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| Title: |
Great all-purpose crampons |
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| Written by: |
johngenx |
Created Time:3/14/2007 1:57:14 PM |
| Strengths: |
Shed snow well, climb moderate ice very well, god fit on all my boots |
| Weaknesses: |
Where's the price going? Possible to break heel bail. Anti-botte sold separately |
| Conclusions: |
The first thing I notice recently was the price of these crampons. I bought my step-ins at $129 and now they're $151? Youch!
They do work very well though. Easy to set-up and adjust, and I always seem to get them nice and snug and they never come off. The step-ins do need a good front welt, so if your boots don't have a good solid front welt, go for the semi-auto version. They should come with anti-bottes, especially considering the new pricing.
The front and secondary points bite well, but I did find them vastly inferior on steep waterfall ice to Rambos or M10's, despite Will Gadd's review. I guess I'm just not Will!
There is one small design flaw to be on the lookout for. If you crank the rear bail's adjust ment wheel all the way down, you can dislodge the tiny nut, rendering the crampons useless.
They come out of the box razor sharp, and hold it well. Despite lots of grovling in them (ice under the scree, so they stayed on) the points have held up very well despite the complete destruction of the finish. Three years of use and I might put a file to them this coming spring.
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| Review Based on: |
3 Year(s)
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| Title: |
Shear a bit when descending |
| Score:
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| Written by: |
sandy |
Created Time:4/18/2007 4:17:23 PM |
| Strengths: |
Aggressive design |
| Weaknesses: |
Clip in requires wide boot and good welt, tend to shear on descent |
| Conclusions: |
The picture is of the clip in Sabretooths, whereas John is describing the step ins. The step-ins require a wide toed boot for good fit - this can be difficult for women's boots. And, once the front bail on your boot wears down - which seems to happen in one season - the step-ins will fit less and less securely as time goes on. I find these crampons tend to shear through the snow when descending face out, and you get some slipping as you go.
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| Review Based on: |
4 Year(s)
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| Title: |
Now with integral antibottes |
| Score:
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| Written by: |
Dru |
Created Time:4/24/2007 7:33:35 PM |
| Strengths: |
Don't have to add yourself |
| Weaknesses: |
n/.a |
| Conclusions: |
I have the new models and mine came with an integrated antibotte, which I suppose addresses john's complaint above about the price increasing.
One other comment relates to the design of the front points. Instead of coming to a point, like other crampons, they come to a narrow horizontal front edge, somewhat like a chisel. When mixed climbing, this lets you get more metal on the rock, providing better friction. However, it shatters water ice to a greater degree than a pointed tip. For snow it doesn't really make a diffference.
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| Review Based on: |
2 Month(s)
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| Title: |
waiting replacement part |
| Score:
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| Written by: |
time2clmb |
Created Time:6/17/2007 7:03:40 PM |
| Strengths: |
TBD |
| Weaknesses: |
possible design weakness. |
| Conclusions: |
I will leave the rating neutral for now until I get a chance to use them.
Unlike Johngenx, mine came brand new with the plates.
When I took the pons out of the box I noticed a little washer type ring that was on the floor. I had no clue where this came from but I knew it must have fallen off my crampons. The piece came from the back bail and is located at the very bottom of the screw just under the washer. This piece holds the screw from lifting up. Without this piece in the screw is able to lift to a certain extent and if this happens the tension is lost on the bail, which could result in the crampon coming off. I got the piece back on but to do so had to bend the washer open, and as a result the metal looks stressed and weakend (just like when you bend something back and forth several times, only it was bent once). This sounds like the same problem John was describing with turning the screw all the way down. I don't recall turning it all the way down but it is possible as I was adjusting the screw...it should be noted that I did not encounter any resistence and was not "forcing" anything.
I must say that customer service is awesome. I was told they are immediately sending me an entire replacement bail with no hassles or "over explaining".
I have the clip version as pictured above. The "pro" version is the one with the front bale.
I am not giving negative marks though for one instance which I have not yet heard about in reviews. Plus I got them for half price. Looking forward to getting on them when my part comes. More later...
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| Review Based on: |
1 Day(s)
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