Maybe I'm too old and cautious these days, but an ice ax is one of the last things I'd want as a hiking stick. I had one decades ago that I used occasionally, and exclusively in deep snow/ice. Scary pointy and aggressive. Good for self defense during a zombie apocalypse maybe (but be careful because the saw type teeth would act as barbs and make it hard to release the zombie after striking). But a danger to myself as a general purpose hiking stick. Way too short as well. Maybe OK if you're hiking on steep total snow and ice, and you're trained/experienced in using it to arrest falls, but I think too dangerous for a mixed hike where you're mostly on dirt/rock with a few snow/ice patches.