Black Diamond Reactor
At 1 pound 8 ounces, the Reactor is not the lightest tool around, but I liked the weight for plowing through hard ice. While the security of leashes will always occupy a fond place in my heart, leashless climbing is here to stay.
Unlock this article and more benefits with 40% off.
Already have an Outside Account? Sign in
40% Off Outside+.
$4.99/month $2.99/month*
Get the one subscription to fuel all your adventures.
- Map your next adventure with our premium GPS apps: Gaia GPS Premium and Trailforks Pro.
- Read unlimited digital content from 15+ brands, including Outside Magazine, Triathlete, Ski, Trail Runner, and VeloNews.
- Watch 600+ hours of endurance challenges, cycling and skiing action, and travel documentaries.
- Learn from the pros with expert-led online courses.
*Outside memberships are billed annually. Print subscriptions available to U.S. residents only. You may cancel your membership at anytime, but no refunds will be issued for payments already made. Upon cancellation, you will have access to your membership through the end of your paid year. More Details
Black Diamond Reactor | $189.95 bdel.com ★★★★★
Clean, simple, elegant – a couple of years ago, I would never have used those words to describe a leashless ice tool with an offset grip. But that was before I held a set of the new Black Diamond Reactors in my mitts. While the security of leashes (the futzy bastards) will always occupy a fond place in my heart, leashless climbing is here to stay. The Reactor, with Grivel’s X-Monster and DMM’s Rebel, is among the first tools to be ice specific, claiming that leashless climbing is not just for high-end mixed routes.
The most notable difference between the Reactor and mixed-specific tools (e.g., the BD Fusions) is the Reactor’s large grip, which let me climb in a thick pair of mittens. A groove in the handle feels more like, say, the grip on the BD Cobra than the BD Viper. The offset grip features an oval-shaped platform for matching, and the width of the shaft was easy to hold.
Up top, the Reactor sports the BD Laser pick, a tried-and-true dagger. Right out of the box, it displaces too much ice and is difficult to clean, but with some basic filing, it can be whittled down to a precision instrument.
At 1 pound 8 ounces, the Reactor is not the lightest tool around, but I liked the weight for plowing through hard ice.
At 1 pound 8 ounces, the Reactor is not the lightest tool around, but I liked the weight for plowing through hard ice.
The Reactor can come with a hammer or adze. The hammer, however, was hard to swing due to the angle of the shaft. I had to choke up on the shaft in order to get the proper trajectory to be accurate when placing pins or flattening sections of ice to place a screw.
Because of its thoughtful design and functional features, the Reactor is more versatile than most leashless tools. I would take it on almost any ice climb, or even on alpine and mixed ice routes.