Ice Crampons?

Anyone know of a good pair out there?

I'm looking at these Black Diamond Contact Strap Crampons with Antibott Device they run about 125 but I'm just wondering if I should go with a little better model so they'll last me longer.

Thanks!!

Are you planning on ice climbing or just walking on ice?

Gene,

I won't be buying an ice axe this season so it will just be for walking on ice but I do plan on using them for ice climbling too eventually. I've got -40 degree rated boots so I'm just trying to get one piece at a time for the long run. No 4 season tent yet either$$$.

Light weight is a big concern too.

Ice climbing and snow walking crampons are quite different in design though they can both work either way. A technical ice climbing crampon would be less comfortable for walking than a mountaineering crampon. This is a mountaineering type crampon. If you need a crampon to walk on the snow, you need a mountaineering ice axe to arrest your fall should you slip. Be safe and get these two things together.

If your boots are designed for a step in crampon binding, you might find that to be more convenient. These crampons are designed to be used with any sort of boot.

The darned mountaineering gear will drive you to the poor house as fast as camera gear.

Mel-

Gene,

I won't be buying an ice axe this season so it will just be for walking on ice but I do plan on using them for ice climbling too eventually. I've got -40 degree rated boots so I'm just trying to get one piece at a time for the long run. No 4 season tent yet either$$$.

Light weight is a big concern too.

Thanks Mel, are these at least a good pair that will last me a while?

Chouinard was the crampon of choice back in the day - I still have my pair of semi-rigid. Black Diamond, Petzl and Grivel make decent crampons. If I were doing it again today, I would probably get the Grivel G14 - its a versatile design, gives you a monopoint option, stainless steel toe bail, secondary teeth on the front points, and it offers anti-bots to prevent snow from balling up when walking on mixed terrain. Their semi-rigid design seems fairly adaptable to walking. But I have been out of the mountaineering gear market since my 20s (something to do with fear of heights) so you might want to get some advice by posting the question on a climbing forum.

I own the Black Diamond crampons in your pic. They're pretty nice. The metal bridge piece that follows the arch from the heel to the toe can be locked or unlocked. Locked is for rigidity for climbing sessions, and unlocked is for standard glacier hiking where you want some flex for comfort. Depending on what kind of pants you will be wearing with crampons - you might want to consider investing in some gaitors. They will help keep your pant legs snug against your legs, otherwise they can flap around and get caught by your crampons and really tear into them or trip you up. If you are going to be doing some glacier hiking (with more flat terrain), you may also want to consider a pair of trekking poles for stability.