i use the bd contact strap 10 point crampon.

they work really well with my soft boots, hard boots, and mountaineering boots. great for walking and steep ascents, but dont climb vertcial ice very well (10 point afterall).

the aluminium ones are about half the weight

i wouldn’t worry about breaking them, aluminium very strong, but just not as hard as steel so it wears down faster if you walk on rocks etc.

good point about the wide stuff: i would just take the boots to the shop and test it out. Also, some crampons have a flexible post in the middle that is supposed to be safer for use with soft boots (not for technical climbing of course).

Not sure how technical your ascents typically are, but I would only use a 10 point crampon for low angle snowfields, and would take a 12 point crampon for any glacier travel or more technical objectives.

a 10 point crampon will walk far better than a 12 point. the two extra points are called secondary points are are designed to give another point of contact on vertical ice(helps rest your calfs and give a bit more balance). 10 point crampons will front point fine but your calfs will tire faster.

and remember if your really looking for technical performance you shouldnt be wearing soft boots

I have been using the Black diamonds and have had no problems at all. They fit my 32 brand boots very well.I do not remember what model they are but they are a high volume boot.

BD (Contacts?) fit my Malamutes pretty well, I’ve had them for years and they fit eveything I’ve tried them with.

I thought the BD Contact’s were not aluminum. I got a pair of BD Neve’s (strap version), which are aluminum and damn light (much lighter than the Contact’s). They’ve been working well and holding up so far. I think they’re fine for typical splitboard missions. I think the fit on my Driver X’s (size 11) is OK, but it seems like they just barely fit. The Stubai ones seem to be little bit wider, so maybe a better fit for softboots.

The Contacts are steel for sure. They fit on my 11.5 boots, but barely. If it’s helpful, the CAMP Universal Aluminum crampons were too narrow for snowboard boots.

@kjkrow wrote:

BD does make a long spreader bar that will let most BD crampons expand for bigger feet. I know it works for my Sabertooth clips and the Contact Straps, so I would presume it would work on the Neve as well.

With the bar, my Contact Straps work with size 13 drivers, but it is not the most solid connection ever. They slipped off once, so I pay close attention and retighten/adjust when I get the chance. Not ideal, but worked ok so far.

It’s not the length that is the problem to me. It’s that the toe and heel plastic bails don’t provide a lot of coverage on a wide softboot, so if you don’t have it really cranked down, you could slip out. Also I think it would be nice if the crampons themselves were a bit wider, and I *think* the Stubai’s might be. But anyway, the BD ones do work and I haven’t had any problems yet.