In reply to paulpitcher:
Not in a winter context but....
I really like the modern beak pitons, I'm thinking specifically of the Moses tomahawks. One thing that's awesome is they come with a beefy wire loop. If you rack em with the loop they get hooked on stuff, what I want to do that others have done is setup a loop through the top hole. And while I'm at it also put wire loops on all the other pitons and replace the weak ones on the BD stuff.
But, downside is I'll have to work out, or get someone else, to do the swage, I'd like it to be able to hold a fall.
(Maybe other people can get racking pitons directly on carabiners to work for them but I find it a PITA.)
Post edited at 14:31