Hillsound Trail Pro

[erugs]

Those Hillsounds sound comparable to my Kahtoola Steel Crampons, which I use for 95% of my winter crampon use. I love my Kahtoolas!

Marty

I thought that's what I wanted, too, but the cost is nearly double. Is the difference in cost worth it? It's probably too late to let Santa know, isn't it.

 

[pedxing]

I ended up getting both Hillsounds for last winter, the crampon (amateur?) and the crampon pro and love them both.

The Crampons seemed to have stronger bite than microspikes - I never owned the micros, but last winter it seemed that people more agile than I were a little less secure moving with the spikes than I was with the crampons.

The pros have been great so far, there has been nothing I've done hiking in the Whites where I have missed my more aggressive crampons. You do need an allen wrench to adjust the length. Thus far I have never had to use it on the trail, as I set the length tightly before heading out - but it is one more piece of auxiliary gear to keep track of..

Phillip, aka earlylite, has a useful review of the trail crampon pro on his blog (which I highly recommend as source of info):

http://sectionhiker.com/hillsound-trail-crampon-pro/

 

[marty]

I thought that's what I wanted, too, but the cost is nearly double. Is the difference in cost worth it? It's probably too late to let Santa know, isn't it.

Ellen, not having used the Hillsounds, I can't compare them against the Kahtoolas. Santa might be stressed if he gets a change order so late in the season, though.

Best regards,
Marty

 

[una_dogger]

I have used my regular G-10s with low cut trailrunners in the past (for tuckerman runs), they work fine.

I use my G10's with soft Merrell insulated boots but find that I get hotspots on my feet from the toe binder and also feel a bit insecure when walking on snowfields that are cambered (slippage of boot downslope).

I'm not looking to replace my G10's - I'm looking for an intermediate between them and micros

As Ellen notes, the Hillsounds are very well priced!

Thanks for that review, Pedxing!

 

[Quietman]

The Trail Pro's are on sale at EMS, online only, today only-12/19 for $63.20

Link

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Thanks for the link. Apparently it's a store-wide sale today (12/19/11) only.

I ordered a pair of them. I think I'll stash the appropriate size Allen wrench in the bag I store my 2 headlamps. Since I always have the headlamps, I'll know where I can find a wrench if "field" adjustments are necessary.

 

[DougPaul]

The Trail Pro's are on sale at EMS, online only, today only-12/19 for $63.20

Link

We should note that the Hillsound Trail Pros come in two sizes http://www.hillsound.com/2products/trail_crampon_pro.php--the EMS website does not specify which size.

I just called a local EMS (Newton, MA) and asked--it appears that EMS only carries the regular size (up to men's 12).

Doug

 

[DaveSunRa]

anyone have feedback on these camp crampon

CAMP Magix Crampons

http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11755949&cp=3677347.11360109.3688336

 

[una_dogger]

Festivus came a day early and I was able to try out my new Hillsound Trail Pro Crampons on the steep and icy Kinsman Ridge Trail to Cannon.

I LOVE these! The ratchet binding system is GENIUS!! The crampons fit easily over my Merrell insulated winter hiking boots, and stayed snug all day with just one or two minor adjustments at the start of the hike.

The trail was a pretty consistent solid ice flow under about 4 -8 inches of unconsolidated powder. The Hillsounds bit into ice easily but because the points are shorter at 2cm than full-on crampons, I never felt as though I was teetering on the points when walking on rock.

The Hillsounds flexed easily with soft boots, and even on a side slope the front and back bindings held snuggly to my boots, giving me a lot of confidence and not creating any pressure points on my feet.

I think with the exception of a few trails (Tuckerman's Ravine, Huntington etc) there isn't ANY trail in the White Mountains that cannot be handled with the Hillsound Trail Pro.

Excellent piece of equipment, I may invest in the less aggressive model to replace my microspikes with for less icy conditions.

MichaelJ wore Grivel Air Tech's today and ADKnBVI wore Katahoola KTS crampons. I think the major plus to the Hillsounds is the binding system which conforms amazingly well to softer boots and stays snug on side slopes and during flexing of the boot.

Thank You Santa!!

 

[JCarter]

Oh look! Christas happens!

Found a pair of the Trail Crampon Pro's under the tree. Only aerated the front yard so far. Might get a chance to try them "for real" tomorrow.

