Features

No Handle / Knob

About 30% of the options

Pros: Cheaper

Cons: No “speed” handle/knob for faster threading

Note: This is not currently a feature to filter on (coming soon), but is important to see the difference.

Handle (non-fold)

About 24% of the options

Pros: There is an extra “handle” or “knob” for faster screw threading. Cheaper than folding versions.

Cons: Some of the knobs stick out substantially and could cause the rope or draws to get caught on the lengthened handle.

Handle (folding)

Around 42% of the options

Pros: Foldable handle allows for quick threading and reduces snagging potential by folding out of the way.

Cons: More expensive.

Color Coding

Nearly 70% of the screws are color-coded, and this represents nearly all of the screws that have handles/knobs (color coding can also be on the hanger or the tube itself).

Pros: Like on cams, color-coding makes for faster size identification.

Cons: Generally color coding only comes on more expensive screws (with handles)

There are 7 brands that follow red, yellow, blue, gray, green as a small to large standard, but that is not consistent across the industry.

Sewn Sling (Pre-Attached to the Hanger)

Pro: You don’t have to carry quickdraws, so it saves weight and speed of clipping.

Con: The length of this sling may not be ideal and it is not adjustable

2 Clip Points on the Hanger

Pro: More clipping options, especially ones that are closer to the ice to reduce leverage in a fall situation.

Con: This comes standard on only a few screws so your options are limited. On some configurations this will also make the hanger much larger.

Reverse Threading

This is the most controversial feature. Grivel and CAMP (which make up 30% of the ice screw market) use reverse threading on all of their screws and claim that this angle is more effective at spreading an impact load across ice.

If you are interested in the merits of the “reverse thread” design, click to see photos of the concrete tests (reverse threading pulls out more concrete than standard threading) and read about the concerns of testing in concrete. Read discussion of the engineering that goes into thread design and the questioning of straight pulls while testing to judge if reverse threading would make a [significant] difference in the event of a fall on ice.