Everything you need to know about Crampons??? // DAVE SEARLE

In this video I cover pretty much everything you need to know about crampons as a beginner or intermediate climber or skier. We look at features, fitting, design and other tricks and tips.
Interested in learning more or hiring me a guide in chamonix? Check out my website: www.davesearle...
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[@mrtriathlondude]

I bought the Irvis Hybrid crampons earlier this year in large part due to your recommendation. I used them on my climb of Mt Baker in northern Washington and they performed beautifully with my La Sportiva Trango GTX boots. I'll be using them in a lot of ski touring here in the Wasatch Mountains this winter and I expect that they'll perform great here as well.

[@DaveSearle]

Great stuff!

[@MrBigbird007]

Loved that you were upfront on the the sponsorship. Great vids, great vibes, good inspiration... I'm hooked Keep up the great work

[@DaveSearle]

Thanks!

[@Devoted96]

I liked your video but a few thoughts... Other manufacturers offer as much customization if not more than Petzl crampons, e.g. Grivel's G22 +. I climbed for a long time with the Petzl Lynx - general mountaineering, ice and mixed along with long Alpine routes. They can and will get you up almost anything. My biggest issue with the crampons and Petzl in general is their metal... it's not the best. Which is why I switched to the Grivel G22 + & G20 + , you can buy armored steel front points which outlast and exceed the performance of Petzl front points. They're also lighter (I know the competition for the Lynx is the G14 and not the G22 +). The armored steel penetrates ice considerably better and can take heavy abuse from rock for longer periods without sharpening which makes their weight worth in gold for multi-day Alpine climbs with lots of mixed climbing. I still use the Lynx, but they're usually my backups. The biggest con about the armored front points Grivel makes is sharpening, they're incredibly hard so you need a special type of file. I also switched from Quarks and Nomics to North Machines and Dark Machines because of the armored metal picks Grivel makes. However, these picks have a thicker front tip which displaces ice more than the Petzl picks. So I generally climb ice with the Quarks and Nomics but if there's lots of rock or pure dry tooling I go with the Dark Machines or North Machines depending on the difficulty of the route.

[@DaveSearle]

Thanks, Im sure thats helpful for someone out there. I don't do nearly the same amount of mixed climbing as I used to. I used to go through picks and points alot. For me now it's mostly about ski mountaineering and I really love the Irvis hybrid for that which is why I'm loyal to Petzl.

[@Devoted96]

@@DaveSearle I think the Irvis is a better crampon than the Grivel air tech which is the rival. I think Petzl uses actual steel instead of aluminum like Grivel does for the points which increases longevity. :)

[@tjb8841]

One thing you didn’t mention that people might find useful: For (lightweight) crampons, that don’t have the fine tuning wheel on the back of the lever, it can be hard to get the tightness just right. One trick that can help is moving the metal heel bail asymmetrically, ie: instead of moving both left and right back 1 hole, move just one side. This can help you fine tune the tension on the heel lever. Similarly, depending on the shape of the boot and crampon, sometimes you get a better fit with the toe bail offset. Ski boots especially can be tricky to fit, with their thick soles and walk lever in the back. Most brands offer a few different toe bails, and often they work in other brands too, so buy some and experiment if needed. As a final ‘fitting’ step it can be sometimes useful to trim the side of the rubber sole on the heel of the boot, to allow the boot to fit all the way down tightly in the crampon between the posts.

[@maciekratuszniak4223]

Thank you all very much! I'm new to crampons and you answered most of my uncertainties.

[@tjb8841]

Good “points” 😅. Seriously though, the video is about choosing and using different types of crampons, not about which brand or model is best within a certain category.

[@tarfeef101]

This just popped into my recs, that replacement buckle system for the straps looks amazing, I'm ordering those right now

[@DaveSearle]

Boom! Glad I could help.

[@mikesearle7077]

Great video Dave - content just gets better all the time!

[@DaveSearle]

Thanks!

[@British_Mountain_Guides]

Good stuff dave, Thanks for sharing.

[@DaveSearle]

Thanks!

[@matthewdunham8625]

I’m here for the cat interludes

[@DaveSearle]

😆

[@nikolakis333]

keep sharing Dave, you are top class!

[@DaveSearle]

Thanks!

[@gdoldays9964]

Very informative video, I use the Cassin crampons(The Alpinist, Alpinist Pro & the Alpinist Tech)I find myself using the Alpinist & the Alpinist Tech the most. Like Petzl, you can interchange the main forward sections. I find this really useful. I'll probably switch to Petzl after these have no safe life in them. I love my Cassin crampons and the brand in general, but I'll have to switch to Petzl eventually purely because it's getting harder to source parts here in Scotland.

[@SwiftAnthony]

Thanks!

[@DaveSearle]

👍

[@slayer12]

“You guessed it were talking about crampons” well yeah thats why i clicked on the video about crampons lol

[@DaveSearle]

Thanks for the comment! I hope you found the video useful.

[@tacul9333]

What is your favorite crampon/ski touring boot combination for technical climbing in ski boots?

[@DaveSearle]

I would say I don’t do a bunch of ski boot climbing anymore. Touring boots have some on so far in the previous years, I ce got high hopes for the MTN summit boot. I’d throw a pair of darts on there and go for it!

