Crampons and Accessories

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Information

If you're looking for Running Crampons, they can be found in the Fell Running section. Pavement Crampons for general use boots and shoes can be found on the Footwear page.

To help you in narrowing down the crampons that might be most suitable for you, we've split all of the uses into categories. Scroll down to find the one that matches your activity.

Winter Walking

Walkers that rarely encounter snow conditions or who walk mainly on very gentle inclines in winter can look at our excellent 6 point instep crampons from Stubai. These are much lighter than full crampons, and can be worn on almost any boot. Walkers that like to get out more regularly in winter conditions will be better served by the Stubai 8 Point crampon, all of which point downwards for excellent traction on all but the steepest terrain, or Kahtoola KTS Steel, which can be worn on almost any footwear. These are extremely popular, and very flexible. Some of the choices from the next category, especially the award-winning Grivel G10 and Monte Rosa, are also worth considering. The G10, Monte Rosa and KTS have slightly more aggressive front points for getting up slopes.

Easy Winter Mountaineering and Summer Alpinism

For those walkers that dabble in grade 1 winter climbs and steeper snow terrain or scrambling (the expected terrain of easy Alpinism and glacier treks) a more aggressive crampon is required, with a couple of forward facing points for improved traction at greater inclinations. Here the G10 Grivel is a worthy choice. It is well-proven for winter walking and one of the best known and loved crampons around. People with wide feet should also consider the Black Diamond Contact Strap. Also the Monte Rosa crampon is a cheaper option from Grivel as shown below left.

To cut weight and enable more flexible footwear to be used in certain conditions Kahtoola's KTS Steel crampon weighs only 662g, making it ideal for trekking routes that cross sections of snow, Alpine routes where you encounter easier snow terrain but need to be as light as possible on technical rock sections, and even general winter use. They have a massive fit range across their two sizes, from UK 3 to 13, making them useful for small footed mountaineers. You can go even lighter again with the Aluminium version, which lives in the Fell Running section, but beware that they will wear out quickly and don't have forward facing points.

Harder Winter Mountaineering and Summer Alpinism

As terrain gets steeper and more icy, more aggressive, sharper front points will be necessary, and 12 point crampons present a good all-round alternative. Uses include low to mid grade winter climbs and mid grade summer Alpinism. Our favourite is without a doubt the Grivel Air Tech with a newmatic binding as shown left. This performs very well all round, offering adaptable units that are not too heavy or cumbersome. It comes in several different binding options for different boots- see the comparison chart link at bottom right to find the right one for you.

Mixed Climbing

Often associated with Scottish winter climbing, mixed can involve technical moves on rock, snow and ice. There is often the approach and descent to consider as well, and so a real all-rounder is called for. The Grivel G12 and fits the bill perfectly, being ideal on snow and rock. Also worth a look is the Grivel Air Tech which has shortened vertical points but retains the semi-aggressive front points, making it very stable on iced up rock steps. The Black Diamond Serac Clip is a good choice for Alpine routes, particularly for those with wide feet. As the difficulty and technicality increases, more aggressive crampons can be needed. Any of the crampons described in the Ice Climbing category below are suitable, however be aware that the front points wil be longer and sharper, making them a bit harder to avoid tripping over, and a bit less grippy in soft snow. They will also be heavier!

Ice Climbing

For those in pursuit of pure icefall climbing, another step up in technicality and aggressiveness of your crampons is required. Ice climbing is possible in mountaineering crampons, but the shorter, blunter front points will make it tiring work. Specialist crampons for ice will have sharp, slightly downward pointing frontpoints, that will push easily into even the hardest water ice. They available ine mono (single) or duo (double) points. The advantage of the traditional duo-pointed crampon is increased stability, and perhaps the psychological benefit of having two points of attachment to the ice on each foot. Mono points are becoming more popular, as they penetrate the ice more easily and with less shattering, and allow the climber to twist and pivot on the single point, climbing as if on rock and wearing rock shoes. Real pros will use the mono-points of their crampons in the holes made by the picks of their ice axes, helping them to move even more efficiently. The two traditional 14-point ice climbing crampons we stock both have the facility to chop and change the front point set up, switching from mono- to duo-points reasonably easily (as long as you have a spanner to hand). These are the Grivel Rambo 4 and the G14.

High Altitude Mountaineering

As nearly all climbers venturing to high altitudes will be wearing fully stiffened plastic or leather mountaineering boots, pretty much any crampon will fit. The exact crampons set up required depends on the type of terrain that wil be encountered. For long, shallow angled snow slopes a walking crampon may be sufficient, for steeper ground a 12 point mountaineering crampon may be required. Bear in mind that in full altitude garb you may feel a bit more clumsy than usual, so unless it is essential crampons with very sharp points may be more of a liability than an aid. Grivel Air Techs can be handy for ensuring good stability.

Boot and Crampon Compatibility Advice

Having said all this, you need to match your crampons and their systems of attachment to your boots and vice versa.

3/4 season walking boot like Scarpa's SL (B1 Flex) suit flexible strap-on (C1) crampons only. The Grivel G10 with the New Classic binding and the Monte Rosa are good examples.

4 season walking/scrambling boots like the Scarpa Manta (B2 Flex) suit articulated (C2) crampons with a plastic basket at the front and step-in heel system. The Grivel G12 or Air Tech with the New matic binding are good examples.

More rigid mountaineering boots like La Sportiva's Nepal Extreme and the Scarpa Freney XT GTX (B3 Flex) suit articulated and semi rigid (C3) crampons with toe bail step-in heel systems. The Grivel G12 or Air Tech with the Crampo-matic binding are good examples.

Fully technical ice and altitude boots like Scarpa's Omega, Vega and Phantom 8000 suit semi rigid and rigid crampons with toe bail step-in heel systems.

Boot size also has an effect on crampon choice. For example a La Sportiva Makalu in a size 38 will not take a 12 point crampon due to the length of the front plate, whereas the same boot in a size 46 would. This is due to the front section of the crampon being too large for such a small boot. On the other hand, larger boots of the same model tend to be more flexible than smaller versions, and therefore whereas a size 36 Makalu will accept a Grivel G10 toe bail and step-in heel at a push, the flexibility of the larger sizes would mean a greater risk of the crampon popping off.

Crampon/Boot Comparison Chart

To aid you in your boot and crampon choices, we have produced a handy chart.

The first table displays a list of boots that you like or may already have (some of which we do not stock). When you select one of these, those crampons that we recommend to correspond with them will be highlighted. We have decided that it is unlikely that someone who owns a pair of plastic boots is going to be looking for an instep crampon and consequently we have chosen to display those crampons that we feel are most suited to the boots in question.

They will float above this window when opened but don't forget that Windows 3.11/95/98/2000 users can ALT+TAB to bring it back on top whilst keeping the other hand on the mouse.