UKC

I have a pair of la sportiva nepal tops in a size 4 and need some crampons for them
Going to be used in wales / scotland walking and mont blanc, have never used any so dont know where to start, advice & suggestions welcomed

In reply to cat88:
I had real problems getting crampons for the same size Nepal Extremes. I borrowed some G12 Newmatics, which were not too bad. I ended up buying CT Nuptse crampons. The front and back plates join in the middle when you put them down to our size, but they do work. I find them to be very secure.
http://www.joe-brown.com/outdoor-equipment/climbing_technology_nuptse_semi_...
The problem I find isn't getting them short enough, but getting them that the heel unit doesn't slide around. Good luck!

In reply to cat88: Look for ten point crampons rather than twelve as they have a shorter body so hopefully will fit smaller boots easily. My wife uses some old Charlet ones her small boots, the modern equivalent is the Irvis, and has ice climbed fine in them even though 10 points are sold as walking crampons.

If you are climbing hard, some of the new light crampons like the G20s G22 and Darts also might fit small boots as they don't have the normal 6 downwards points on the body of the crampon.

In reply to TobyA: No, 10 points have classic bindings, and sprotivas have narrow heels. So no matter how short the crampon goes, the classic binding doesn't hold the heel properly. The little nubbins that stick up at the back of the heel plate are WAY too wide for little sportiva boots. I tried all sorts of things to make them work, as I didn't want to have to upgrade my crampons, but it was no use. So with the newmatics, although the nubbins still don't touch the boot, the rear clip does hold them firm. the CTs had less of a gap than the others too.

In reply to cat88:

Small ones, obviously...

In reply to girlymonkey: 10 point crampons don't necessarily have to to be classic binding, you can get 10pt frames in "new classic" style from most of the manufacturers too. It's no big deal if the "nubbins" don't touch either as long as there is a good secure fit once the heel clip is done up. I'll have a poke around on my lunch and see what might work for a size 4 for you, will try and stick some options up later on today. I'm pretty sure some 12pt or more aggressive units will go small enough too if you're keen for that sort of thing.

In reply to cat88: when I bought my grivel crampons from rock and run on one of their clearance offers, they were offered in two sizes, I bought the smaller size, just measured them on the small setting and they would fit a boot 10 inches from toe to heel. Don't know if this helps any?

In reply to cat88: Petzl Irvis leverlock?

In reply to cat88:
my size 6.5 boots have a pair of DMM aguiles and a pair of lynx.
Both fit pretty well but needed the bar chopping down to fit without gaining an extra heal spur.

In reply to cat88: If you are ordering online from some of the good outdoor shops, I would recommend calling them and asking them to try the crampons on a similar boot to yours. If they are a decent shop (I used Joe Browns and they were happy to do this) then you can trust that they know what a good fit is. Most will go small enough, but the heel issue is a pain. A good shop though will be happy to try them for you and tell you if they fit securely or not.
Obviously, if you have a good shop near you, you can just go in and take the boots and try them on yourself.

In reply to cat88: i went to cotswold with the boots and got some grivel airtech new matic fitted pretty well with the bars flipped over thanks for your help