years newest models of everything. if you look through a consignment ben at any mountaineering shop you can probably find them for 10-20 bucks a pop. and yes they drill like heck, I carry atleast a few of 2 kinds, 3 inch and about 8 inches. I drill all over the place with the three inch one to make sure its good ice, and that one goes in within a few seconds, the other one is for seeing if I want to drive a fourwheelrr or snowmobile, I can bottom out an 8 inch screw under 10 seconds easy. make sure you dont slam the tip into the ice to make it start easier, all you need to do is hold it in place with one hand, and start rotating, it starts spinning so effortlessly that all you need to do is keep smacking it (like playing tetherball) to keep it spinning and it cuts right through.

~Neal

[stumper]

  Ebay

[Blaine]

What are they called? If I were to look for them on line, what would I search for?

[fishercat]

Blaine there called ice screws. And I also use them they work great.

[Hardguy]

Any tools required?

[fishingonly2002]

nope, just place the point(s) against the ice and start spinning.

~Neal

[UncleFluffy]

I found some Titanium screws under the name of Irbis that are much cheaper.  Most ice climbers use these for "leave behinds" as they are much cheaper, but not as fancy as the higher models.  I found mine for around $13 a piece.  Work great and do have many uses. REI used to carry them, but most results I see from Google now point to eBay.  Good luck!

[JigAwhopper]

...just more junk to bring on the ice,  I would rather pop a hole with my auger and use the ice anchor.  I bet you can barely see them once they go in the ice,  easy to loose.

[Hard_H2O]

...just more junk to bring on the ice,  I would rather pop a hole with my auger and use the ice anchor.  I bet you can barely see them once they go in the ice,  easy to loose.

How big are your ice anchors?

If they are attached as an anchor to your shelter hoow would they be easy to lose? Wouldn't you have to remove them before moving your shack?

Why not replace your anchors with something simpler, smaller, lighter, quicker?

I am going to look into these.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Search?storeId=8000&vcat=REI_SEARCH&query=ice+screw

http://www.ems.com/catalog/subcategory_simple.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302875242&emssrcid=adwords_ice+screw

http://sporting-goods.search.ebay.com/ice-screw_Climbing_W0QQcatrefZC6QQfclZ3QQfgtpZQQfposZ55128QQfromZR2QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQlopgZQQsacatZ30105QQsadisZ200QQsaprchiZQQsaprcloZQQsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ2QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZunknown

[JAGER61]

I bought 4 brand new 18cm Ice Screws on ebay last week for $52  There are plenty more on ebay listed.  Brand new they go for 50-65 each.  Just type "ice screws" in the search window and you'll pull them up.  REI and Kittery do not carry the IRBIS brand any more.  I already checked.  I have tried every possible piece of crap ice anchor advertised that's out there and these things are far and away the best, easy to use anchor ever.  They screw in with ease and come right out even after 10 hours in the ice.  They are light as a feather too.  You won't be sorry!

Mike

[NJ PIKER]

bought a set here last season  www.mountaingear.com