Black Diamond Express Ice Screw
£44.99 buy it now!

RRP £49.99, save £5.00 ( 10%)

Average customer review:

5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 -

Read 7 customer reviews...

The Black Diamond Express Ice Screws are probably the best screws on the market and certainly one of the most popular. The Express screw features a tube design with precision milled teeth to give the best 'bite' available, meaning you spend less time fighting to get the screw started and more time clipped in and feeling safe.

The Express Ice Screws have a colour coded, hinged winding handle - this pops out to allow you to drive the screw in quickly and with minimum effort even when wearing thick mountaineering gloves. The winding handle on the Express Screw folds flush to its hanger meaning that unlike designs from other brands there is nothing to catch when you grab the screw and racking is tidy and simple. For belay building the Express screw features a second karabiner clip-in loop allowing you to clip your tools or other equipment in for faster turnaround between pitches.

Black Diamond Express Ice Screw Features

  • Advanced tooth geometry for easier starting and faster placement
  • Larger crank knobs with uninterrupted 360° motion
  • Stainless steel hangers with two clip points
  • Available in 5 lengths, colour-coded for quick indexing
  • CE certified
Length
cm		 Weight
gr		 Strength
kN
13 134 10
16 145 10
19 159 10

Tim's Comment

When your scared, pumped, and feel a long way above your last ice screw, you reach to your harness and realise you only have old non-express screws left, panic usually kicks in. I have used the Expresses on Alpine North walls, on numerous Scottish winter climbs, as well as on a full winter ice climbing in the Canadian Rockies. I can remember the revelation of replacing my old screws with Expresses; no longer was the prospect of placing a screw on steep ground terrifying. The Black Diamond Express Ice Screws are indescribably easier and quicker to place; sharp teeth bite first time, the polished tube reduces friction thus turns with less effort, and the simple twisting handles means once the screw has a bite it only takes a second to rotate it to the hilt.

Expess's are easier and quicker to place than any other ice screw, I now use them in all mountaineering situations, from glacier travel to the steepest ice, as there is no substitute. The variety of sizes means the days of dodgy tied off screws are gone; 13cm stubby’s are an invaluable addition to any rack. The standard 16cm is great for most mountaineering situations, as well as forming the basis of any ice rack. The longer 19cm is reassuring to place and is great for making V-threads, but does cost £5 more than the other lengths.

Black Diamond Express Ice Screw

Black Diamond Express Ice Screw

Stock Level (?) Colour / Size Price  

In Stock
3 available. 		13cm £44.99

In Stock
4 available. 		16cm £44.99

In Stock
2 available. 		19cm £49.99

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Customer Reviews of Black Diamond Express Ice Screw:

Average Customer Review: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 7 Reviews

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5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Black Diamond Express Ice Screw Review

Reviewer: Nicholas King, South Godstone   (23-4-2012)

Black Diamond Express screws in my opinion are the best on the market. They rack the best, come in colors, sink really well into the ice, have two clip-in points, and are the easiest to screw in.

5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Black Diamond Express Ice Screw Review

Reviewer: Øystein Wiggen, Trondheim   (9-3-2012)

Easy to use, rack very nice, and works on all types of ice. I use a combination of grivel 360 and BD express and that is a perfect set-up. If I should use only one type of screw, I would go for the BD express due to its easy racking and functional properties.

5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Black Diamond Express Ice Screw Review

Reviewer: Sampsa, HELSINKI   (29-1-2012)

I've used different types of ice screws during my 15 years of climbing and the Black Diamond Express Ice Screws has by far the best product design there is.

Compared to the second best option (Grivel 360) these have one very big advantage. They rack smaller in the harness. You can rack five of these in one ice clipper or carabiner. The Grivels you can have two in each biner. It makes a big difference if you have full rack of 10-12 screws. Both options bite ice well and placing them with one hand is no problem but for the racking reasons I can recommend only these.

All in all it’s a very good product. Don’t be put off by the price, they are worth it.

5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Black Diamond Express Ice Screw Review

Reviewer: phillip smith, sheffield   (21-12-2010)

The best in the world? maybe, but not definitely. Positives to these are;
1) biting straight away in hardish ice.
2) the coloured handles so you can instantly see what size you have when you have the inevitable pump/fear that necessitates the placing of a screw.
3) the clip hole is a good shape and size and sits well, meaning you don’t faff and waste energy getting the quickdraw in.

All in all these have no real faults, you can even sharpen them yourself and it tells you how to do it on the BD site!

Only negative is as a comparison, the Grivel 360 is better in bullet hard ice, but only because you can torque it more with the longer handle.

5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Black Diamond Express Ice Screw Review

Reviewer: andrew dines, Cheadle/Chamonix   (31-1-2010)

I've got a full rack of these and find them outstanding. I won't use any other screw, so always insist to my climbing partners we use my rack of BD screws if they have the misfortune to have invested in a different brand.
They bite quickly and easily into the hardest Alpine ice and once they have bitten, simply flip up the nob (no problem in mountaineering gloves) crank them in, clip in your draw and stop shaking! Worth using the little safety caps to keep them sharp and prevent snagging in your pack. The safety sleeve to protect the threads is useful too.
Also a great feature is how well the screws rack on your harness. They rack in a really compact way and you can arrange them to point backwards on your harness. Ice climbing is faffy and scary enough as it is and this feature is one of the main reasons they are so popular.
With the recent refinements of making the nob colour coded and slightly conical (for better grip) amd the addition of the extra clip-in point on the hanger it is hard to see what BD could do to make this screw any better.

5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Black Diamond Express Ice Screw Review

Reviewer: Ben Fillmore, Amersham   (19-9-2009)

I purchased the 19cm screw for use on glacier travel and crevasse rescue, it's light, sharp and goes extremely easily into hard compact ice.
The little flip up handle is a bonus for when you want that extra umph to get it in but doesn't really affect the weight at all.
I still carry mine with the original protectors that come with the screw, hopefully saving me money in the longer term.

5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Black Diamond Express Ice Screw Review

Reviewer: JP, Espoo   (7-2-2009)

As Facewest claims, these are probably the best screws on the market - simple but effective design, handle with minimal bulk (compared to some of the competition - the small size of the handle could cause some problems if used with bulky gloves or mittens). Color codes are great for fast sorting on the harness.

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