Crampons For Outdoor Pursuits, a Guide to Uses and Choice

Crampons can be made of hardened steel, or light weight aluminum. Lighter weight aluminum crampons are popular for alpine ski touring where the need to wear them is less frequent & counterbalanced by the need for a light pack yielding fast, efficient travel over long distances.

Many crampons designed for mountaineering and glacier travel are not well suited for vertical ice climbing. For ice climbing, specialized crampons that provide better support for front pointing are advised. Most crampons require welted boots to ensure proper fitting.

Crampons with 10 points were first introduced by Europeans in the early 1900s. Because they lacked forward pointing spikes, they required step cutting on steep terrain. In the 1930s, two additional forward-slanting points were added, thus creating today's 12-point crampons. The two additional front points further reduce the need to chop steps into the snow or ice, by allowing the climber to "front-point" up steep snow and ice. The angles of the first two rows of points also determine the best use for a particular set of crampons. Having the first row (front points) point downward, and the second row be angled towards the toe, reduces calf strain by allowing the boot heel to be lower. In this case, these crampons are better suited for front-pointing. When straight points are used instead, the crampons are much better suited for snow & general mountaineering. In recent times these points have been further arranged to give two front points and and four points under the fore foot with four under the heel sections, these flexy walking crampons now make up the majority of sales today for winter walking, the front points are however not recomended for steep snow or ice climbs being at the wrong angle and also being to flimsy for the job longterm. Examples of walking crampons are Grivel G10 Lux, Grivel Monte Rosa, Grivel Air tech.

While crampons are an invaluable tool for a mountaineer, they were not used as often as today until the development of plastic-shelled climbing boots, because the straps used to affix the crampons to early mountaineering boots (which were made of leather) had a tendency to restrict blood flow to the feet of the wearer.

A problem encountered using crampons, especially in temperatures not very far below freezing, is packed snow "balling up" on the sole. (The term evokes both the packing of snow in making a snowball, and the rounding, at its edges, of the snow packed onto the sole of the crampon.) This build-up reduces the length of the crampon points that can penetrate into the frozen surface, even to the point of eliminating any penetration; it also reduces the force exerted by the points, since the balled snow supports part of the wearer's weight. All of this interferes with function of the crampon's points (other than horizontal front points) of providing "traction" -- resisting any forces parallel to the sole of the boot. One of two main approaches to the problem is to periodically knock the accumulation loose -- in extreme conditions, even with every step taken. This can be accomplished by banging the shaft of an ice-axe against the inner edge of the sole, but one can often kick tree trunks and (with caution) rock outcrops with the same spot. Prevention is also feasible: Many crampons can be fitted with shaped slabs of somewhat flexible plastic called "anti-balling" (or "anti-bott" or "anti-bot") plates, which engage with the body of the crampon, and present the snow with a hydrophobic surface to which ice will not freeze.

There are two types of crampons: hinged and rigid. Hinged crampons provide flex at the instep and bend with the natural motion of walking and thus are the preferred style for almost any type of mountaineering except steep technical ice climbing. A rigid crampon does not bend at the instep so when climbing up steep technical ice, they allow the climber to keep their heel lower when front-pointing, thus less tiring as a result. However, rigid crampons tend to be heavier and will not perform as well in mixed terrain. Generally, most people use hinged crampons.

Crampons with short spikes all over their undersides, or all round the edges of their undersides, are called "walking crampons" in Britain and are used to walk on horizontal ice surfaces i.e. pavements. e.g. Grivel Spider

Crampons are graded C1, C2 and C3. These grades are used to determine the flexibility of the crampons and through this they give an idea of the compatibility with mountaineering boots. Boots are graded B0 (incompatible with crampons), B1 (a sturdy hillwalking boot), B2 (a stiffer mountaineering boot) and B3 (a fully rigid climbing and mountaineering boot). The number of the boot must be equal to or higher than the number of the crampon, although this alone doesn't affirm compatibility for other issues are also important (such as size and attachment type).

Crampons of today attach in several different ways the two main being classic bindings which allow the crampon to be attached to any boot and crampomatic, clip in, bindings which have an adjustable clip at the back of the heel cup which snaps onto a special ridge at the back of the boots sole.