Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro vs. G10's

[Scarpy]

I've been carrying the Hillsound Trail Pro's for a couple years. Used them a few times with no issues. Mostly get by with the Hillsound Trail Crampons (similar to Microspikes). Are the G10's a better choice than the Hillsound Pro's? I had a pair of G10's in my hands the other day but talked myself out of buying them. That is no small miracle for me to actually talk myself out of buying gear. Curious if anyone has tried both & could make a recommendation.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I don't see it as an "either/or" situation - they both have their place, depending upon the depth/quality of the snowpack/ice and the grade. At a certain point, microspikes no longer provide a margin of safety, so it's time to wear something with a longer/sharper tine. This might be the Hillsound Pro, or it might be something like a G10 or BDs Contact Strap. As the grade increases, even these would be insufficient, and you'd switch from an alpine/general mountaineering crampon to a technical crampon, along with the attendant ice screws, ropes, harnesses and other pro.

If the question is - can I get away with microspikes and Hillsounds Pros in the Whites and ADK's for hiking, the answer in most cases would be yes. I have G10s (and 12s) for many years, and sometimes will carry them rather than the Hillsound Pros, especially on certain ice-covered steep trails. Recent reports on Falling Waters and Ammo are of lots of ice in the steep parts, so a G10 would give me more piece of mind. We all have different levels of risk tolerance, so it's difficult to make hard and fast rules about what is appropriate for everyone.

 

[Scarpy]

Thanks Kevin. I hike alone most of the time so my tolerance for risk is very small. Looks like the G10's will be in my pack shortly.

 

[natron]

Scarpy- Be careful of the points on crampons, storing and wearing. If used properly they will become your best friend on slick steeps!

 

[MichaelJ]

I totally agree. In my pack, the Hillsound TCPros are for conditions between Microspikes and full crampons. I like them for stretches of exposed ice with minimal snow cover or hardpack with less of a fall risk. For deeper hardpack snow or steeper conditions they aren't enough spikes and don't penetrate deep enough. However, they do a wonderful job of bridging the conditions allowing me to be safe where the Microspikes wouldn't be, without the extra leg/ankle fatigue from wearing full crampons. Additionally, since those spikes are shorter, when walking on exposed ice (ascending KRT on the tram side last winter was a perfect example) your foot is a lot closer to the ground and there's less instability or risk of tripping.