instep crampons

“Anybody had any luck with instep crampons? I bought them for my trip up to Leconte in the smokies in two weeks. Just curious to see how they work.

P.S. Tell me what you think of my logo at Imahiker.com”

“I have the 'ice walkers' and luv them.

like 4 cleats.. and a big fat rubber band?

not quite the same.. but works well for the places i hike.”

“They are ok but if there is alot if snow to me it would be more fun to use a snowshoe with a instep crampon.

I love mine......:)

Crazy Mike”

“towndawg,

That's the same thing I got I just thought that was what they were called.”

“naw.. there are some small crampons.. that are bigger than ice walkers.. I luv mine... cheap.. and really help.

the 'yanks' will laugh at me.. cos they are not CRAMPONS, but I don't do enough of that kind of hiking to justify spending the money for some black diamonds.”

“Come now. If you just have the intention to wear them then it's justified. Half the excuses for not trying new things is because you don't have the equipment. Why don't you have it? because you can't justify buying it because you never do that type of thing. It's a vicious circle, be brave and break it.”

“i've got the rubber band thing with metal studs that sit under and around the ball of my feet. They work great on ice. Just make sure they set in the ice before taking a step. I've been a little quick with them and taken a spill before. I haven't hiked with them at all, but used them for walking around after ice storms and on skating rinks.”

“You mean this thread isn't about something women use for cramps?

Oh.”

“lol at ya. Been thinkin on getting cramps, errrrr I mean crapons, TD are the slip ons worth the money? Has anyone slipped out of them and died sliding down the Ice falls that we get here in the south?”

“I been lookin to get me those instep Stubai Internationals, like 10 points, aluminum, with a plastic upper intead of metal. Anyone here have those??”

“stikmon: I like them so much, I own two.”

“I've got ice walkers and yaktrax. After those I go to snowshoes. I've yet to need full blown crampons although I'm sure the day will come. The yaktraxs slip off a lot, and just as I was coming up with ideas to keep them on my boots, I lost one. I feel a trip to EMS coming on...and a spring hike to search for the lost yak...”

“MSilver???????

Some unusual women in that family....

So these ice crampons are for like....when you are crossing a slick, frozen sheet of ice over a raging creek, and there isn't anyone on the other side to hold their hiking stick out for you to grab?”

“I guess they'd keep you from having to change your trail handle to 'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!'.”

“Yeah, it would be a bummer to have to change my trail stationery again.”

“LOL! I think there are some who still don't know who you are. They'd never catch up to that.”

“Yeah, they would think I was a NJ torll.

I was hiking this past Sat. with RichB and MSilver and we had to cross a zillion frozen or not so frozen creeks. I was pretty intimidated, but MSilver held his hiking stick out for me to grab on one really slippery section.

I was amazed at how well RichB knows the Pocono area. Without a map, he named about 7 streams that we crossed, and we didn't get lost during eight miles. We couldn't find a spot we were looking for, but we still had some great hiking. But some footgear for ice would be nice to have.”

“Yeah, I've been looking at them and wondering how much I'd use them. Probably a lot, but even one time would be worth it if they kept me from breaking my bum!”

“I can loan you one of my pairs sometimes, skully.. so you can see how you like them.. even mail them up if you want.”

“Splash, et al:

Crampons may be useful not only for iced-over streams (actually I've never used 'em for such whimpie purposes ;-)) and for icy inclines & declines, but are excellent for trails that have a compacted/hardened/crusty snowpack, alllowing for much better traction.

Pre-menopausal women may also find them useful as well -- at any time during the winter months.

Yeah, Rich B - the Mapmeister! ...Forgets the map! He'll not live this one down with me for awhile!”

“There's all types of icewalking critters on the market these days... I like those Stabil-icers. They're like a second sole you strap on like a sandle and have machine head screws for traction.

I think they may be a bit heavier than some, but they Do Not Slip and the 'cleats' are right where you need them -- at the heels and balls of your feet.”

“Hey!!!!



Did he just call me a wimp?

En Garde!!

You know, MSilver, you can't really bust on RichB about the map, since you and I were also hiking sans map, n'est pas?”

“Have you ever done the lost mine trail up in the Gap? one of my favorites and the long walk to sunfish pond from the np visitor center is a great hike.”

“M. Silver: Someone in the next cube at my brother's work overheard him talking with me on the phone about "getting some crampons" and later asked him what crampons were. My brother told the evesdropper they were devices that keep men from getting stomach pains while sexually aroused.”

“There goes ogregon, descending into the pit of TT. Fits right in now, doesn't he?

Stikmon, we were trying to get a dayhike set up to do a hike to Sunfish Pond with several of the PA hikers here on TT. Depends on the snow levels, for me, since I don't have snowshoes or gaiters yet. Going to hike some flatter places while there is a lot of snow on the ground, to try out some borrowed snowshoes.”

