UKC

Does anyone use grivel G14's for longer Scottish winter walking routes as well as winter climbing?

I've heard people moan about walking long distances in the G14's but their chassy looks identical to the G12's? I used to own a pair of G12's, and found them fine for walking long distances but c#^p for vertical ice.

I'm looking to buy a true all round crampon (if one exists) for both winter walking and climbing as I can't afford a different pair for each!

I've read various customer reviews for the G14's and read similar articles on here but none seem to help. Can anyone help???

In reply to CraigMcMillan:
The G14's are quite a bit stiffer than the G12, because the removeable front points extend back quite a way and stiffen up the whole front plate. Saying that if you are using with suitable boots (B3) you should be okay for a bit of walking, and many of our customers use them for a bit of both.
G14's are designed primarily for ice climbing though, and therefore aren't going to be very comfortable to walking all day in. Whereas the G12's are more all purpose mountaineering, and will happily cope with grade 3 or 4 if you want to climb in them. I suppose you just have to weigh up what you going to be doing more of - ice climbing or mountaineering/winter walking.

In reply to CraigMcMillan:

Hi Craig, I've had a pair of G14s for about five years and used them for everything with no problems. I do a lot of winter mountaineering as well as climbing but never felt the need for another pair of crampons.

I use mine with Scarpa Cumbres and they fit great with the asymmetric bar.

In reply to chris_s:

Did you not blunt out the points really fast by walking in them? Or have you had the good fortune to walk solely on snow? I love 'em for ice climbing but am ultra-protective of the sharp points and would never use them for walking for this reason.

In reply to The Climbers Shop:

G12's will quite happily cope with a hell of a lot more than Scottish Grade 3 or 4 winter climbing and are a great all round alpine and winter walking crampon.
G14's come into their own for roadside steep water ice and hard mixed but are very heavy, cumbersome and expensive for winter walking. The forged front points also have a bad tendency to ice and ball up between the antibots and forged front points.

In reply to Ron Walker:
Yeah I agree about the G12's, but I've got to air on the side of caution (working in a gear shop an' all). It depends very much on the abilities of the individual climber, rather than what the crampons can cope with.

Personally speaking, I've found that the G12's are excellent all rounder's.

In reply to Jamie Bankhead:

They do - but no more than a couple of hours of mixed climbing would blunt them anyway. If I was climbing a lot of pure ice I'd probably buy another pair for walking.

In reply to CraigMcMillan:

Maybe its just me, but I do not like to walk on the flat with my G14s- I can't really roll my feet any more and get a whole lot more heel lift.
That said, in the few adventures I had in my G14s have I never really needed to walk long distances that were flat and where the crampons were annoying - I mostly used them for walking up or downhill, and it didn't really matter.
If you can only afford one pair - go for them... you'll probably spend more time with them climbing then walking anyway.