UKC

I suspect this might be a really stupid question, but... I'm planning to do a long rock route later this year. To save weight, I was thinking of taking trainers (my alternative is currently hiking boots) to be worn on approach and the way down. But there is a small icy bit at the top where crampons are recommended. Is it possible to get crampons which attach to trainers?

In reply to humptydumpty:

Better luck next time with the troll...

In reply to humptydumpty:

It depends on the "icy bit", and how comfortable you are on that sort of terrain.

You can get things like this:
http://kahtoola.com/product/microspikes/

Or a flex bar on G10s may be more suitable:
http://www.climbers-shop.com/9151807/products/grivel_g10_12_14_flex_bar.asp...

In reply to humptydumpty:

Yaktrax Extreme are another option. More crampony

In reply to humptydumpty:

Kahtoola Microspikes should fit the bill. I've used them on stiffish approach shoes and on trainers without any difficulty. It does of course depend on the terrain, but if the small icy bit doesn't actually involve ice climbing, you should be okay. A walking axe might be a useful addition, although that does rather scupper the idea of saving weight.

In reply to humptydumpty:

Kahtoola also make a crampon which you can fit on trainers: likely to feel more secure on steeper terrain than the microspikes. http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/news.php?id=3197

In reply to humptydumpty:

my GF goes out into the hills wearing a Katoola KTS, LaSportiva fell shoes and waterproof socks combo.
seems to work well, think I moght try it myself one day.

In reply to humptydumpty:

Should be no prob with some research. Look at what Killian does with trainers in the Alps!
Must be some dedicated kit out there.
Let us know what you find.

In reply to humptydumpty:

I use BD Neve crampons on approach shoes no problem. It will depend how stiff your trainers are - no issue on relatively stiff approach shoes but I'm not sure they'd work too well on my flexy road running trainers.

They have the advantage of having front points, though if you're in terrain where you're likely to need them you'd really want an axe as well.

As others have mentioned, Kahtoola KTS or K10s should be fine on trainers.

In reply to humptydumpty:

Yup, as above. If you go with the micro spikes, you might end up wanting a smaller side than you think, as (eg) size 7 trainer tends to smaller than size 7 boot - I use mediums on winter boots, and smalls on fell shoes.

In reply to Tubb93:


It is a perfectly reasonable question, with a straightforward answer.

In reply to humptydumpty:

will you have all the kings horses and all the kings men if it all goes wrong

In reply to lost1977:

Since the advent of bouldering mats, Humpty's nursery rhyme has had to be re-written

Humpty Dumpty climbed on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Spotted Humpty and he sent it again

In reply to humptydumpty:

see if you can find the guy in the lakes who does a lot of running in winter, he even manages some easy winter routes. He has used crampons on either running shoes or approach shoes.

user name: Lakesrunner maybe??????

In reply to humptydumpty:

Hi, I've done this a lot.

The key is using the right crampon and strap system. I use a very old pair of crampons with what was once upon a time called an English binding. This is not much more than a long strap that one threads through every post hole.

For a picture see: http://people.bath.ac.uk/dac33/high/4Gear.htm

and search for crampon.

In reply to humptydumpty: I've seen a guy climb up kinder downfall will a pair of walking crampons strapped to his approach type trainer no problem. You see it all on kinder.

In reply to humptydumpty:

"Small icy bit": small icy what? Small icy 30 degree slope? Small icy pitch of grade VI? How small is small? How icy is icy?

On the general question of whether you can winter-walk in trainers with crampons fitted to them, the answer is Yes.

If this is your question, then I'd advise you to buy some flexible walking crampons, fit them to trainers, and test them before you commit to anything worrying.

But I'm not 100% sure from your post if that is what you're asking.

In reply to Tim Chappell:

"But I'm not 100% sure from your post if that is what you're asking"

No no Tim, I think you've worked it out for your self, don't be so hard on little old Tim!

In reply to humptydumpty:

not a stupid question and I don't know why someone thinks you're a troll

I've used trainers with Grivel G12s (new classic binding) no problem

I imagine any crampon with a similar attachment system would be fine

In reply to humptydumpty:

Not a stupid question.

There's been discussion of this on UKC's running forum, last winter, iirc, so a search there would probably be worthwhile. Iain Ridgway (IainRUK on here) did the PB last year using Kahtoolas and contributed to that discussion.

I bumped into Rob Woodall once during a winter run and he reckoned that Microspikes were great but he said he started to feel less confident in them running downhill when it got to 45 degrees!!

In reply to humptydumpty:

Screw in some ice spikes if its low angle.
The salomons killian wears for some winter stuff have these.

In reply to ice.solo:


Thanks for this. Have you tried them yourself? They sound like they might work very well on a fairly substantial trainer/light boot but a very lightweight trainer might not have the sole to support them. A combination of strap-ons (!) and a very lightweight running shoe might be overall lighter than a heavier shoe + screw-ins and thus more suitable for the OPs particular needs.

I'd be interested to know what route humpty has in mind.

In reply to flaneur:

ive put them in sportiva crosslites, home made ones no less. good on icy trails but certainly not for anything above about 30o.

i have the kahtoolas with the red rubber and chains. theyre heavy and arguably no better (tho great on gumboots). if spikes werent enough id go straight to alloy crampons with a flexing bar

In reply to ice.solo:

Thanks for that. I can see the spikes would be very grippy, certainly plenty good enough for slippy but not too steep ground. My concern was that they might not stay in the sole, but if they work with Crosslites which are are pretty light, that's good to know.

In reply to humptydumpty:

I use Hillsound Trail Crampons , essentially a beefed up set of Microspikes with a small crampon style frame . They are a good bit more aggressive than Microspikes and I can put them on my trail running shoes with no problems .
Last winter I also used them extensively with boots and I think (sue me later ) that when combined with stiff-ish 3 season boots and an ice axe they could easily tackle grade 1 mountaineering ground as long as you were cutting steps rather than front pointing .

In reply to SethChili:


I know of one experienced mountaineer who shot out of the bottom of an easy gully whilst using micro spikes - but I suspect they were on trainers, and no step cutting involved