UKC

Has anyone tried crampons made by Kong? Such as http://www.viladomat.com/faces/store/fitxaesport.jspx?esport=7079&entit...

Seem extremely cheap, anyone know about the quality of this company? I've checked the manufacturers website & they're made of carbon steel rather than alloy, spose thats a good start.

Also yous are all prob a LOT more experienced than me in crampon-world.. do you think the angle of the front points is ok for general mountaineering - mainly walking incl. ice although would like to progress to steeper ice within the lifetime of the crampons..

Cheers knowledgable mountain-heids

In reply to purkle:

Kong are a reputable company with a good standard engineering.

I haven't used their crampons myself, but have used some of their other stuff which was fine.

In reply to davidbeynon:

That should say "a good standard of engineering"

In reply to purkle:
They are fine, closely comparable to Grivel G12's as far as I can see. I've got two pairs. Will do a good job winter walking and easier graded winter climbing. You might want to upgrade eventually if you do get on to 'steeper ice'.

In reply to purkle:

Wasnt it kong that made the old footfangs?

In reply to ice.solo:

I thought it was Lowe alpine.

In reply to csw:

That may be it actually. Not sure why i was thinking kong.

In reply to purkle:

Hey just wondered if you bought these in the end and what you thought. They seem very very reasonable!

Hi,

I do not have those crampons, but I just noted one thing: they do not come with antibot. I have made that mistake already in the past. Especially if "general mountaineering" is what you have in mind, since it will be more likely that you'll hit snow on your path. Kong does sell a universal (i.e. will fit all Kong's crampons) antibot for their crampons, but since that is an older model, I'm not sure about compatibility.

Climbing Technology's Nuptse are similar crampons, price and design, and do come with antibot. You'd probably be able to find them for ~90 euros or thereabouts. They've been reviewed on UKC too by Toby Archer. http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=3300

However, the advertised price for those Kong's is as low as it can possibly get; a lot lower than the RRP of the current Couloir crampon I can tell you. They are a real bargain. If I were going to invest in my very first season mountaineering not knowing whether I will take it any further, depending on budget, I would probably think about it... and maybe put up with the absence of antibots... as I have effectively done with my first crampons... (an old, very old, Cassin model by the way) Just a thought.

Ciao!

Nic

In reply to GoCragging.com:

If the crampons are ok is get them and make some anti-balling plates from an old bike innertube. This works fine and doesn't get shredded and fall to bits like gaffer tape so no littering the hills.

In reply to gethin_allen:

Flat plastic from some kind of bottle and garden twisty wire can make decent enough anti-bots too.

Footfangs were made by CAMP BTW, although it was a Lowe design. Not sure if Lowe ever had a factory for hardware? Things like Tubers were made in CAMP's factory too but had both brands on them from what I remember.

In reply to gethin_allen:


That's interesting.

Speaking of exotic yet practical solutions, Stubai's Stick-On Anti-Balling Plates are also worth a look

Nic

In reply to purkle:

I use them as my general alpine / ski touring / mountaineering / work crampons. 12 point steel ones.

Really very good wear, super tough and outlasted my G14's that are worn less.

Very good in my opinion!