In reply to mauraman:
Hi. I'll add my perspective about leashes.
If you are using your ice axe or ice axes for snow climbing, I think you should try to go with no leashes at all. In this application, you will likely be using one axe mostly as a cane, sometimes plunging in steeper snow, reversing hands when zig-zaging and changing direction, and so on. If you are climbing steeper snow, or sections of steeper snow, you might be using two axes, perhaps holding them high near the head and plunging both picks, or switching hand position and climbing methods frequently. A leash, or leashes, will make all this hand and direction and grip changing more difficult. They are a very real potential trip hazard. And if you do take a slide, and you loose grip of your axe, it will be flying around you tethered to the leash--very dangerous. For me, these drawbacks are not worth the added security of not dropping my tools on that kind of terrain. Many people don't use leashes on single axes for mountaineering for these reasons. I don't think it's different with two tools.
If you are on terrain where you need to swing both tools, you could consider using leashes, or only using them for parts of a climb. The advantage of leashes, as I suggested, is that they prevent you from dropping your tools. Therefore, they make placing protection easier and faster--if you have a good stance, you don't have to really worry about were you place your tools when you stop to get in some gear. This is particularly true on mixed stuff, where you might need to use your hands to climb rock. I's really nice in those circumstances to be able to just drop a tool and grab the rock if necessary for a few moves, or drop a tool to place some protection. On steep ice it's almost always easier to simply whack your tools in somewhere while you place an ice screw, but at least with leashes you don't need to worry about how secure these placements are (assuming again that you have a good stance). All of this to say, leashes are to stop you from dropping a tool, and are therefore most appropriate where you might need to use your hands and you do not want to worry about your tools. Or, your leashes are not designed to hold falls, as you probably know.
Considering that leashes are not designed to hold falls, I find it surprising how much (false) mental security they give, even though I know they are not designed for that purpose. If I'm climbing steep hard snow or ice climbing, and I am using my leashes, I feel more secure, even if I know that I am not really, and this might be a factor you want to consider. Will using leashes make you feel safer, even when you actually are not? Will that small amount of added confidence have a positive or a negative effect on your climbing? I can see it working both ways. On one hand, leashes could give climbers a false sense of security, and encourage them to take risks they might otherwise not. On the other hand, leashes might make climbers feel more confident, and that light allow them to climb more competently. It's tricky, and you'll probably need to experiment.
Another drawback of leashes is learning how to manage them on steeper pitched climbing. When you are leading, you have to make sure that you don't clip your rope to protection over them, and then have to pass one tool underneath to continue moving upward. And when you are following, they always get tangled with the rope. It's really annoying. But I do think it's important to learn how to deal with all that.
So if you're on moderate snow, I would say don't use leashes at all. If you are on easy ice with good stances, I would say use your judgement, but consider going leashless. And if you start steeper pitched climbing, use leashes and learn how to manage them.
Pinky rests and modern curved tools make climbing any kind of terrain where you might need to swing or hang from your axes much, much easier. Of course hard routes have been climbed with straight tools, and great climbers can climb with just about anything, but that does not change the fact that for average climbers modern gear simply makes climbing easier and safer and more fun.
You seem very concerned about how pinky rests might effect the ability to plunge a tool. My feeling is that it's kind of a non issue, in so far as steeper, pitched, ice and mixed climbs are concerned. You can almost always plunge the shaft of a tool with or without a pinky rest. And if the snow/ice is hard enough that a pinky rest would really prevent you from placing the shaft, then you are probably better off swinging the pick. That's a big debate, and some people are likely to disagree, but in my experience the very few times when the conditions are such that I would prefer a true straight shafted tool are not worth climbing without pinky rests, grips, and curved shafts most of the time, if that makes sense.
Last, you may be familiar with the old style Nomic tools, They had only a smooth, comfortable pink rest, with no spike. People climbed many hard alpine, ice and mixed routes with those axes. When using these tools, one technique is to swing them as necessary on steeper terrain, and then, on less steep pitches, or on snow slopes between steep pitches, just turn the tools around, hold them by the smooth pommel, and plunge the entire head I the snow. I still climb that way with my X-dreams. I really like having no spike on the bottom of the shaft. The whole head and pick of the tool function like a spike when I need to plunge them, and you can easily and smoothly transition from steep pitched climbing to snow climbing/hiking. So that's one method. It's hard if you have a spike on your tools, though.
So that's my perspective. Bear in mind that I'm no expert or professional, just and average weekend warrior scribbling on UKC.
