Crampons redux

A while back we were discussing the advantage and disadvantage of setting the crampons to the flex or rigid position. Most people held that if you are wearing regular hiking boots (non-plastic) you should set the crampons to the flex position to alleviate any stress on the metal sizing bar. I have done this but I find that the crampons do not “fold-up” for carrying very well since the sizing bar can no longer slide all the way to the end. Before I reset them to the rigid position, can anyone give me an actually example of where someone’s crampons in the rigid position broke due to the stress on the sizing bar?

I answered on the 'other' board.

here

Thanks Carole. I thanked you on the other board.

Here

MadRiver,
I recall talking to two different people last year who also broke their crampons, set in rigid mode, while using a flexible boot.
John

Thanks Johnnycakes. Three examples are more than enough to convince me.

MadRiver,

You can have it both ways with the Grivel 10s. Grivel offers a flexible sizing bar (they call it a regulation bar). Instead of the usual rigid piece of steel, it consists of two strips of thinner, flexible stainless steel, possibly the same material used to fashion the size adjustment clip. Even set in the non-flex mode, the toe and heel sections easily bend beyond ninety degrees while retaining the easy ‘fold-up for storage’ capability you mentioned. Email me if you would like a scan of the data sheet for the flex bar (the picture says it all).

To continue the thread, however, I would be interested to know precisely where crampons have broken in the past. Is it the bar or the brackets that hold the bar?

The bar broke at the at the 'T' section going through the front half of the crampon.