To mono or not to mono

Got some new crampons that have the option to go from dual points to mono. What are the advantages of both systems for Water Fall Ice and Mixed Climbing? I will probably be doing an equal amount of both this season.

Wade Frank wrote:Got some new crampons that have the option to go from dual points to mono. What are the advantages of both systems for Water Fall Ice and Mixed Climbing? I will probably be doing an equal amount of both this season.

Dual points provide a more stable platform to stand on and hence are less tiring. Mono are more precise allowing you to carefully place them without shearing a lot of ice. If you are a fairly new ice climber I'd go with the dual points. Or if you have the option of both try them both on top-rope and see what works for you.

as soon as i got mine, i swapped into mono mode as i planned on climbing harder ice and heard some close friends input. however if i were to go alpine/long day routes i would probably go dual. mono also sucks if the ice has formed in runnels/chandeleir or whatever hipsters call it...

I have only been doing this ice thing for 6 years now but the last three years I have gotten around 75-85 days each season. From my experince I feel like mono are much easier to climb delicate and precise like a precision machine. I find that if the ice is chandeliered it makes it easier to find a good foot. With monos I find myself placing my foot more than kicking. When I use dual points on delicate ice I feel like I have to work harder to get a good foot due to the two points seem to blow out some of the ice. On solid perfect blue ice dual points are easier on your legs but if you start on monos and stick with them for a while your body will get the endurance it needs. As to mixed there is no question monos make for an easier experince.
Now on big alpine I do use horizontal point dual crampons and they work just fine. Try mono and stick with it for at least 6 pitches and see what you think. If you feel awkward then go back to duals. All the new crampons have such huge secondary points they help hold off that leg burn.

Mono.

Mono without a doubt.

okay so another question then. For those of you who roll Mono style do you center the points or do you kick them to the inside a little bit (closer to the big toe)???

mono

Mono, offset toward big toe. Climb a couple pitches with mono on one crampon and dual on the other. You'll quickly learn the pros and cons of each.

I'm dual; but I am also a badass

(just wanting to see who can spit out their milk out through the nose)

Dual for 16 years.......BUT MONO is a personal opinion......

Dunno if you really can climb differently with them, I've tried, but just prefer dual.....

Something about balancing my body on rock with one point or two.....

Two gives me more of a warm fuzzy that my foot isn't going to launch me......

Will Gadd climbs with dual horizontal points (or so I have heard), but he is a madman. A hard man, but still, a madman. Mono all the way, if you have intentions on climbing mixed, it will make a difference.

For a lot of typical Colorado ice or mixed climbing, monos are very nice. Dual points seem to be nice on stuff that tends to shear out, like big snow fields, neve, big mountain kitty litter stuff. So, if your plans are to get out to the big stuff of the world, not our convenient Colorado stuff, duals may give you broader abilities. If you goal is local stuff to start, you'll probably get loads of use out of monos. I have both. I use my monos 4:1 over duals in Colorado.

Mono. Eaasier, faster, more precise and you're have one new set of points as extras.

When I got mono I felt really weak and lethargic, couldn't eat and lost a ton of weight - Oops we aren't talking about that kinda mono?

I climb in BD sabretooths, I bought one pair of crampons do do everything when I first moved out here and that's what they were. I am a bigger bad ass than Buff though! (seeing who can spray beer thru their nose)

I think above all footwork means more than which kind of crampon you buy, but if you wanna shell out more money - go for it. I think mono is a great setup - if you like scratching up rock or climbing super thin crazy ice - but for standard WI dual works great.

It's kinda a pain to switch back and forth - so pick one and stick with it...And if you get mono - go to the doctor.

Mono Point near big toe

I ended up going with a mono point closer to the big toe and that felt great.

Yer lucky to even have front points! When I was a boy we did it all in 10 points. None of this fancy crack either, all we had was free base....

Duals for 29 years, just tried mono last season. They rock. Less ice damage than duals. But my new boots kinda suck so far.

Concrete example: on a recent bit of ice on a skinny runnel, my buddy with duals had to whack quite a bit. I felt fortunate to be able to place a mono in a pick hole and just glide up. It felt like it knocked off nearly a WI grade for the move.