REI Yeti Review

Name: REI Yeti
Brand: REI

rei yeti ice axe review — REI Yeti Ice Axe
Credit: Steve

View at REI

Price: $75 List

Manufacturer: REI

By Ian Nicholson ⋅ Review Editor ⋅ Jan 15, 2010

Our Verdict

The REI Yeti was Discontinued in 2016

REASONS TO BUY

Comfortable to hold

Self arrests great

Good value

REASONS TO AVOID

Mediocre ice penetration

The Yeti is a good all-around ice axe for general mountaineering and for easy to moderate snow climbing. It is one of the most comfortable ice axes to carry and is one of the smoother axes for self-arresting. The large, wide head is presumably for comfort while carrying but is also useful when "spinning" it from self-belay to self-arrest.

This is a good beginner to intermediate ice axe for someone on a budget. It is great for general mountaineering where you will probably not be faced with medium or long sections of firmer snow above 50 degrees. It is one of the best self-arresting ice axes with its wide, rounded head and well-designed pick. It performs average at digging anchors with its adze. It has a nice price, is great to carry, self-arrests wonderfully and is relatively light, making it a good option for almost any mountaineer.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Likes

The Yeti's large rounded head makes it very comfortable to hold; only the Black Diamond Raven family is more comfortable. It was the smoothest self-arresting axe along with the Black Diamond Raven and the SMC Capra. It just edges out the Petzl Summit in this category. The hole in the middle of the head and the one in the adze worked fairly well to facilitate use as a snow anchor as well as use in standing belays. The adze is a nice size and chops steps fairly well, on a par with most other ice axes in its price range.

Dislikes

The pick of the Yeti penetrates firmer ice about average; not a great choice for steeper snow and ice climbs. It performs similarly to the Black Diamond Raven and CAMP Neve and not quite as well as the Petzl Snowalker. During a crevasse, the rounded head made it slightly more difficult to girth hitch a sling or clip a carabiner. I didn't notice it much when I was standing around. But when hunched over with my quads screaming and my partner in a crack, it was a bigger deal.

Best Application

A perfect ice axe for general mountaineering and snow climbing. If you climb or aspire to climb a lot of steeper snow and ice, it's not ideal either alone or with another ice tool.

Value

At $75 the REI Yeti is the best-priced ice axe in the review. It is $5 less than, and scored relatively close to, the Black Diamond Raven. The Yeti weighs one ounce less than a CAMP Neve and is the same weight as a Raven.

— Ian Nicholson