UKC

So, I think I need a new pair of crampons and some general advice would be helpful.

I currently have a pair of Grivel g12s that fit my Nepal EVOs well, but not my Spantiks. I had a pair of G14s, which I charitably sold in Argentina that did fit my Spantiks but they seemed a bit heavy.

I am hoping to go to Peru and Bolivia in a few weeks time to do some high altitude technical routes, so I will be using my Spantiks, so the question is.... which crampons would be a good fit for the boot and the climbing?

Cheers!

In reply to squicky: I have petzl ones that fitted my spantiks perfectly. vasaks I think is the model

In reply to squicky: In what way don't the G12s fit? I'm surprised as mine seem to fit on all my boots fine - a very unfussy fitting crampon.

In reply to TobyA: The G14s I had were the ones with the front bale clip as well (crampomatic?), whereas the G12s are the plastic thing over the front of the boot (newmatic?) so the sole at the front of the boot doesn't sit on the crampon. I've put a photo here (whilst waiting for UKC staff to moderate one on the site).

https://plus.google.com/photos/103611640096556130572/albums/590078116944063...

In reply to squicky:
g12 and g14 both come in the newmatic and crampomatic bindings.

In reply to squicky:
how do the g12 look on the spantiks if you lengthen the mid bar one notch

In reply to CurlyStevo: there's still a centimetre or so between the bottom of the boot and the frame of the crampon. It is seems pretty secure but I'm not convinced that is how it is meant to be....

In reply to squicky:
I think it is a gerneral issue with a lot of crampons on the more modern boots with a very pronouned rocker. You may find crampomatic fittings are a bit better though. I ended up taking some boots back unused about 3 to 4 years or so back as I couldnt find a pair of crampons I was happy with the fit. Things have probably changed a bit since then, especially seing as the spantiks are quite popular. The modern rambos have quite a pronounced rocker on the crampons BTW.

In reply to CurlyStevo: Cheers, I might just take the boots into a shop.

Any advice on the types of crampon I should be looking at?

In reply to squicky:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=3238
this article mentions darts fitting well

In reply to squicky:
or another ukc search shows this
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=504524

In reply to squicky: Petzl Lynx

In reply to squicky:

You can get a more curved linking bar for a better fit if the boot is asymmetric.

In reply to squicky: Depends on what type of climbing you are doing. if you are thinking of climbing hard mixed then you might go for some that can be made mono points if its peak treking then you might want something more lightweight.

In reply to higherclimbingwales: hopefully Ds and TDs on 6,000ers.

Thanks for the advice everyone, sounds like Petzl is the best choice! I'll see how the Darts fit and probably go from there.

In reply to TobyA:

I'm counting on it!

Just ordered some G12s without trying them on...All I know is the Vasaks didn't fit too well.

[Wrong part of the world to be buying crampons, can get crocodile meat at the local supermarket but not a damned pair of crampons at the local climbing shop.]

In reply to squicky:

That is quite a curve... can't see any crampon fitting that!!!
You can buy bar extenders which will definitely improve things.

E

In reply to squicky:


I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to teach you to suck eggs, but that just looks to me like you've set the crampon one click to small, or you haven't pushed the toe of the boot against the front posts of the crampons properly first before clipping on the heel bail? My G12s have a bit of flexibility around the bar to allow for some rocker - I've used mine successfully on Sportiva Trango S, Trango ice, Nepal Extremes and Baruntses - I can't imagine the Spantik has so much more rocker they would fail to fit?

In reply to TobyA: Other thought - I did a google image search on the boots and that pulls up a few in use photos where the Spantiks are being used with various crampons that might give you some ideas.

In reply to TobyA:
"I don't mean to sound like I'm trying to teach you to suck eggs, but that just looks to me like you've set the crampon one click to small"

That's exactly what I thought, the crampons look far too short for the boot and need at a guess a couple of more notches on the extender bar.

In reply to gethin_allen:
its also what I posted about 10 posts up! You can see the front part of the crampon is pointing down instead of up, this is typically because the mid bar is not long enough on strap on crampons IMO.

Even after correct adjustment there will probably still be a small gap between the front of the boot and the base of the crampon though as G12's / G14's are just not that bent / curved.

In reply to squicky:
If g14 crampomatic fitted your spantiks fine then g12 crampomatic also will IMO.

In reply to CurlyStevo:
"its also what I posted about 10 posts up!"
sorry, missed that, the view of the thread was condensed.

In reply to squicky: "Black Diamond Cyborgs, Grivel G12s and Petzl Dartwins with lever locks seem to fit with no hassles." http://coldthistle.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/la-sportiva-spantik.html

So...What's the verdict on bending your crampons to suit your boot?

Ideally the front plate would match the sometimes significant curve of the front of your boot.

In reply to needvert: I have adjusted the size of the crampons to try to get the best fit and there is still a small gap. I'll take the boots to a shop and see if I can get a better fit and then report back.

In reply to squicky: If it's small I wouldn't worry about it. With that style of binding, they're not going anywhere! Have fun with them.

In reply to TobyA: So I went to the Dick's Climbing and bought a pair of G20s. They're pretty light and seem to fit well. There weren't any Petzl crampons to try on, but given the fit and that the g20s are lighter than the Darts, I was happy to pay a litttle extra. Photo is here for anyone interested:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/103611640096556130572/posts/G5BEfANco3o