UKH

I'm thinking of upgrading my Grivel G12 new matic crampons. I have a trip to Setesdal in January, Whats peoples views on the Petzl Dart? never seen anti balling plates for these?

In reply to nation1:
The Dart is intended for steep ice & mixed, not for slogging through wet snow on approaches. It doesn't have a plate and Petzl don't make one for it. You can fit the rear plate from the Sarken and bodge something for the front if you like. I did this with some success when I had a pair. Great spikes though - light, solid, good length of points etc. Work really well on Scarpa boots.

In reply to nation1:
They are very good crampons for steep ice, but you have put your finger on the major defect. Despite Si Withington's entirely correct comment that they are not intended for slogging through wet snow, one often has to do this (or descending after a route), so the omission is a gross failure. Given that they could easily have done this, at least for the rear, I suppose the motive was to shave weight, to keep the "lightest techical crampon in the world" tag for a bit longer.

Like Si says, you can bodge anti-ball plates, I have done this and it works pretty well, bodging the front with duck tape. That does not excuse the failure to provide one from Petzl though.

In reply to nation1:

The lack of anti balling plates is nothing 15 minutes with a roll of duck tape wont solve.

In reply to nation1:

Having used darts for nearly 7 years now I still think they are the best crampon around for difficult ice and mixed, and I have very seldom (probably ~3 times) thought I would like to have anti balling plates on them.

I also would suggest that not having anti balling plates is integral to the design to make a light technical crampon, and not a defect / omission.

Great crampons.

Andy

In reply to nation1:

I loved them when I tried them but you could choose Lynx if you want the proper plates. The difference in weight is mostly the plates and the Lynx give more options (eg mono or dual or even assymetric). The real weight saving is in boot selection!!

In reply to nation1:

They're good at what they're designed for - steep ice and mixed.

In reply to nation1:

It might be worth suggesting that you could just get Grivel G20s if the Dart's lack of anti-balling plates concerns you - they do have one on the heel, and the mid-section rail means they don't seem to gather snow like traditional framed crampons do