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Anonymous Fri 13 Sep 2013 00:34:45 No.195986 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>196035

OP needs advice about getting a first pair of crampons for a mid-high altitude hike on mixed ice and rock. What makes a good pair of crampons?
There's a $50 steel pair at a store near me... What's the difference between those and a $200 pair?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 13 Sep 2013 01:23:20 No.196000 Report

Quoted By: >>196361 >>196363 >>200077

The REI advice page has a pretty good breakdown on how to pick crampons.

Generally:

Buy steel for durability
Buy horizontal front points for mixed snow/ice
Buy vertical front points for technical ice
Buy a binding system that fits your boots, the toe/heel welt system allow less play in the binding system, but can only be used with boots that have toe/heel welts.
Buy flexible if you're using backpacking/light mountaineering boots
Buy rigid if you're using mountaineering/ice/plastic boots

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 13 Sep 2013 02:11:44 No.196035 Report

Quoted By: >>196361 >>196363

>>195986
Where you going OP? Depends on what you will be doing with them!

I generally use Petzl for mountaineering and low angle ice, from REI.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 13 Sep 2013 17:32:50 No.196361 Report

Quoted By:

>>196000
Thanks, this is pretty helpful.

>>196035
I'm spending some time in Alaska in the springtime, and either going to Denali or the St. Elias range. I won't be doing any technical climbing, but definitely going to do some glacier hiking and need something better/safer than my Yaktrax.

Okay, I'm looking at the Petzl Vasak. I'm going to be hiking in Vasque backpacking boots. Are these crampons flexible enough?

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Petzl Vasak.jpg, 1MiB, 2362x1578

Anonymous Fri 13 Sep 2013 17:34:45 No.196363 Report

Quoted By: >>196368

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 13 Sep 2013 17:46:27 No.196366 Report

Quoted By: >>197586 >>197588

They absolutely must fit properly, and your boots must be stiff enough (at least B1). If your boots flex too much you risk losing a crampon at a bad moment and winding up dead.

The 'standard' mountaineering crampon is the Grivel G12 or equivalent from Petzl, Black Diamond etc. Generally the more you spend the lighter they will be. The difference might not seem like much on paper but a few hundred grams on each foot will be very noticeable after a while.

If you have flexible boots and are prepared to limit yourself to very low angle slopes or glacier crossings, then you can buy flexible bars for most crampons.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 13 Sep 2013 17:51:22 No.196368 Report

Quoted By: >>197586 >>197588

>>196363
>Okay, I'm looking at the Petzl Vasak. I'm going to be hiking in Vasque backpacking boots. Are these crampons flexible enough?

Your boots are going to flex too much, and lack the rear heel welt needed to attach the crampons in the picture.

You could get some Grivel G10s with the optional flexi bar, and make sure you don't go up anything you might have difficulty getting back down again. Alternatively Kahtoola make some flexible crampons (just not the alloy ones, these won't last as long as steel)

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 13 Sep 2013 19:00:27 No.196400 Report

Quoted By: >>196436

I'm also interested in this as well. I plan on doing Mount Shasta next year and have no idea when it comes to crampons.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 13 Sep 2013 19:48:29 No.196436 Report

Quoted By: >>196877 >>197586 >>197588

>>196400

The best place to start is with boot and crampon compatibility ratings and binding types:

http://needlesports.com/catalogue/content.aspx?con_id=a1100c8c-1376-4f56-9ea7-9ca100e6eaec

Crampons for general mountaineering tend to have 10 or 12 points and a simpler binding with a basket at both the heel and toe. If you have big feet you might still want a B2 or even B3 boot though to minimize flex. Flex isn't just bad for crampon fit, but also for moving on snow as you can't kick steps.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 14 Sep 2013 14:45:28 No.196877 Report

Quoted By: >>196986

>>196436
Thanks!

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 14 Sep 2013 20:19:23 No.196986 Report

Quoted By:

>>196877
I have those exact crampons, and I have climbed Mount Shasta in them. You are going to need some stiff mountaineering boots, if you want to climb Mount Shasta when there is snow

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 131_Norsk_forhandler_Alfa_M77_Fe (...).jpg, 51KiB, 640x708

Anonymous Sun 15 Sep 2013 23:01:48 No.197411 Report

Quoted By: >>197975 >>198005 >>200078

Almost slipped and fell to my death twice climbing an icy mountaintop this winter.
What rating do you guys think these boots would be compatible with?

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 51Xqo-D+gBL.jpg, 37KiB, 500x500

Anonymous Mon 16 Sep 2013 05:42:11 No.197586 Report

Quoted By:

>>196366
>>196436
Good info. I think I understand how to choose more confidently now.

>>196368
Okay, cool. The G10's look pretty spot on for what I'll be doing. However I also found strap-on Petzl Vasaks with a flex bar. They're 12 point vs. the G10's, so I'll probably go with them.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 51Xqo-D+gBL.jpg, 37KiB, 500x500

Anonymous Mon 16 Sep 2013 05:44:49 No.197588 Report

Quoted By:

>>196366
>>196436
Thanks guys, good info.

>>196368
The G10's look pretty spot on for what I'll be doing. However I also found strap-on Petzl Vasaks with a flex bar. They're 12 point vs. the G10's, so I'll probably go with them as they come to the same price too.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 17 Sep 2013 02:57:49 No.197975 Report

Quoted By: >>198046

>>197411
They look like they flex a lot. Do they?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 17 Sep 2013 04:20:02 No.198005 Report

Quoted By: >>198044

>>197411
I don't think these boots were ever designed to see a crampon, or a mountain.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO M77%20-%20Marsjst%C3%B8vel.jpg%2 (...).jpg, 176KiB, 278x418

Anonymous Tue 17 Sep 2013 07:57:49 No.198044 Report

Quoted By: >>200079

>>198005
>I don't think these boots were ever designed to see a crampon, or a mountain.
It has been the standard combat boot for our military since 1977. wtf, m8?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 17 Sep 2013 08:02:45 No.198046 Report

Quoted By:

>>197975
Yes, they flex a bit. THey are great boots, but someone told me the sole is too soft for crampons, so I'm considering buying some new boots.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 21 Sep 2013 20:57:05 No.200077 Report

Quoted By:

>>196000
This is pretty much all you need to know. A rigid crampon is what you want for anything >25 degrees on harder snow, though you can get away with a soft crampon and a full shank boot. To fit the rigid crampon to the full shank boot, seat the boot (without your foot) on the crampon and try to shake it off without doing up the straps or heel bail. If it comes off, it's not a good fit. Similar tests can be done with flexible crampons/boots, but it's much less reliable. 10 points is fine for walking on flatter terrain, more points are nice if things get steep.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Djon_2.9399.jpg, 48KiB, 440x440

Anonymous Sat 21 Sep 2013 20:58:30 No.200078 Report

Quoted By:

>>197411
Just get some la sportivas like the rest of the civilized world. Pic semi-related, 3 season model.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 21 Sep 2013 21:01:03 No.200079 Report

Quoted By:

>>198044
Unless it has a full shank, it's not meant for anything technical.

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