I picked up a set of Kahtoola KTS steel crampons last month and have been waiting for an opportunity to try them out. Hiked today with a group of friends on a trail that is a woods road up the mountain. The trail consisted of frozen ground, frozen snow, but much of it was a ribbon of hard, water ice. In places the icy woods road resembled an icy streambed and in other locations, washed out and treacherously steep on the way down. My friends negotiated the day's hike with MicroSpikes but in places it was challening for the MSs.
The KTS crampons performed beyond expectations. Sat on a rock at the trail register and slipped on the toe section, pulled up the rear bar in the back, and clicked the Fastex instep buckle. Each was on in about the same time as it took to write the sentence.
The KTSs stayed snugly in place all day, the tips of the 10 points bit into ice, snow, and icy mud equally well. Unlike some crampons, the front points of the KTSs are only slightly pointed foreward. For non technical climbing this is a nice feature as it keeps the front points from tearing gaiters, pants, or worse, catching your pantleg and sending you headfirst down an icy slope. On one steep chute, I took particular care descending, but only because a trip would have resulted in a long, rocky and bumpy ride down the ice, not because the crampons weren't biting in well.
The crampons are light, go on and off quickly and the points long enough to really give a sense of security. And they telescope down into a very small package.
Since were in mid 'winter' ( if this is really a winter ) I'd expect you'll find these on sale soon. I picked them up online for $119 and that included shipping. A great price and I'd expect you'll see pricing like this again before long.
One note, there are steel and aluminum models. The steel weigh a little more and are a little more expensive, but in the rocky terrain where we hike, I believe the steel model is more suited and will perform better over time.
I love MicroSpikes, but this was a perfect day for something a little more.
http://www.kahtoola.com/crampons.php
The KTS crampons performed beyond expectations. Sat on a rock at the trail register and slipped on the toe section, pulled up the rear bar in the back, and clicked the Fastex instep buckle. Each was on in about the same time as it took to write the sentence.
The KTSs stayed snugly in place all day, the tips of the 10 points bit into ice, snow, and icy mud equally well. Unlike some crampons, the front points of the KTSs are only slightly pointed foreward. For non technical climbing this is a nice feature as it keeps the front points from tearing gaiters, pants, or worse, catching your pantleg and sending you headfirst down an icy slope. On one steep chute, I took particular care descending, but only because a trip would have resulted in a long, rocky and bumpy ride down the ice, not because the crampons weren't biting in well.
The crampons are light, go on and off quickly and the points long enough to really give a sense of security. And they telescope down into a very small package.
Since were in mid 'winter' ( if this is really a winter ) I'd expect you'll find these on sale soon. I picked them up online for $119 and that included shipping. A great price and I'd expect you'll see pricing like this again before long.
One note, there are steel and aluminum models. The steel weigh a little more and are a little more expensive, but in the rocky terrain where we hike, I believe the steel model is more suited and will perform better over time.
I love MicroSpikes, but this was a perfect day for something a little more.
http://www.kahtoola.com/crampons.php
