UKH

Well actually they're described as: "Docooler 14-point Manganese Steel Climbing Gear Crampons Ice Grippers Crampon Traction Device Mountaineering Glacier Travel Ice Waiking" ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Docooler-Manganese-Climbing-Crampons-Mountaineerin... )

Looking at the supplier the business name is:  "shen zhen shi mo ni ka te shang mao you xian gong si"

Just the thing for Point Five or perhaps not. Your choice!

I'm not sure. I'm more attracted to these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/NAMVO-snowboard-Stainless-Crampons-Adjustable/dp/B...

with the added advantages of being suitable fore use with dress shoes and "Not Only For Outdoor Ice And Snow, But Also For The City To Use During The Snowy Weather." 

Yep there's a lot of really good stuff out there if you know where to look! Removes tongue from cheek.

Why bother replacing front points with deals like this? Bargain. 

They are probably fine for walking around town.  Icy pavements are the most lethal things I've encountered in recent years and more than once I've gone A over T in walking boots. Not quite certain why they need front points though, unless you are using them to climb up the kerb from road to pavement?

I can think of a few roads in Sheffield where you would want front points!

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/dangerous-crampons-online

The main advantage of these crampons is the convenience of transporting them; it's very easy to bend those nasty pointy bits flat so thet don't tear your rucksack

I've asked on Amazon whether these are CE marked and conform to EN 893 - oddly enough my questions haven't been answered but have disappeared so I've put in a 1 star review linking to the BMC article. It will be interesting to see if that gets passed - not holding my breath.

It'll probably get pulled - I tried something similar last year and got a reply saying my review contravened their terms and conditions. I wrote the BMC article linked above - getting hold of an actual human at Amazon or eBay to explain the problem seems impossible, although I doubt they care anyway.

Trading Standards don't seem well equipped to deal with this - their answer is to purchase suspect kit and have it tested at great expense, and get the seller page shut down only for another page to appear overnight. It's extremely frustrating, and even the EU Commission which have EU wide responsibility for product safety (which includes us, for now) accept that there is little that can be done other than educating consumers.

The UIAA are taking a different tack, which is to try and get notified bodies in the Far East accredited to their safety label. This will make it cheaper and easier for producers there to get products certified - some of it is good enough, some close and some nowhere near. The trouble atm is being able to tell which is which.

the quoted price seems a bit steep.  For steep terrain I think I could do cheaper with something made from Meccano

it's also possible to strap picaxe heads to the soles of boots at the foot of t'face.  The effect is to walk a bit bird like but effective never the less

The CE mark won't be relevant or needed once we are no longer a member of the EU.  We can please our selves what standards we import.   We will be able to import/export as much crap as we wish without worrying about whether some johnny foreigner is complying with some EU legislation or not.  Thats what we voted for.   Out means Out, dun it?

I'm sure the Chinese are competent makers of their own climbing and other equipment and have rigorous safety standards of their own that we'll all come to love and trust now we're leaving those nasty dictators in Brussels.  

Happy Xmas.   

ps - I am being cynical!

The CE mark is already compromised. If you can tell the difference in the two when they are stamped on to a piece of metal of be surprised. 

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=133149

Funnily enough, I've just had a couple of emails from Amazon saying my reviews contravened community standards. Using their platform to sell illegal and potentially dangerous goods is just fine though.

Climbing centres have started putting up lists of climbing brands that are accepted and anything else isn’t allowed, to try and counter this and guide people towards reputable gear. 
 

Looks like they’re gonna need these lists at the bottom of a mountain soon! 

I find Yaktrax (the springy things) by far best for that, they easily fit to any shoes or trainers too.

That said, these would be fine as walking crampons, I'd imagine.  Your life doesn't rely on one thing in the way it does with a harness or if you were ice climbing with them.

Enough people have had these sort of things just fall apart. I have a friend who bought some knock-off Grivels. Didn't survive one outing. For town use maybe worth a punt but if you use these for climbing you're basically asking to be hospitalised. 

There is also a more recent UKC article here - https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/online_budget_gear_-_the_peril... covering the whole cheap online gear issue.

The gear is getting in irrespective of the EU! so youre implying that because we voted to leave the EU companies like DMM etc will just chin off all their current safety standards and flood the market with dangerous gear??? People should just accept that 99% of the time if you buy cheap you buy twice, or get seriously injured in this case.