“Hee hee hee. Denial can be so amusing.”

“Stikmon, It was a long time ago since I've hiked out near the Water Gap and I don't know that area well at all. I'm know the areas west of the foothills of the Poconos better since I go up there often to mountain bike and hike.”

“Splashy, Stikmon, et al,

Several years ago, I hiked up and down Copper Mine Trail at the Gap. As I recall, it wasn't too steep and perhaps might be nice for a snowshoe hike, given enough snow. Lemme know if/when you all go, as I might be interested in joining. Is there a thread here for it?”

“Not yet, MSilver, Fritz, Pennsy and I were yakking here about a dayhike, but had not picked a day. I have to visit my folks this weekend but when I get back I'll try to start some threads for dayhikes and maybe an easy overnight winter backpack for those of us (me) who are new at it.”

“What do you guys think of these?

They look pretty good to me.

http://www.ula-equipment.com/axis.htm”

“They look like they would hurt Mr. Dorkist.”

“Dang! I bet CrashBang could burn them up real good in the fire! LOL!”

“I know they cost more but check these out. They flex with your foot (leaf spring), fit over any type of shoe and just generally rock. Birch and I each got a pair for Xmas this year. We're really really really happy ith them.....
http://www.kahtoola.com/kts_aluminum.html”

“i looked at the ula crampons but i don't think they would work well with boots. these don't look like instep crampons to me... look at the pic... the crampon fits like a bridge over the medial arch of the shoe... that seems awkward. the weight is great but 55 bucks for an experiment doesn't seem like a good value to me right now.”

“Prolly work ok especially on bulletproof trails where snowshoes are overkill. they are a little pricey though.”

“The Kahtoola's look nice but I need 2 sets... and that would be a lotta moola!

I'm looking for some to use for the Grand Canyon trip.”

“Instep crampons work on level terrain. Uphill they suck because there is nothing at the toe. You can get lightweight full crampons and you will be much happier. I got the stubai lightweight alumninum ones mentioned above. Used them once so far and they worked fine. I asked around about Yaktrax and people that tried them seemed mostly happy with them.”

“Yeah, that's exactly why we bought ours Adventurist (and why they were Xmas gifts).

Some of the Yaktrax folks reviewed that they get clogged with ice pretty badly. I just read that on the internet though, never tried them myself.
last edited: 2/10/07 8:43:08 AM”

“I just got these. Seem like they are going to do pretty good. I did consider the Stubi lightweights but I'm a heavy weight and thought the Al construction may no support me. So I went with the heavier steel. If I were lighter I would have went with the lightweights.

http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_detail_square.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442591388&emssrcid=GoogleBase”

“they should work they have points on the bottom.”

“These work well but I have only used them once.

http://www.climbhigh5.com/Apparel/Winter_Traction/CMI_Instep_Crampons/cmi_instep_crampons.html

I think the point to instep crampons is that they are for when you need a little extra traction but don't need a full set of crampons.

i can't see getting a lot more out of a full set of crampons if all i was doing was hiking, even uphill.

weight = 11.6 oz (less if you trip straps)

The CAMP Stalker Crampon posted earlier? weight = 2 lbs 6 oz (22 oz... almost 2x as heavy).

don't get me wrong, the CAMP crampons are probably fine crampons. it's just that i think they are overkill for something as non-technical as hiking up a hill.

still, it's best to feel comfortable with what you pack in so to each their own...”

“i decided these were a waste for hiking but i loved using them on my running shoes for winter runs. i felt MUCH more confident on snow and ice covered sidewalks. imho not for the trail but for around town the are pretty neat.”

“ungh! can't convert lbs to oz for some reason.

The CMI crampons are 11.6 oz (I have weighed mine).

The CAMP crampons are 2 lbs 6 oz which is 38 oz... over 3x the weight of the CMI instep crampons.

i converted from lbs to oz wrong... silly me.”

“more stable than 4 point. Don't need 10's for down here (unless your ice climbing)”

“Do crampons help at all in mud? I know they're mainly for ice and snow. An outfitter by me has instep crampons on clearance for $10. I don't do much, if any, hiking in snow/ice so I'll probably only get them if they help with mud.”

“I wouldn't bother getting them. I can't see crampons doing much good in mud unless it's frozen mud.”

“Ummm, I'm thinking that it would depend on the consistancy of the mud but it would most likely ball up around the crampon. It would be great exercise from all the added weight to your feet. Plus, it would be a cool sounding walk. Squish, slop, flop, squish, slop, flop.”

“No. Buy them for ice or sale on ebay.”

“Hey Sass, what were the ones you and Joe got”

“Kahtoolas. They aren't instep though. They are full, although stepped down a bit (don't have two inch spikes), and can be worn over any type of shoe. Wanna link?”