Crampon Bindings

I'm looking for a crampon binding system that will work well with this boot. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

pretty much all systems will work,

universal strap,

semi auto,

full auto.

depends on what you need, other footwear you may use them with, terrain you're going to climb etc.

what would be the best binding style for vertical ice? I would assume automatic

For vertical ice, you'll probably want fully automatic crampons with vertical front points. If you anticipate any kind of double duty with lower-angle ice, snow, glaciers, etc, horizontal front points are friendlier.

The BD Sabretooth would probably be a fine option for a relatively versatile first crampon.

You might also find the intro material here helpful:
mountainproject.com/v/ice-c…

Thanks Derek!

With due respect to Derek and his inherent badassedness, I'ma say that considering vertical front points as a first crampon is a terrible idea, especially in North Carolina where Barrett is.

I spent a bunch of years on Sabretooths and several years on Grivel G20s. There's plenty of folks more experienced than I who would agree that horizontal front points are great and even excel for vertical ice. Will Gadd rants on it.

With vertical points, especially monos, it's pretty important to keep your heels down on ice to keep the front points from shearing out. That is opposite of how most folks learn to rock climb while staying on their toes with heels lifted. With horizontal points, it's not as important. Horizontal points are in my opinion more stable, especially over a vertical mono point. A person new to ice but experienced in rock might transition better to ice if they start with a crampon that climbs similarly to what they know on rock.

Mono vertical points shine when the ice is rock hard or when there is front pointing on rock involved and want more precision. On rock hard ice, a monopoint can be slightly easier to drive into the ice securely.

I love my G20s and think they climb vertical ice better than the Sabretooth. But I think they suck for low angle stuff. I find myself stomping a bit more deliberately on low angle stuff so I don't roller skate off. That takes effort. And I do a shitton of low angle stuff in NC.

Binding preference is also debatable. Full auto/cramp-o-matic/leverlock-fil/pro bindings are pretty standard in the US for vertical ice climbing. But the newer hybrid systems with a basket front and lever rear are much better than the old systems, allow more versatility with more boot choices, and allow the use of boots without front welts. Boots without front welts tend to climb rock a little better than boots with welts. The hybrid systems are much more popular in Europe than here. Though both Petzl and Grivel now have a piece to convert a front wire bail to a basket.

Having said all that, I am super fascinated with the new offset horizontal crampons from BD and Grivel: the Snaggletooth and the G12 DAHU. What few reviews I can find of the Snaggletooth rave about it, and I'll probably buy a pair. Supposedly comes with the rock and hard ice benefits of a vertical mono as well as the stability and low angle 4x4 traction of a regular horizontal crampon. We'll see.

I suppose my previous post wasn't strong enough on the versatility part; that is, I recommended the Sabretooths and I probably should have better clarified that unless vertical ice in the only plan, a horizontal front point will do better in nearly every other case. As a general use crampon, the horizontal is the way to go, for all the reasons Brian stated.

As for binding, I think it largely depends on the anticipated boot kit. As the selection of boots grows, so too, will the selection of crampons (I have 3 or 4 pairs of crampons "in service" at the moment and as many pairs of boots). It really does depend on the boot. For mountaineering boots, often you can choose to use a bale ("automatic") toe piece or "strap" toe piece. However, one will likely do better than the other depending on the boot. For some boots, you might really need one in particular. For example, ski boots pretty much demand fully automatic crampons for any kind of technical terrain. For the boots you posted you could use either.

For example, the old Sportiva Trango Extremes (aka the "silver bullets") have a toe rocker to make walking easier. This toe rocker makes it very difficult to get a good fit with a strap front, making a bale the only real option. However, the venerable Sportiva Nepal works well either way. For the new Trango Ice Cubes, they are very light and intended for hard mixed/very steep ice, meaning the boot-crampon connection will need to be very secure, which usually demands a bale instead of a strap.

Really, I guess I should have considered NC terrain a bit more. If you'll be staying largely in the south, then a lightweight boot and a strap front are fine. If you'll be heading up to New England, you'll want a warmer boot and likely a fully automatic binding for the steeper ice. The connection is just more secure.

However, terrain will dictate whether horizontal or vertical front points make more sense. For a trip up Mount Washington, horizontal front points and a strap-on front would work well. For a trip up Repentance, vertical front points and a bail front would be better.

In the Tetons, Rockies, Wasatch, and even some of the Cascades (where I currently climb), the summer alpine terrain more closely resembles the Southeast winter terrain. Consequently, I have a separate boot and crampon kit for winter and summer. Summer boots are light, little insulation, softer rubber, less stiff, climb rock better, and are only compatible with a strap-on front crampon (with horizontal front points). For winter, I have a couple different weight boots, use the strap-on crampons for mellower terrain (snow climbing, low-angle ice) and use fully automatic vertical front points for steep terrain; I typically leave the crampons on for rock.

As far as mono- vs. dual, to me it's more a matter of the amount of rock encountered (unless the ice is very thin/candled). Monos are definitely easier to use on rock/mixed terrain, but have their strengths and weaknesses on ice. For vertical pure ice routes, I think you could go either way. For vertical ice and rock routes, I go with monos. For low-angle routes, dual is more common.

@Brian: Regarding the Snaggletooths, I haven't gotten to use them yet but I have played with a pair. I will probably be getting a pair soon for an upcoming Cascades trip. If I do, I'd be happy to let you know how they work out.

Thanks for the replies, about a week ago I went and picked up some petzl Lynx crampons because the price was right (~100 newish). Hopefully the ice will come back in one more time this season here in NC! It seems like I should have gone with some horizontal points but Ill see if I can make do with these. Thanks again for the replies.

You'll be fine. Lynx gets great reviews, and that's a great price. Good luck!

Derek, I hope you are having a blast out west! (I think we climbed at Northside of LG a while back)
Bryan, If you're ever in the Boone area and need a partner, feel free to hit me up.

I need partners ALL THE TIME. I work almost exclusively at night on Fri, Sat, and Sundays, and I try to climb Tues, Wed, Thursdays. At least one of those days every week I don't have a partner and wind up going soloing or bouldering. Missed my pad last week at Rumbling Bald and gimped for a day, and that might've been different if I'd had someone to climb with (and was more careful placing my pads).

I live in Celo, and there's everything from long as hell WI2 to remote WI5 here. It's maybe now gone for the year, but I'm happy to show you around my area next year.

I prefer climbing in the high country to the Cashiers/Brevard domes.

@Barrett: I am indeed having a blast out west. Thanks! And I agree, the Lynx will serve you well. The interchangeable front attachment makes the strap/bale argument moot. Hope y'all get some more ice out there. Looking like our season is pretty much done in Utah, too.