Getting gear

I'm looking for strap-on crampons that would fit a rigid boot (but doesn't have toe or heel welts). I can go to BentGate or REI, but figured I'd ask here first.

Anyone out there that can help?

in general, look for a universal type binding and that should work for you.

depending on how technical you are getting determines what you should be looking for. For general hiking, here is a pair that would work with almost any boot:

sierratradingpost.com/s~mag…

I wasn't clear in my initial post. I want to do vertical ice climbing. Nothing too extreme or crazy, but I'm hoping my semi-rigid boots with some strap-ons will work. Some sites are saying it'll work (BD Sabertooth crampons) but others are saying no way.

If I need specific boots, I couldn't share with my wife (unless she too got boots).......right?

If you wanna climb vertical ice, you should use gear for vertical ice. While it's not impossible to climb in the gear you're suggesting, you will hate it.

Then the question evolves to toe AND heel welts or just heel? Which might be easier to get gear for others if they're joining me?

Toe and heel, and not sabertooths. Horizontally wide and flat front points are for snow and low angle ice. Yeah, they'll kinda work but they suck. Something like a cyborg or Rambo for vertical.

K, hopefully just a few more questions....I GREATLY appreciate the help and definitely don't want the experience to suck.

Someone told me that ski boots would work because they have the "welts" that clip into the bindings? Would those work? If not, I guess on MP is the best place for boots? It just concerns me because I wouldn't be able to try them on.

So, you're suggesting these: bentgate.com/black-diamond-…

over these?

bentgate.com/black-diamond-…

The majority of ice climbing boots have a toe welt, and crampons with the toe welt bar are more stable, so yeah I guess I would vote for those. Ski boots? I know crampons fit on my AT boots, but doesn't mean I would ever want to climb in them. You ever think of hiring a guide for a day?

You might want to check out the petzl lynx ( rei.com/product/830893/petz… ). They let you switch between a toe bail and basket so they work well with boots with and without a toe welt. They do require a heal welt though.

Great, thanks for the info, you've been a lot of help.

In your first post you said you have rigid boots. If you do, a classic crampon would work fine. There are a lot of places that rent crampons (classic is the full strap version of a crampon) rent a 12 point crampon and try them out they will work fine, examples of these are BD saber tooths and grivel G12. Both of those work great for steep ice. If I only had one crampon for both vertical ice and alpine stuff I would pick a good 12 point crampon with aggressive secondary points over a steep ice only crampon with vertical front points. Try renting and see if your boots will work. The strap on ones are not going to be as convenient as a step in (rear lever and front metal toe bail) or newmatic (rear lever front strap) but a classic crampon put on right will work fine for steep ice. It's more about the rigidity of the boot crampon combo then the crampon or boot by themselves. Lots of people climb in AT ski boots. They work but a dedicated mountaineering/ice boot will work better.
Try with what you have and or try renting to see if you like it. Then you can decide if you like it. If you do then you can start spending the money to acquire the gear. Boots, crampons, and tools can easily set you back a grand. Easily. Hope that helps.

Sunny-D thanks so much! Yes, very, very helpful insight. I'm a broke teacher, new to Colorado, but dying to get on some ice. I don't have $1000 to drop, so I'm trying to find an effective but cost-conscious way to get out there.

I'm hitting Bentgate today I think, so I'll try some crampons with the boots I have and see what I think. I may rent this weekend because obviously trying to climb will be a better test than putting them on the store and wiggling them.

If I figure out I need a different crampon, I'm hoping MP can deliver someone who has a pair of boots and crampons for something I can afford.

Thanks again!

David
I understand the broke Teacher comment. My dad was a teacher for 40 years. So I grew up in a teachers home. Ice can be really expensive to get into so finding deals and using what you have makes a lot of sense. There are a lot of classic crampons out there that are really good steep ice crampons. Up until the foot fang came out horizontal front points were all there was and most of those were strap on (classics). I would look at the Grivel G 12 or Dahu mono point G12, Camp/Cassin C12, Petzl Vasik, Petzl Sarken, BD Sabertooth or Snaggletooth, and BD Neve. All of those crampons are really aggressive horizontal front point crampons that work well on steep ice. My personal favorite crampons are Grivel. The Grivel metallurgy is awesome. A set of G12 will get you up a lot of water ice and mountains.
I would recommend if you are taking your wife or others to have crampons for each person. Tools you can share, crampons need be on each persons feet so they are not slipping and falling trying to move around.
Dallen

Thanks so much, Sunny-D! If I can get crampons that attach to boots, it's much more likely that I can get a spare pair for my wife or some friends, it's just the boots (or brand new crampons) that cost a pretty penny!

Also, I just noticed you're from SLC! Too bad we didn't meet up when I lived over there. I only got on ice once down near Provo (near Bridal Veil falls) but we were "kicked out" by a ranger because they were setting off some high risk avalanche areas.