[pct-l] Crampons for trail runners

[Ned Tibbits]

Even though Matt has used, without injury, these Black Diamond "Contact" 
crampons on his trips of the PCT and CDT, the front points would be very 
dangerous for the inexperienced.

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/climb/crampons/contact-crampon

Jon: Kahtoola makes some great, durable, and safety-reliable products, but 
they are use-specific, so be careful in your selection.

Their Microspikes we tested out thoroughly on a video trip from Cottonwood 
Pass on up and over Forester and out Kearsarge in May of 2010 when there was 
still 8 to 12 feet of snow underfoot. (Keep in mind that the depth of snow 
doesn't matter in spring-consolidated conditions for snow-hiking, only the 
surface hardness, for the most part). The problem we experienced was that 
the rubber band that holds the chains onto your shoe simply failed, rolling 
off the shoes to the sides, on hard-surfaced, steep side-slopes and 
traverses. Upon talking to Kahtoola after the trip, they pointed out that 
the Microspikes were designed for flat and level use, say around town, maybe 
a little straight up and down, and not for sloped traverses like we have 
throughout the mountains. Although Microspikes are light and affordable, we 
do not consider them safe for general mountain over-snow travel. 
http://www.kahtoola.com/microspikes.php

Kahtoola's KTS and new K10  http://www.kahtoola.com/hiking_crampons.php  are 
well designed for all the abuse we could throw at them from Cottonwood, 
Forester, Glen, Pinchot, Mather, Bishop, and Muir Passes. Although we only 
had the KTS aluminum and steel versions at the time, the K10 looks good for 
thru hikers, too.

Scott: Good advice, buddy!

Hope this helps all of you our there in your Planning & Preparation stages.

Do not skimp on safety-related items. I know the good stuff costs more, but 
when you're out there on a steep, icy side-slope and looking at the rocks 
below, you'll want something you can rely on! (Of course, you can chose to 
go through the snowy sections later in the year, but you'll find that it 
doesn't take much snow thickness to create a dangerously slippery condition, 
so be prepared!)



Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education
www.mountaineducation.org
-----Original Message----- 
From: Matt Signore
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 2:14 AM
To: belcherjd at juno.com
Cc: pct-l
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Crampons for trail runners

I would suggest the Black Diamond Contact.  I have used these on both the
PCT and CDT with trail runners.  They are much better suited to what you
will need versus any ice spike style traction device.




On Wed, Jan 9, 2013 at 1:31 AM, belcherjd at juno.com 
<belcherjd at juno.com>wrote:

> Ned
> You said a while back that you do not recommend Katoolas for our purpose
> in that they can twist at just the wrong time.
> Are there any crampons for trail runners instead of Katoolas?
>
> 'til later
> Jon (Gandalf - PCT class of 2013)
> Marysville WA
>
> Follow my pct hike on You Tube:
> http://www.youtube.com/GandalfPCT2013
> Mexico to Canada
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-- 
Matt Signore
worldwidesadventures.com
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