UKC

hi guys
it seems a lot of manufacturers are saying you shouldn't use their axes for tapping your crampons to remove snow build up. why not?

is it just to reduce damage to the crampons or the axe, say the anodising or rubber plastic/grip. with newer manufacturing techniques and thinner/light material, are the shaft more prone to denting

is it because they think they might get a few extra converts to anti balling plates, dont imagine there are many people left to convert.

any real reason?k

In reply to Keiran.A:

Who is saying that?

In reply to Keiran.A:

I believe it's the head of the axe they recommend people not to whack their crampons with. Probably not much to worry about, but the reasoning is that constant regular banging of the head through the side may ultimately wear/loosen the rivets.

In reply to Keiran.A:

Aaaaand... After having a look at the Petzl leaflet it seems they recommend the opposite. It looks like it's to save the griprest.

In reply to Mr Lopez:


I've seen a number of axe-handles shredded by over-zealous crampon-tapping. I try to use the head where practicable now.

In reply to Mr Lopez:


That I can understand, so are we all thinking that the concern with using the shaft is purely superficial?

In reply to Keiran.A:

it's so that customers dont return axes with shredded rubber grips/griprests/whatever else the manufacturer has decided to put on the handle end.

As it's such common practice, it would be fair to assume that if they don't say not to, then it's fine to do it; so you'd be right to send it back when you did it, and your handle end got shredded.

I doubt any manufacturers are worried about the metal fatigue implications of crampon tapping...

In reply to Steeve:


No. You'd be an idiot. Your car does not come with a warning not to drive it into a brick wall.

Look at the handle. Look at your crampons. Realise that banging the former against the latter might damage the former. Refrain from doing it.

If you want to clear your crampons this way, use axes that don't have soft rubber there, or accept the minor nicks on those that do.

In reply to Damo:


Cars come with lots of warnings, many of which if ignored will void the warranty.

In reply to Damo:

your analogy is flawed - it's more like cars have been crashed into walls for decades, and theyve been designed to do so, and everyone does it, and then in the last five or ten years, cars have been made which can't be crashed into walls.

If it then came without the warning, people would be shocked when it performed badly when crashed into a wall.