Reviews > Snow Gear > Crampons > Kahtoola Steel KTS > Jim Sabiston > Field Report

Field Report Kahtoola KTS  Steel Traction System

Date: February 21, 2006

Reviewer Information:

Backpacking Background:

Product Information:

MSRP:          

Initial Impressions:

I had two quick, clear impressions when I slid the devices out of the box. The first was that, like the aluminum KTS model, these things pack really small. The second was that they are very sharp! The KTS Steel model is constructed of gunmetal grey steel, stainless steel and black, heavy-duty polyester webbing. Taking one of the devices in my hand, I attempted to slide the front and rear halves apart, which they did easily and smoothly. The heel support, folded down flat against the heel plate, lifted easily into place and had enough friction that the heel support remained upright on its own.

The steel toe and heel plates have ten rather short spikes compared to more typical crampons, at approximately 1 in (25 mm) in length. Unlike the aluminum version, the spikes come to a true point. The tips are actually flattened very slightly. The plates are connected to each other by a LeafSpring Extender Bar, which is constructed of two thin layers of stainless steel. This innovation appears to allow the Kahtoolas to flex without sacrificing durability and should go a long way to avoiding metal fatigue failure of the bar.

Turning the Kahtoola over revealed a detail that I really like. All the crampons that I have used in the past have used a simple 'nut and bolt' adjustment at the heel plate to permit adjustable fit for different boot sizes or styles. This works well enough, but can be a bit of a nuisance when switching from, say, hiking boots to cross country ski boots in the field and woe to the person that loses a nut or bolt (or more likely, both!) out there. The Kahtoolas provide a cure for this little inconvenience in a very clever fashion. The LeafSpring Extender Bar has a series of seven holes near the heel end. The Bar passes through slots at the front of the heel plate. So far pretty typical, but here is where it gets interesting: instead of the usual 'nut and bolt' assembly, Kahtoola has designed a little stainless steel clip with an attached pin that fits precisely into the holes in the LeafSpring Extender Bar. The clip is designed in such a way that removing it would be extremely difficult, so accidental loss appears to be highly unlikely, yet adjustment remains very simple. Just lift the spring clip and then slide the extender bar to the desired position.

The folding heel plate is constructed of a bent stainless steel rod and a curved plastic plate. The black polyester webbing is threaded through the plastic plate and wraps around the ankle area of the footwear when fitted. All the Kahtoola webbing is black. The heel plate webbing also has the Kahtoola name woven into the strap in red.

Overall quality and construction appears to be top notch. For more a more detailed description of the KTS Steel traction devices, please refer to my Initial Report.

This has been a rough winter in the Northeast for testing snow and ice gear. Cold conditions, snow and ice have been very difficult to come by. Nontheless, The Kahtoola KTS Steel traction devices received a good workout on two icy backpacks. The first was a long hike over Panther Mountain and Giant Ledge in the Catskills. The terrain was generally covered in ice under a minimum of 12 in (30 cm) of snow, and usually more. The snow, in turn, had been soaked by a heavy rain which turned to ice and froze solid, making for a tricky hiking surface. The rest of the group was in snow shoes, but I grabbed the opportunity and wore the KTS Steel crampons for the entire 9 mile (14.5 km) route.

As long as I was not breaking trail, the Kahtoolas had a clear advantage over the snowshoes, as the sharp steel teeth gave a very secure grip at all times. The snowshoes, while giving superior flotation, just could not bite into the icy layers any where near as well as the Kahtoolas. This was especially apparent in the steeper pitches of the route, where the other members of the group had to contend with slipping and sliding going up the pitches and then again on the descent. The Kahtoolas, on the other hand, just had to be pushed into a solid surface to grip. Once through the snow and into the hard under layers, the KTS Steel crampons never slipped. The single slip occurred on one section where the snow was drifted and deep enough that I had a problem finding anything solid in the drift. I still made it up the pitch much more easily than the snowshoe shod climbers.

The other climbers were not going to let me off without breaking trail forever, though. When I finally took point, the Kahtoolas predictably post-holed. Fortunately, the crusty snow was not too deep and walking was not overly difficult. It was a bit of a toss up as to whether the snowshoes or the crampons were better on the flat or moderately pitched sections. However, once into the steep or really icy stuff, the Kahtoolas were the clear winners. 

