The hiking columnist in our local paper opines that HIllsound Trail Crampons may be better than Microspikes for the steeps. Might be worth checking out at :

http://hillsound.com/2products/trail_crampon.php

Phil at sectionhiker did a review of these, and compared them to microspikes. He seemed to have a lot of problems with the hillsounds staying on, and ruled them unworthy in comparison to micro spikes
http://sectionhiker.com/hillsound-trail-crampon-a-first-look/

Although they weigh much much more, I've found the Hillsound Pros to be the best compromise when full blown crampons are overkill:
http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4134503

i use em they work fine ... make sure you dont oversize em

Hi Sam,

Can you post up the Hillsound review that you mention is in your local paper? I can't seem to find it online.

Many thanks,
Alex

Alex,
The favorable comment was in Ed Parsons' Hiking column in the Saturday, March 17th issue of the Conway Daily Sun, published in N. Conway, NH. All Ed said about this was:

"Also, traction devices called MICROspikes, allow you to go light and fast on the well packed trails to 4,000 footers. More recently still, light traction devices called Hillsound Trail Crampons are proving safer that [sic] MICROspikes on terrain that varies in steepness. I will be checking out a pair of these before the ice melts on the higher peaks, and write about that experience."

Hope that is helpful. I've found that short of photographing it, I can't patch text from PDF's and the like onto BPL - probably a legal matter.

These products are great on packed snow on trails, or snow that has melted to a packed surface; but they aren't much use to prevent post-holing in remote areas here, or going cross country in the Rockies in June. So, an old pair of 20" Tubbs with ALU crampons have had to suffice on north slopes for spring backpacks here on the Cohos Trail. Despite the light weight (1#,3oz each), they are very sturdy, except for the rivets on the bindings, that had to be replaced with t-nuts and bolts secured with LocTite.

As promised, our local hiking columnist, Ed Parsons, provided some follow up about those crampons. Thought this might be of interest:

"On our way to Mount Adams, we were prepared for whatever combination of conditions came our way. Besides the usual MICROspikes for traction, we had a pair of Hillsound Trail Crampons to try out. Made by a British Columbia company, they are secured to your boots by stretching the rubber over them [boots], just like MICROspikes. The points are also attached to chains like MICROspikes, but they are longer, located on a rigid rear plate and a hinged front plate, and a little more like real crampons. There is also a Velcro strap to secure over the top of your boot. It is needed, as they could otherwise slip sideways if not so secured.

* * *

"It is well known that steep ice should be avoided as much as possible with MICROspikes. Since my buddy was fairly new to winter hiking, he used the Hillsound Trail Crampons, which had longer points and more holding power on a slope.

"I used MICROspikes, but since the ice on the trail was pretty soft and easy to penetrate with spikes, and the safety of dry ground and strong branches was very close by, I enjoyed a relatively safe hike up the icy section as well.

* * *

"My buddy was impressed with the Hillsound Trail Crampons. Wearing them on the way down, he did things that I didn't dare to do with MICROspikes. ..."

[In the Conway NH Daily Sun, Saturday, March 24, 2012]