Grivel

Grivel is the oldest mountain equipment company in the world. Founded in 1818, Grivel’s home is still at the base of Mont Blanc, in Courmeyer in the heart of the Italian Alps. This seriously hardcore mountaineering company produce everything you would need from crampons, in particular the ever popular G10 and G12, to ice axes, helmets, ice screws, climbing ropes, climbing specific backpacks, and super lightweight, steel blade snow shovels. Grivel is the brand of choice for all mountaineers, guides, climbers, ice climbers and winter hill walkers.

The company’s logo of two crossed ice axes is synonymous with any climbing trip to the Alps and beyond, and the exceptional quality and craftsmanship of the products have earned the loyalty of thousands of users, hardcore or casual enthusiasts, in situations where relying on and putting your trust in your equipment is often a matter of life and death. Initially Grivel manufactured agricultural tools but soon started producing mountaineering equipment for the wealthy tourists who came to climb the surrounding mountains. From then on they have continually pushed forward to maintain their position as a number one producer of mountaineering equipment, using ground-breaking innovations and premium materials. Whilst at first, ice axes and crampons had to be very versatile with only one model being used for everything, now there is a different model for every sub-discipline, beginners to expert, for ski touring and snowboarding, traverses and easy climbs, for high altitude, technical alpinism, ice falls and for the high stresses of ‘dry tooling’ and competition, so that whatever your discipline and technical ability you can choose the product most appropriate from Grivel’s comprehensive range.

Grivel’s ground-breaking innovations include:
Hot Drop Forging of Grivel’s ice axe’s head gives maximum strength possible. No other process has ever, or ever will better this. Hot forging means hammering and stretching a piece of red hot steel to position the steel’s chains of molecules correctly. The material’s fibres are positioned haphazardly in its original state and subjecting the steel to extreme heat renders if ‘soft’ and ready to assume the new shape. As a final result the fibres are lined up and positioned to provide the head with maximum strength in accordance with Grivel’s requirements for the finished product. Ask any specialist in metallurgy!
Carbon Composite in Grivel’s ice axe’s shaft creates a unique combination of lightweight strength. Composites are engineered materials made from two or more constituents, the combination giving physical and chemical properties not found in the original materials. This technology used in the aerospace industry combines light alloy with the strength of carbon fibre, creating some of the lightest ice axes in the world, lighter than just carbon fibre ones. A cutting-edge innovation in the manufacture