UKC

I spent last season in G12s which were great for the various things I did including european ice. For this season I thought I'd try something with vertical front points.

I'm thinking the G14s just because its basically the G12 with vertical front points but the G22s are an option too I guess. I would appreciate any thoughts.

In reply to neilwiltshire:

If you do much mixed i'd go for the G14's personally. You can set them up as mono's which I found a real revelation for mixed. Also you can just replace the front points once you've worn them down instead of having to replace the whole front section of the crampon (which it looks like you would have to do on the G22).

In reply to neilwiltshire:

G22s are 8 better than the G14s

But I'd stick with G14s as can be used for almost anything.

In reply to neilwiltshire:

I've climbed WI6 and scottish VI in G14s (not a huge grade I'm aware).

I wouldn't go for G22s for the simple reason as I'm not sure how well they'd support you walking down snowslopes and stuff in the alps as they only have two points running side to side.

In reply to neilwiltshire:

Petzl lynx as an alternative to G14s? Any views?

I have G14s as lynx we not available then, found ability to swap to mono a big +

In reply to neilwiltshire:
Having for various reasons mainly gone back from vertical offset monos (Terminators) to classics (G12s) last winter, why change if you've been fine with your G12s?

Spend the money on a weekend in Wales/Lakes/Scotland instead!

In reply to TobyA:

Yeah maybe I didn't word it the best, what i mean is I went with the G12s for my first season as I was planning to do a variety of things, mountaineering to Rjukan ice and at the time I was spending a lot of money on winter kit - I decided they'd be the best all rounder.

This season I don't have to buy all the other stuff like clothing, boots, axes etc so thought I might buy some new crampons. I'm wondering if vertical front points will make a noticeable difference to ice climbing/mixed and I will still have the G12s for when they're more appropriate.

Thanks all for the comments, seems like G14s are the way to go over and above the G22.

In reply to neilwiltshire:


Will you notice them - yes; will they make it easier - no (well maybe in some very specific situations, but there are others where they are worse).

I've climbed mainly on Terminator monos since 2001, in many situations now I'm not overly convinced they're much better. If you've got plenty of money, then why not give them ago, but I suspect really for most of us its just new toys (which are always fun!) rather than something that will make us climb harder or safer.

BTW check out the weight of G14s, they are surprisingly heavy. It's about 200 grams more than G12s, more than the Terminators