UKC

Good morning guys and gals,

Looking for a bit of advice on crampons this morning!

Sport pursuit are doing a sale on so called spikey items, now as these will be my first pair, I was wondering if any of the brands, and prices are any good ??
I will be using them mainly for hiking when coming into contact with iced and snowy summits, but would also like a pair that would be good for when I eventually get into Ice climbing. This is the cheapest I've come across crampons so would just like a heads up on if they are worth it.

http://www.sportpursuit.com/sales/singing-rock-mar14

I will be posting this in another forum aswell.

Thanks, Lenny.

In reply to Lennyb182:

That link doesn't lead to a specific crampon. In any case the best crampons are the ones that match well with the boots you will be using. Check out the Boot and crampon rating system. For hiking pretty much anything that articulates and doesn't fall off is good. Realistically, if you get into climbing beyond the lower grades, you'll need a diffrent pair of crampons to those that would be best suited to fitting hiking boots.

For hiking this style of binding generally works well...
http://www.ellis-brigham.com/products/grivel/monte-rosa-new-classic-crampon...

For climbing a more direct connection to a stiff boot is more desirable...
http://www.ellis-brigham.com/products/grivel/g12-cramp-o-matic-crampon/1231...

In reply to JLS:

That's for your advice it's greatly appreciated. Although I have just found out that my boots (salomon 4D GTX) are not bloody crampon compatible !!!

Unless anybody knows differently?!

In reply to Lennyb182:

You might get away with fully strap on crampons on boots like those for shorter time and just for walking, but the stiffness of the boots is crucial.

The Singing Rock crampons on Sports Pursuits are very cheap. They are a simple design, but I'm sure would work perfectly ok. I'd go for the 12 point ones, but of course you'll need new boots to take them.

Harnesses are really cheap too aren't they?

In reply to Lennyb182:
You shouldn't have any problems with the crampons that JLS mentions. In my experience they'll stay on just about any boot. However,often the main problem with bendy walking boots is that the heel is very wide and doesn't fit into some crampons, so bear that in mind when choosing.

In reply to Lennyb182:

No one's every going to recommend fitting a crampon to that boot type but if you did, you'd not be the first or the last to do so. The bindings would probably be quite uncomfortable after a bit but if you were only using them for a hour on the icey bit at the top of a hill I'd guess you'd get away with it. Of coarse if you are unlucky, happen to turn an ankle and need to be rescued, then they'll be ques forming to criticise you for being so poorly equipped.

In reply to JLS:

Thanks for the input guys, I think I'll take my time and look into it a bit more!

In reply to Lennyb182:

Another little tip with very bendy boots and those Grivels is not to adjust the crampons too tight (short). Most people adjust them so that they'll stay on the boot without the straps done up when you pick the boot up of the ground - this was always the way fitting crampons was taught to clients/students on courses - however, this will almost ensure that when the boot/crampon flexes the boot will pop out of the crampon, no matter how tight you winch the straps up. Adjust them one notch bigger. Counter-intuitive I know, but it works. Note this is only for very bendy boots.