Which crampon for best fit on Nepal Extremes?

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 Arete 30 Jan 2017
I'm looking to get a new set of C2 'pons and was wondering which would give the best fit for my La Sportivas (size 11.5/46). The boots have quite a narrow toe point due to the front bail and they seem to stick out further than most other boots. I want to minimise the amount of front point which my toe sticks out over, so was wondering which give the best fit in people's experience. I was thinking about G12/Vasak/Sarken/Lynx as all get good reviews as all-rounders (allbeit with the Sarken/Lynx being more climbing oriented) but in the end it'll come down to fit.
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 David Staples 30 Jan 2017
In reply to Arete:

I have used both the Grivel G12 & G14 new-matic style and can't really think of a bad thing to say about them. Granted I have not tried any others. Both fit well on my size 44.5 Nepal Extremes and I have done a fair bit of walking on easy ground in them and they work well and are comfy to walk with.

Hope this helps.
Cheers
Dave
OP Arete 30 Jan 2017
In reply to David Staples:

Really helpful thanks Dave. I was a bit concerned that the toe of the boot would stick out too far on the G12, but glad to hear the newmatic style is working for you. I'll definitely go try some.
 CurlyStevo 30 Jan 2017
In reply to Arete:
G12 and G14 newmatic both fit nepals in that larger sizes well and have adequate front point protrusion. However the front point protrusion on both of these crampons in either fitting is a little on the smaller side (although for crampomatic fitting grivel have changed the toe bail bars and that's helped things and of course non stock bail bars help here also for example the Rambo IV ones). You'll notice this more once the points have shortened a bit from wear and the boots and crampons have been used together a fair bit.

Longer front points are generally better for climbing ice (anything but very hard or brittle ice) or snow but not as good for walking in or mixed climbing. Personally if the crampons are going to be used primarily for climbing snow and ice I would slightly prefer slightly longer front points than the G12 but you do have to factor in how well the G12s fit the nepals - they are a very good marriage.

I'm a great fan of the newmatic style fittings my self so if you would prefer more protrusion I'd opt for another manufacturer rather than going for crampomatic.
Post edited at 13:56
 Tricadam 30 Jan 2017
In reply to Arete:

Lynx fit well - with either means of attaching at the front. As do Grivel Airtechs.
 DaveHK 30 Jan 2017
In reply to Arete:

New-matic G14s and G12s work well with my size 45 Nepals.
OP Arete 30 Jan 2017
In reply to Arete:
Thanks for the replies, seems that they do fit reasonably well but potentially not great protrusion for climbing. Does anyone prefer anything else on their Nepals?

Also, I'd definitely go for newmatic style over crampomatic.
Post edited at 20:46
 CurlyStevo 01 Feb 2017
In reply to Arete:

The front points are an ok length for climbing ice and snow, two of my friends had the newmatic G12 one with nepals and other mantas and both have climbed ice to Scottish V in them no problems. If you are going to climb harder than that you may want to consider some vertical point crampons anyways.

Its not just the front point protrusion to consider here, the G12 newmatic Nepal pairing is a good fit because:
- the downward facing points cover the sole well, they are not located too much to one side or the other.
- the heel unit is well captured by the crampon
- the sole crampon interface is good (ie they are the same shape and no gaps - often you see this at the toe or towards the instep on a less good fit)
- the front point angles are in line with the kick
- another good test of a newmatic crampon is to fit it to the boot and leave all the straps undone and loosened and pick up the boot. The crampon should stay on the boot.

You may well find a crampon with a longer front point protrusion and that may help you on snow or some ice, but then it will work against you mixed climbing or climbing hard ice and the likelihood that it fits the nepals as well as the G12 is low IMO. The points are long enough on the G12 fitted to the nepals. If grivel asked me how to improve them for nepals I would ask for 7 mm or so longer on the front points and slightly wider points towards the base but that's just my 2p worth.

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