[@sergioroman7862]

Well done fella, great video, great advice, I'm a follower now

[@DaveSearle]

Thanks!

[@ioanahanganu8003]

@@DaveSearle Me too! This was actually super useful

[@lessmith9641]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@ziriware9798]

I was interested in knowing if the PETZL lynx would work with the La sportiva G2 evo and if not what crampons would you recommend?

[@DaveSearle]

They should work totally fine but the vasak is compatible with nearly all mountain boots.

[@david3898]

Moving to Svalbard and looking for a good multipurpose setup for mostly snow and glacier walking, and some occasional ice climbing. Wondering if the Irvis front plate would feel too short in size 45 / BSL 312mm ski boots? Thinking of getting the Lynx + Irvis Hybrid + Grivel Long flex bar. If the Irvis front is too short, I'll get the Vasak instead.

[@georgesheffield1580]

Not bad for a beginner . Explain ice and snow and steepness for different styles and techniques for each .

[@ManVsAltitude]

could you suggest crampons that are compatible with "la sportiva olympus mons cube"

[@DaveSearle]

The Vasak and Sarken are!

[@mttprkr]

What do you think of the petzl leopard? I'm doing my first hut to hut ski tour this winter (Silvretta) and need to get some crampons. I was thinking of the leopard as they won't see much use and are the lightest. Would I be better with the irvis hybrid based on what you said about anti balling plates?

[@DaveSearle]

I'd say the Irvis is a more versatile crampon. the leopard is more of an emergency crampon if that makes sense. There is a bit of rocky stuff on the Silvretta tour. I've never seen reason to have the leopard crampon personally.

[@michaelvozar5600]

What is your opinion on having both the vasak and irvis? Are they too similar of a crampon? I recently bought the vasaks, but am considering returning them and exchanging them for the irvis for the weight and foldability factor. Or is the durability factor of the vasaks worth keeping them? I am looking for a universal mountaineering crampon (i mostly do skimo)

[@DaveSearle]

I think there are enough differences to warrant both but you could probably get away with either unless you do more rocky stuff.

[@damianobiancalana8849]

I'm super happy with the purchase of my semi-auto vasak crampons, but i got in truble while using them cause of the tip of my boots (la sportiva trango) sliding in to the front basket and getting the back end loose. Especially when kicking in hard snow they tend to have this bad behaviour and I still haven't figured out how to solve this problem. Anyone else had this problem and found a good solution? P.s. Sorry for my poor english😅😅

[@SebastienGoethals-nb8wo]

hello Dave, do you have the reference of the leach to buy at schnell sports ? I will pop in one of these days. TES

[@DaveSearle]

It’s called the elastic strap on the petzl website. Go and ask them unless they’re sold out after everyone watch went out and bought one… 🫢

[@SebastienGoethals-nb8wo]

txs -

[@Benzknees]

If you're clambering over rocks, is there a risk that the string on the Irvis type of crampon will snap & the front portion of the crampon drop off?

[@slayer12]

Possible but unlikely, just keep up on maintenance and they also have a cordage replacement kit you could carry with you if your worried about that happening

[@rancidhotmail]

Hi Dave, do you have a crampon recommendation for a splitboarder thats touring with softboots? Im guessing a set of crampons with a full plastic back as snowboard boots do not have the ridge on the back. but do you have any experience or knowledge about this specifically? any model or brand you would recommend or perhaps there is a crampon made for snowboarding boots? thanks for the reply!

[@DaveSearle]

Petzl sell crampons or at least parts to make a full strap on crampon. It’s common you have to buy a longer bar to be able to fit them. I would suggest something like the irvis with the bar rather than the irvis hybrid.

[@LisetteLowe]

I used to splitboard before skitouring and used my petzl vasak with plastic "cups" both front and back. Easy to buy the back part separately. There does exist a splitboard boot that has a heel weld and stiffer sole, I forgot the name but I believe Xavier de le Rue uses it.

[@georgesheffield1580]

Spikes point down into ice , not into calves . Attach correctly and firmly.

[@therealmorganfreeman2875]

Will the petzl dart be a good all arounder/do it all crampon?

[@DaveSearle]

Kind of, if your planning on doing more hard mixed then yes otherwise I would recommend something like the Sarken.

[@user-rn1rm7lb9e]

Buckles on the inside.. if you do it right they wont be in the way.. once set up they stay set up

[@DaveSearle]

Tried that and I prefer to keep them on the outside and keep the buckles done up.

[@danieldominiak647]

Nice cat

[@DaveSearle]

Thanks!

[@holstblock.web3]

Couldn't I sharpen the wornout teeth with a file?

[@DaveSearle]

Yeah of course. Just make sure you have enough length left.

[@crephcrafterlp4899]

Hey Dave, just FYI, if you’re assessing different crampon brands while at the same time being sponsored by one brand, it makes your assessment irrelevant.

[@DaveSearle]

I’m not sponsored by petzl, I asked them for some crampons and they gave me a couple of pairs. I’ve used several different brands over the years and settled with with petzl. I’ve been very open and honest about my relationship with petzl. You are welcome to judge the relevancy of my assessment for your own needs of course.

[@crephcrafterlp4899]

@@DaveSearle Alright, thank you for the explanation and the reply!

[@testboga5991]

Well, he's not saying they are better than anything else. I also have Petzl, because I know they're reliable.