The regular size fits (but just barely) my size 11 1/2 Keen County boots.

The "Alpine Stopper" thingies are a bit of a concern - I hope they aren't necessary, since I can't see handling those in the snow with gloves on and not simply having them disappear forever the first time they get dropped in a drift.

Also, with the 11 1/2 boots, I don't have a whole lot of strap sticking through to stick them on. As far as I can tell, no local retailer stocks the XL, so I can't tell if the larger size would give a better fit.

 

[una_dogger]

Found
The "Alpine Stopper" thingies are a bit of a concern - I hope they aren't necessary, since I can't see handling those in the snow with gloves on and not simply having them disappear forever the first time they get dropped in a drift.

.

I didn't put mine on and doubt that I will. If there's that much snow on the ground I'm going to be wearing snow shoes so I'm not sure I understand what they are for?

 

[DougPaul]

Found a pair of the Trail Crampon Pro's under the tree. Only aerated the front yard so far. Might get a chance to try them "for real" tomorrow.

The regular size fits (but just barely) my size 11 1/2 Keen County boots.

The "Alpine Stopper" thingies are a bit of a concern - I hope they aren't necessary, since I can't see handling those in the snow with gloves on and not simply having them disappear forever the first time they get dropped in a drift.

Also, with the 11 1/2 boots, I don't have a whole lot of strap sticking through to stick them on. As far as I can tell, no local retailer stocks the XL, so I can't tell if the larger size would give a better fit.

I also picked up a pair. They fit my leather 3-season boots well, however I have a similar problem with my winter double boots (which I use with supergaters). The sole fits the crampon body, but the straps are too short. Haven't found a supplier for XLs either. While longer straps on the standard crampon would be ideal, extenders might also do the job if they exist.

I have similar concerns about the alpine stoppers.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

I didn't put mine on and doubt that I will. If there's that much snow on the ground I'm going to be wearing snow shoes so I'm not sure I understand what they are for?

Varying conditions, snow over ice, kicking steps, etc. (Longer points might be necessary for some snow over ice conditions.)

Doug

 

[Quietman]

FYI: The Hillsound Trail Pro Crampons are back on sale at EMS for $64.15 (15%off). Microspikes are currently $47.96. I wish that they carried the Microspike version of the Hillsounds as I'm looking to replace my cheaper knock-off version and have a $50 EMS gift card!

 

[erugs]

My resolve to buy no more gear until my debts are caught up might have to be in repeat mode one more time. Thanks for posting the sale, Quietman.

 

[Chip]

They fit my leather 3-season boots well, however I have a similar problem with my winter double boots (which I use with supergaters). Doug

Bit O'Drift: I have not used Microspikes with my double plastics, only leathers. In my mind doubles = crampons or snowshoes. But that may be just my mind.

 

[DougPaul]

They fit my leather 3-season boots well, however I have a similar problem with my winter double boots (which I use with supergaters).

Bit O'Drift: I have not used Microspikes with my double plastics, only leathers. In my mind doubles = crampons or snowshoes. But that may be just my mind.

The issue is how the rubber [sole] meets the rock and ice. It has nothing to do with the boot upper. IMO, Microspikes/Stabilicers etc can be very useful with a rigid mountaineering boot.

Many moons ago, I was hiking a winter Presi traverse using my leather double boots*. We had many transitions between rock/dirt and crusty/steep snow so we lost a lot of time removing and installing our crampons**. Traction would have been adequate in most of these spots with Microspikes/Stabilicers etc so we would have saved a lot of time had they been available at the time.

* These are rigid technical mountaineering boots so they would be analogous to the double plastics that many use today. (FWIW, they work perfectly well bare, with crampons, or with snowshoes. I have Microspikes for them but have not tried them yet.)

** We started by ascending the Central Couloir on Mt Webster (involved scree, rock, and ice climbing) so they were good ice climbing crampons. They used strap bindings which were very secure but took a long time to install and remove.

Doug

 

[Maddy]

Wore mine today for two hours. Very comfortable to hike in and great traction.

The bottom plate needs to be tightened up really well or it will slide a bit. No balling yet.

 

[erugs]

Above I stated a resolve to buy no more gear. I'm weak and have new Hillsounds (used yesterday and loved them) and new Keen winter boots. Now I don't need anything else!

 

[Maddy]

You did good, Ellen. There are some things in life we just cannot live without!