How to choose your crampons

07 July 2008 16:48

Crampons are devices that fit to your boots, allowing you to tackle snow slopes in confidence and safety. But crampons aren’t just spikey – they’re surrounded by prickly-looking jargon. Don’t panic!

1 Fit
The most important thing is that your crampons fit your boots, so take your boots with you when shopping for crampons, and try them together. There’s a convenient grading system to help match boots to crampons, so find out whether your boots are B1, B2 or B3 (any shop assistant should be able to tell you) and buy crampons C1, C2 or C3 to match, where 1 is the softest and 3 is the stiffest. A stiff B3 boot will take all crampons, but a B1 boot will only take C1 crampons. If you just plan on winter walking, B1 boots and C1 crampons are fine. Also bear in mind that crampons may outlast your boots, so look for ones that are highly adjustable.

2 Number of points
Walking crampons usually have 10 spikes whereas climbing crampons can have 12 or 14. If you think you may progress to walking up steeper inclines or climbing, the extra spikes are worth considering now. However, if you intend to stick to winter walking on level ground then fewer spikes will help keep down cost and weight.

3 Sharpness of points
Some crampons come with extremely sharp spikes which simply mean shredded gaiters and more potentially lethal stumbles – it’s much easier to catch them on your inside leg. Sharp points get blunt pretty quickly anyway, so initial sharpness is not important.

4 Length of points
Compare a few models and you’ll notice that some spikes are longer than others. Longer points give more security on soft snow, but mean you will trip over more easily and be less stable on mixed, rocky ground. Shorter spikes are better for first time users on most UK terrain.

5 Anti-balling plates
Many crampons now come with anti-balling plates already attached, but if yours don’t then consider buying a pair as they stop mounds of snow building up beneath the points, making them ineffective. Although not essential, they save you the hassle of having to bang your boots every few steps to dislodge the snow.

6 Binding
Some binding systems much more convenient than others and they come in two types – step in and strap on. Step in crampons are much quicker to fit but require stiffer boots and are usually rated C2 and C3, whereas strap on crampons, although a little more fiddly, fit a wider variety of boots. To see how easy your crampons are to fit, put on a thick pair of gloves before attaching them to your boots – you will get a good idea of how fiddly they are going to be on the hill. Or, if you’re feeling particularly brazen, put on a down and Gore-Tex jacket and do up the hood as tightly as possible. After all, when you have to put them on in anger it’ll probably be blowing a blizzard and you’ll be togged up to the eyeballs.

7 Instructions
It’s amazing how many crampons still don’t come with instructions, so check to see if your pair does. If not, ask the shop staff for detailed fitting advice, particularly if you have small boots as you may need to cut off some of the adjuster bar with a hacksaw. Bear in mind that if you only fit them a few times a year it can be easy to forget how, so instructions are particularly useful.