In reply to TobyA:
Very interesting post this. I wondered about the back posts, it would reduce pressure on the bail. The plastic cracking is a big failure however you look at it. These crampons need more testing., Exactly same case as the Megajul failures, a cutting edge product being release without proper field testing. But to be honest all manufacturers seem to be getting less worried about recalls and damaging their brands i.e. BD stainless crampons, Petzl nomics... plenty of well known product disaster out there, and things move on.
I still think this crampon fills a very niche gap for certain climbing. I'd love to test them on m8/m9 Wi6 multipitch terrain, I think they would be just the ticket (if the bail doesnt brake of course
Any hard mixed routes like Breightwanflue, Fressinieres, Stanley Headwal, Ghost valley, Otzal you definitely find any crampon available too heavy, Darts (820gr) and the G20 (794gr) being the only option at the moment. So to cut it down to 620gr it is a massive improvement. Whether it's worth the money or not, I am not sure.
We have to put Edelrid in perspective amongst the other brands. I think they are trying really hard to establish themselves as a leading "design" company. They haven't been doing hardwear for that long, and sometimes I wonder whether they are just releasing too many edgy products too soon. I mean, this crampon won the ISPO award, giving the brand a lot of hardwear reputation... I think they do better with softwear (despite the odd harness flop) and ropes (excellent). The rockshoes have proven a disaster, but they are still going at it. I don't know what private equity firm is backing them, but they certainly have deep pockets
Whatever the outcome, I think it needs a season or two to fix all the the design bugs and make it a serious proposition.
For now maybe I'll stick to Darts and G20's...