Steel Kahtoola: Lightest 10-Point Steel Crampons
by Alan Dixon

Kahtoola crampons have become deservedly popular. One can cover difficult snow and ice in the comfort and flexibility of trail runners or light boots. It’s traction for the masses. Outfitters want to rent them out, but the aluminum doesn’t hold up to day-in and day-out use - at least, not without a lot of sharpening. Kahtoola’s answer was to add a steel version to their line.

Bottom view: New steel model on left, and old aluminum model on right.

Edited by ryan on 01/30/2005 11:22:01 MST.

Hi, When are they available to buy? How much will they cost? Thank you. Bill
PS I found the weight on the members site. I wondered why the pictures were so small.

Edited by bfornshell on 02/06/2005 20:49:23 MST.

I ordered a pair of the Steel Crampons. The Steel costs the same as the Aluminum ones - $129. Rec'd my crampons and it took about 15 minutes to adjust them to my TNF Ultra 102 Trail Runners. My Steel version weight 23.02oz a pair which I think is a little less than posted. They are well made and I can't wait till I can wear then on ice or snow and see how I like them.

C.A.M.P. is offering a new crampon and ice axe this season. The axe weighs in around 7 oz. and the crampons at around 17 oz. These are glacier travel items and not designed for technical ascents.

Yup, and the CAMP crampons retail for around $90.

The CAMP aluminum 6 point instep crampons (Punte Light) that I was TOLD were not going to be made anymore... well I called CAMP and it turns out it's just a delay in manufacturing. They said the best place to snag a pair was at backcountrygear.com so I placed a backorder to get on the list. Anyway, they are aluminum so there are significant limitations to their use however they are 6 pointers which is great and super light (7 oz/pair). If you are going on a hike where the crampons may well stay in the bottom of your pack the entire week then this might be a good call. I certainly like these better than a lot of the "ultralight" crampons people have shown me, but I don't yet own a pair so I can't say for sure that they are a good thing yet. When I do have a pair and have used them I'll post a review. I just wanted to pipe up since CAMP Crampons came up in a thread topic.

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/climbdetail.cfm/CMP300 <-- Camp "6 Punte Light" (note: out of stock)

Cheers!

Edited by jjpitts on 03/17/2007 08:34:23 MDT.

i just picked up a pair of the 6 point aluminums at the fundraiser auction at the ADZPCTKO. they sure look sweet, but since we've had about three inches of precip all winter long here i won't be using them anytime soon. with the straps un-trimmed, they weigh more like 8.5 oz, i believe.

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/climbdetail.cfm/CMP300 <-- Camp "6 Punte Light" (note: out of stock)

I just got word on my backorder... these crampons will be arriving July 15th and they will accept a backorder. I don't have a lot of use for these in July but I will this March in the Grand Canyon... :)

I got my crampons today. They have been on backorder for like 3 months! They are very nice. On my scale the PAIR weighs 7.95 oz but when I trim the straps they will weigh less. They are a blue anodized aluminum. The points aren't that sharp but I think they will be effective enough for my occasional use.

I'll add on edit that I have not used these yet so I can't say how well they will work. As soon as I get these bad boys out and tested I'll post something.

Edited by jjpitts on 09/04/2007 16:14:21 MDT.