Owner Review by Shandra Hunt

Ice Walker Crampons- Owner Review

Name: Shandra Hunt

Age: 25

Gender: female

Height: 5' 3" (1.6 m)

Weight: 145 lbs (66 kg)

Location: Ben Lomond, California

Email: jns170@yahoo.com

Date: 3/11/04

Biography:

Growing up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I have always been an avid hiker and camper. Only recently however, I have evolved into a backpacker. I started backpacking about two years ago. Since then I have done many trips throughout California and I also spent five days packing in the Grand Canyon which fueled my love for the sport even more. I have many more trips planned, I think I may be addicted, and I am constantly looking for more efficient and lightweight alternatives for the gear that I own.

Ice Walker Crampons - Quick-Clip Cleats

Manufacturer: Covell Enterprises, Ltd.

Year purchased: 2002

URL:n/a

Weight: 4.5 oz. (127.5 g)

Description:

>lightweight in-step crampon

>rust resistant steel

>rot resistant nylon strap with plastic buckle

>tested in: red clay, ice, snow, mule urine, and mud

The Crampons:

The ice walker crampons come in a resealable plastic bag. One of the greatest things about these crampons is that they are very compact. The metal plate of the actual crampon itself measures 2" (5 cm) by 2 1/2" (6.5cm), making it easy to fit in a small pocket. These metal plates each have all four corners bent down one half inch (1.27 cm). The manufacturer makes a claim on the bag these come in that the metal is rust resistant. I have had these crampons for about a year and a half and see only minimal signs of rust. There are straps on each crampon that have two plastic clips for attaching and are about 10" (25.4 cm) long and 3/4" (1.9 cm) wide. The clips are designed to buckle on top of the wearers boot for easy on and off access. These straps can be adjusted on both sides of the buckle. The manufacturer also claims that these straps are "rot - resistant". I can not find any signs of "rot" or even any fraying on the straps of the crampons that I own. These carmpons are designed to fit on the instep (arch) of a boot.

In the Field:

I bought these babies through www.Campmor.com, while on a preparation mission for a backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon. I wanted to be prepared for anything that the largest opening in the desert could throw at me. After looking at several high priced, fancy models, I settled on these. I had decided to go with the most inexpensive ones that I could find because these were possibly only going to be used once. The trek was done in early March. Where I live in California, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, March is beautiful, warm and for the most part sunny. I typically don't hike or backpack much in the snow. Now you may be asking yourself why would I need crampons in the desert? Most people would say that crampons are designed for ice and snow.After doing some research on weather conditions in March at the Grand Canyon, I found that it is usually only the North Rim that has snow in March but, wanting to be prepared I bought these crampons, "just in case". When my group and I arrived at the Grand Canyon, we found that if we had not brought crampons, we would not have been able to pack in. The park had been experiencing record low temperatures for that month. There was several feet of snow and quite a bit of ice on the South Kaibab trail as well as all over the rest of the park.

Hiking into the Grand Canyon can be a daunting prospect during any time of the year. I now had to entrust my safety to these crampons. My expectations weren't very high for something that looked so simple, whimpy and cheap, never was eight dollars so well spent. For the first several miles of my descent there was several feet of snow and patchy ice. The crampons took a little getting used to but I found they had excellent grip power. I had to ensure that with each step the crampons were biting into the ice. The farther I hiked, the easier it became as I got used to packing with spikes on my boots. I hiked into the day, and the snow soon melted, mingling with runoff from all of the mules, and I found myself walking through a slick, yellow mud. This is when I was really glad that I had brought the crampons. I found out that crampons can be a very versatile tool to have, my hike could have been a nightmare but instead was epic. I had to stop every so often to clean the mud out of the crampons but it was worth it. I had to hike through about two miles of thick mud. Normally I am a cautious hiker when I have an additional 30 or 40 lbs. on my back. I found that I could hike much quicker and felt very safe with the additon of these crampons.

Without having the strap really tight, the crampons were a little hard to keep in place, I had to keep adjusting them until I finally figured this out. The straps tend to twist when hiking and the crampon slides around a bit. Once I finally was able to adjust the straps, I found the grip power of these little babies was excellent. How something so simple as a steel square with bent corners and a nylon strap could do such wonders. A member of my pack group even managed to make a knock off pair out of a couple of metal post bases used in construction and some pack strap. While his version was a little on the heavy side, the ones I bought are both light and small enough to fit into your pocket.

Summary:

These crampons would be great for muddy day hikes or trying to navigate an icy parking lot. They also work extremely well in a few feet of snow. I found that in lower elevations where there was not much mud, ice or snow, that some terrains are not suitable for these crampons. As I hiked into an area where the rocks were exposed, I found that the instep of my foot became really sore if I left the crampons on. The crampons became somewhat of a hassle because I had to remove and replace them several times as I went in and out of patches of snow, and mud.

I tried these crampons with tennis shoes to see how they would do. I wore them on the gravel in my yard for awhile and found that I had the same problem that I did over rocky terrain, my instep became sore. I recommend these crampons for use with a sturdy boot or shoe that has a raised instep to accomodate the height of the crampon, unless they are used in the intended situation or on terrain that has some give. The other problem with slippage can be simply fixed with a lot of tightening, but I would again recommend a sturdy shoe or boot. Having the straps really tight on a lightweight shoe tends to be uncomfortable, as I found with my tennis shoes. Regardless, these crampons have become a pack staple.

The Good:

lightweight

excellent mud traction

versatile

easy to use

won't break the bank

The Bad:

hard to keep in place unless tight

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