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I've been noticing in this spring's TR's alot of you using crampons when the skinning gets too steep. I didn't know there are crampons that fit soft snowboard boots. What are they, and who makes them, and where have you bought them.

Thanks all!

10 point general mountaineering crampons for a large sized boot usually work. I can't remember any names in particular 'cause everything fits my hardboots!

Grivel makes a G10 wide that has an extra wide toe piece that will fit over soft snowboard boots.

I think some of the other laceup 10 point crampons would fit a snowboard boot as well. Just take the boots with you when you are looking for crampons. Yep,yep,yep.

Your most common choices include:
Stubai Ultralight
BD Contact Strap
Grivel G10 Wide
Kahtoola


I used the Stubai crampons for a few years with good success and no real complaints. This year I'm using the steel Kahtoola crampons and have also been stoked with them. They pack well and are almost as light as aluminum…but much stronger. The teeth are a little shorter though so if you are going to do a lot of front-pointing you may want to look at other models.

Here are a couple old threads on the topic.
http://talk.splitboard.com/talk/viewtop ... highlight=
http://talk.splitboard.com/talk/viewtop ... highlight=

they work great - aluminum i think very light but not very agressive. sometimes on harder snow conditions with steeper slopes i wish i had more serious (longer teeth) crampons. but they weigh a bit more so it is a trade off. these are standard equipment for me i carry them all season... i saw a steel version by kahtoola recently they looked maybe a bit more agressive than the aluminum ones, same small teeth and looks to fit snowboard boots fine.

Hey Ricorides,

YOU SHOULD BE VERY ASHAMED!!! You should be only using Kahtoola crampons, period. Kahtoola is from Flagstaff, AZ... you need to be representin'!!!

I rep for Kahtoola here in CA. The steel model is my best seller. Most of my dealers have their best sales with the steel model. It is rated the same as the Black Diamond Contact or the Girvel G-10. The steel Kahtoolas are the lightest and most packable 10-point steel crampons in production. They work with ANY footwear and are very easy to put on and off.

Give Brian a call over at Kahtoola, and tell him you talked to me (Yoda) via this forum, and ask him to let you demo a pair. Being that your a local I'm sure he will let you try a pair out. Call him toll free at 866-330-8030

Mark

I subscribe to the "1 lb. off your feet = a couple extra beers in the backpack" school of thought.

Recently got a pair of Grivel Air tech lights, only 476 grams! Not super aggressive, but perfect for what I use them for. The New Classic style fits snowboard boots. They're a little spendy at around $150, but I found a sale and got mine for $120

I'm no expert but have talked to a few, and they all recommended antibotts/anti balling device to keep your crampons from turning into big snowballs.

...be careful with the Grivel crampons - I initially used the normal G10 crampons butthe toe area of my boot slipped out of the front binding strap when traversing a steep hard slope (not good). I swapped them for the G10 Wide version and found them much better/safer as the toepiece is wider and holds the boot much more solidly. I presume the Air Tech versions do not have a wide toepiece and are not really suitable for snowboard boots.

On the subject of anti-bott's, if you need to make your own, get some one gallon milk jugs and cut out the plastic as needed to fit the bottom of your crampons. This is your cheapskate tip of the day......

The airtechs come in 2 versions: New Matic and New Classic. The new classic version is designed for boots that aren't crampon-ready. They work well with my snowboard boots, but I would make sure that whatever you get fits your particular boot securely.

I'm not pushing these, just throwing out what I use and why.

Thanks everyone for the info. I guess the only question I have now is, does anyone use the Voile crampons under their bindings? I've only skinned on soft snow or on mellow slope angle hard snow, not steep/ off camber hard snow. And, Yoda, Kahtoola keeps a pretty low profile here in town, but I am looking at their crampons first. Shop local!

Definitely. Especially in hard/icy conditions and when traversing.

Speaking of snow balling up in crampons, did any of you read this?

http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=23404

Talk about a reality check.