UKH

Hi,

Looking for a set of new crampons to fit beautifully with a pair of La Sportiva Nepal Extremes (size9). Something for Grade III/IV Ice and Gullies and less for mixed terrain.

Step-in bindings. Anybody recommend anything, was looking at Black Diamond Stingers maybe?

Cheers

In reply to soularch:
Would recommend staying away from Grivel G12s anyway. From my experience the front points don't stick out very far from the Nepals.

In reply to RKernan:


I used my newmatic g12s on my Nepals many times and they were great. Oddly I've been using them recently on my Trango Ice and Baruntses and in those cases the narrow two seems to mean some of the front points are hidden, although having climbed some steep ice with both pairs of boots and the g12s, it doesn't seem to cause any problems.

Anyway, the step in G12s will probably fit quite differently I would have thought.

Otherwise I've always used my Nepals with Terminators and they were a great combo.

In reply to soularch: bit of conflicting advice on the G12's there. Anyone have experience with BD step-in fit on Extremes? or G14 cramp-o-matics?

In reply to TobyA:


I used this combo for years too and I thought they were good, though maybe not the best crampon for walking in. Last few years I've been using Petzl Vasak leverlock and they fit very well too. They've also been a lot more durable than the Terminators.

The other thing to look at is boot size and crampon width. There's some variance in crampon design & width and on bigger boots some crampons just don't cover the sole of the boot well enough for my liking. They're too narrow, not close enough to the outside of the sole for good technique on lower angle terrain.

I don't climb as often as some on here and my Terminators wore down quite fast, on all points but especially the frontpoints. I recently picked up a barely used pair of Terminators for $50 so will use them again on steep ice. It made me realise just how worn down my old ones were.

In reply to soularch:
in my experience once you've bent the toe bail bars a bit from kicking and worn the soles of your boots a bit and worn the points down a little the toe bail bar versions of G12 and G14 do not have good enough front point protrusion on nepal extremes (unless you go for a non stock bail bar).

The newmatic version of g12 (and probably G14) is fine though (on size 46 nepals), I believe this a superior fitting for most people, its more stable, less likely to come off, easier/quicker to put on and finally the front point protrusion doesn't really change over the life time of the boot (apart from the points getting worn down)

In reply to Damo: I only ever use mine in monos so have a spare pair of front points - then broke the frames on mine and DMM replaced the whole crampons, so got a second spare pair of points. So I'm sure I could spare you two if you need?

Oddly I've never really noticed mine wearing - I don't sharpen them often though and I guess I climb 95% pure ice in them so they don't too often touch rock. Plus over here you don't have to do much walking in them either, so maybe that's why.

In reply to soularch: Boot size makes a big difference which may account for varying recommendations.

I've got size 43 Nepals and have used them with various crampons:
- Old M10s fit fine
- G12 Newmatic fit really well
- Grivel Air Tech cramp-o-matic fit fine
- Grivel G20 fit fine

In both cases (Air Tech & G20) the front bales fit well rather than 'beautifully'. The Grivel heal section and the overall crampon shapes are an excellent fit I am perfectly happy so haven't felt any need to engage in bending of the front bales.

I didn't need to but there is plenty of solid advice online that swapping to a Petzl front bale will resolve any issues with Grivel front bales for boots with thinner toe profiles.

In reply to The Ex-Engineer:

Another vote for G12 newmatics on size 43s.

In reply to soularch:

I was using G12 newmatics with mantas, they were great, upgraded to Nepal extremes and the front point protrusion was nowhere near as good, as the narrower front of the Nepals stuck through the front bail 'bars' further.

Got myself a pair of Petzl Lynx after speaking with the guys in the climbers shop. I am very happy with them. They are very adjustable, being able to be used with a toe bail or newmatic configuration. They can also be converted to mono points or the points extended as well as the bail bar being able to be moved forward or back separately.

Highly recommend. I'm size 42, and as others have said, check they fit your boot size ok.

Craig.

In reply to TobyA:

To clarify, the G12s I used with my Nepals were of the strap-on type. The top half of the Frendo Spur (bullet hard ice) on the stubby points was tricky.

I imagine the newmatics probably fit a lot better.

In reply to soularch:
+1 for Petzl Lynx. Picked these up at the beginning of the season and it made my G12's and 14's redundant.

In reply to RKernan:


I don't think so as they have the same front section as the strap version (new classic is it?). Do you mean the step-ins (Cramp-o-matic).

By the way, i soloed about 60-70 metres of medium steep ice yesterday using my G12s on very old Trango Ss. Forgotten what a pleasure it was to climb in them with very light boots! The ice was warm and plastic though.