UKC

As per title,
Gripes, features you like. Anecdotes about them. Feel free to rant...I don't work for Grivel.

Mine are 11 years old. Mono set up. I change the front bail back when I know it's a real icy crux route. Now probably on my 6th/7th round of front points ( I buy them 2nd hand usually close to brand new). They never failed me...I failed them countless time. Not getting up something is never been the fault of my crampons...usually tends to be my puny arms or my sphincters.

In reply to French Erick:
What do you mean by you change the front bail back?

I take it you aren't using the asymetric bars and your feet aren't that big?

In reply to CurlyStevo:


Move the bail into the rear holes so that more front point shows and the secondary points meet the ice.

In reply to French Erick:




A wise man told me at the outset of my climbing to trust my feet - I do try to remember that but I often fail, and that's when I flail

In reply to French Erick:

HOW heavy?!

treat yourself to darts and learn to smear

In reply to alasdair19:

not sure I'm following: you think they're heavy. Ok. But that has an impact on your smearing ability? Or is there a feature that makes smearing easier? I don't think I really ever smear much in winter come to think of it.

In reply to French Erick:

I was blown away last winter by the "feel" of darts admittedly I was comparing them to terminators!

the lighter your feet the easier it is to move them into cool looking poses! though I'm still in Nepals so not sure I've had the full effect yet.

In reply to alasdair19:

Depends on where your priorities lie. Agree that the Darts are a decent weight saving but the set-up is not versatile for me for different conditions and styles of climbing. I want a set of sharp points for water ice, not so bothered about sharp points for my mixed ability. Repeatly sharpening points after mixed for water ice is going to shorten their life. I prefer to switch to a separate set of points. Alpine routes I might want to switch to duals for some conditions. I'm on probably my third set of G14 front points, so the shelf life for Petzl Darts will be shorter for me than for G14s. I'm not made of money so buying gear that is versatile and durable is my priority. Same goes for boots. For example I could also make a decent weight saving by using something like Rebel Ultras for more technical routes on warmer days but I use Batura 2.0s because they are good for everything - but heavier.

In reply to French Erick:
I liked G14s when I had them but opted for G20's when needed new ones (body of G14's had cracked).

The difference was immense with weight and precision making it feel like wearing rock shoes instead of walking boots. The weight bit is obvious but the design makes the mono very pro-active, just like the "banana" effect in rock shoes. Good on ice and mixed. The G14's mono, that had seemed so good compared to dual, suddenly felt more like clogs.

I wouldn't have termed it smearing like Alasdair but all the other points feel like they are superbly well positioned, always positive feedback from some point or other.
Balling up in wet snow is the drawback but I've doctored anti-bots onto them and just have to stay aware.

In reply to alasdair19:

I found darts excellent for climbing, but if you have big feet the lack of down points makes them quite dodgy when wandering around steep icy ground. I nearly took an early season flyer below savage slit.
Lynx solve that problem and are not that much worse climbing.
What impresses me about Erick's grivels is that after 11 years he has any points left. Either grivels are much tougher or Erick is really light on his feet.

In reply to alasdair19:


Terminators are lighter than G14s if I remember correctly.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Yeah, I always presumed my terminators were heavy because the seem so complex looking but they are surprisingly not that heavy - it might have even been my G12s are actually just a bit heavier than them.

In reply to French Erick:



Doing this is most definitely a gripe

In reply to Mike Lates:

Having just bought some G20s I would be pretty keen to see/hear about your doctored anti-bots Mike! Are we talking duct tape here or something a bit more robust?

In reply to MrRiley:

Not Mike...

But the general DIY anti-bot -material is from big plastic juice/milk cans. Ie. the ones with square cross-section. Cut to size and use small zipties to fasten in place. Much, much more robust than ducktape...

Can also be made to work with Darts and Dartwins.

In reply to MrRiley:
I found an old grivel antibot that actually fitted one crampon and have to admit it is the only one left on. Like the ideas from Hema as duct tape fails far too fast.

In reply to Mike Lates:

Some one else pointed out to use bleach or Mr. Muscle drano (or similar) for the plastic... But I prefer the juice, since I don't need to bleach stuff that often... nor open up the drains.

In reply to Mike Lates and HeMa:

Thanks Both, will investigate!