The only problem experienced on this trip occurred when taking the Kahtoolas off at the end of the first day. The plastic clips on the ankle straps would not release. Apparently, the constant, day long mashing through the icy snow had compacted ice into the clip and prevented them from releasing. A little banging and prodding finally knocked enough ice free that the clips would finally release. The hike out the next day was essentially a repeat of the hike in, but the trail into Giant Ledge was already broken and packed. The Kahtoolas were perfect for the hike out on a packed trail and descending moderate pitches.

The next backpack was during an extremely windy weekend in Harriman State Park. A powdery, wind driven snow once again covered an icy base. The Kahtoola KTS Steel crampons proved to be just the ticket.  The snow cover was not deep and we traveled with bare boots to the first climb. One look at the wind driven drifts convinced me to put the Kahtoolas on and the others followed suit with their more typical 10-point crampons. I had the KTS Steel crampons on in about half the time that my friends needed to put on their strap-on crampons, once again showing one of the advantages of the unique Kahtoola strap design. I was better than halfway up the snow covered ridge by the time the others were geared up and moving. The terrain was mainly drifted powder snow mixed with ice covered rock. The Kahtoolas proved to be very stable over this awkward mix, never slipping at all. This gave me great confidence when moving over difficult pitches. 

The short, but sharp, spikes of the KTS Steel make them very easy to walk in, much more so than the more common long spike styles. Yet, for non-technical climbing, little, if anything, is given up by way of grip and traction on even moderately pitched ice. The ease of walking in the Kahtoolas makes me much more likely to put them on in marginal conditions and the added security of the improved traction on snow covered trails is excellent. I really like the freedom that the Kahtoolas give me in these conditions to enjoy the scenery rather than worrying about every foot placement as I walk down a snow or ice covered trail.

The crampons fold quite easily into a small package and are much more convenient in this respect than other crampons I've used. Even with that advantage, I find that I am inclined to just strap the crampons on to the outside of my backpack. The stainless steel heel loop is ideal for this. I either use a pack compression strap or a small caribiner to secure the crampons through the heel loop. This keeps them readily available when needed and is easier than digging then out of the pack and/or their optional stuff sack.

Wear and tear have been negligible so far. The black paint on the point tips wore off  pretty quickly and the points show a little bit of rust but this is to be expected, especially with the exposure to ice covered rock surfaces I have exposed the crampons to. The points themselves have held up quite well otherwise, showing only a little dulling of the points. The only problem experienced to date is the one time I walked out of one of the crampons. I suspect this had more to do with me not tightening the toe straps properly than anything inherent in the Kahtoolas per se. The incident highlighted two points: 1) the need to pay attention when tightening the straps. The overall ease of putting the Kahtoolas on led me to let my guard down and I didn't check them properly after they were on. Even still, I covered about half a mile before the toe strap slid off. 2) When the toe strap slid off, the Kahtoola remained attached to my foot because of the separate ankle strap. A more typical strap-on crampon would have fallen completely off and possibly become lost. This is a nice security feature of the Kahtoola strap design. There have been no issues with snow balling up underneath the crampons to date.

What I like:

1 – Excellent quality.
2 – Ease of installation once fitted.
3 - Ease of walking when wearing the Kahtoolas.
4 - Excellent all-around traction on mixed surfaces.

What I don’t like:

1 – My insulated winter boots are much bulkier than my non-insulated boots. No surprise there. But, the added bulk makes sliding the boot toe into the toe straps more difficult. Loosening the toe straps slightly helps ease the process, but then I have to fuss with re-adjusting the toe strap tension. I think rushing this process is what led to the one incident of one of the crampons falling off. There also seems to be a surplus of webbing, especially on the toe straps. I wear size 12 boots. Even with the added bulk of the insulated boots, there is a lot of strap to tuck away when the crampons are secured. We are not allowed to modify gear during a test series, but I will almost certainly trim the webbing straps back several inches after the test series is completed.

Summary:

The Kahtoolas KTS Steel traction devices have proven to be an excellent general purpose crampon for the winter conditions typically seen in the Northeast and offer significantly improved traction over the aluminum version. This has been a mild winter so far, but we are hoping for more typical winter weather in the few remaining weeks of winter so I can give the KTS Steel crampons more of a workout.

Reviews > Snow Gear > Crampons > Kahtoola Steel KTS > Jim Sabiston > Field Report