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

Initial Report Kahtoola KTS  Steel Traction System

Date: December 15, 2005

Reviewer Information:

Backpacking Background:

Product Information:

MSRP:          

Initial Impressions:

The Kahtoola Traction System KTS arrived in a small, well made box with the Kahtoola logo printed on the outside. Upon opening the box, I found the Kahtoolas neatly packed inside. Also enclosed was a small, dark red sack with a drawstring top, a small Kahtoola decal, a marketing brochure and an information sheet containing fitting and maintenance instructions. The marketing brochure echoed the information found on the Kahtoola web site. The nylon sack is made of very heavy-duty nylon and has a black webbing belt loop on one side and the Kahtoola logo sewn on the other.

I had two quick, clear impressions when I slid the devices out of the sack. 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 first thing that became apparent when the Kahtoola was fully opened was the unique strap system. Unlike the crampons that I have used in the past, which use various ways to integrate the heel and toe straps into a single binding, Kahtoola has designed the heel and toe bindings to be completely independent of each other. The heel strap is a simple loop which wraps around the ankle portion of the footwear. The toe strap, on the other hand, is a more complex arrangement. Consisting of two straps anchored via webbing loops and metal buckles to two aluminum loops just above the front points, the straps then pass through a tough plastic plate in an 'X ' pattern and then each passes through another loop, a stainless steel 'D' ring in this case, attached to the front plate by thin stainless steel straps, and finally meeting in a plastic, adjustable slider. The front slider does not open or release.

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.

The Kahtoolas are shaped, by a slight angle in the front plate slider bar openings, to fit either the right or the left foot and are labeled accordingly, by a small stamped 'L' or 'R' on each front plate, but the angle is large enough to make the fitment obvious. The size is determined by the LeafSpring Extender Bar position. The Kahtoola web site denotes the KTS Steel as one size only, but included a smaller extender bar with the KTS Steels I received.

A couple of nice additional details: on the straps are four black silicon rubber retainers, intended to hold excess strap material in place after the crampons are fitted and adjusted, and a small plastic clip on the rear strap intended to prevent it from riding up over the top of low boots or trail runners.

Overall quality and construction appears to be top notch.

Fitting:

I first fitted the Kahtoolas to my Cabelas Winter Gear boots, as I anticipate these will see the most use with them. Fitting was generally simple and straightforward. First, just slide the LeafSpring Extender Bar to the fully open position. Then, opening the locking clip, adjust the bar position so the Kahtoola is just long enough to fit the boot. This need only be done once unless fitting to different footwear. Next, loosen the toe straps and, after checking that the heel plate is fully upright, slide the boot into the front of the device. If the straps are not sufficiently loose, this can take some fussing, especially when getting the metal portion of the straps over the rather pronounced lugs of this particular boot. Once in place, wrap the heel strap around the boot, secure the quick release buckle, which is keyed to fit only one way, making a twisted strap much less likely, and cinch the strap tight. Then give the toe strap a tug and the Kahtoolas are in place! Lastly, take a moment to place any excess straps under the retainers and all is good to go. Once fitted, the process takes about half the time of more traditional crampons. The Cabelas Winter Gear boots are a size 12 US (47 EU) and are insulated, rated to -45 F (-43 C). The boots are slightly bulky due to the size and insulation, but the Kahtoola KTS Steel crampons fit easily, with plenty of remaining strap material.

If I have a complaint, it is that adjusting the toe straps to properly fit my boots was a rather fussy process. This is due somewhat to the plastic plate where the straps cross, as the straps slide through this with some reluctance. Mostly it is due to the three loop and buckle arrangements on the forward straps. These are just a pain to adjust. The provided instructions spend some time on going over the proper adjustment of the toe straps and the positioning of the plastic toe plate in particular. Probably due to familiarity, the fitting of the KTS Steel on these boots went much smoother and faster than my initial experience with the original KTS aluminum model, only taking a few minutes. Fortunately, once done, these do not require any further fiddling unless fitting to different footwear.

The KTS Steel traction devices fit easily into the storage bag. The stuff sack is listed as an option on the Kahtoola web site for $19.00 US. I experimented a bit and found the best way to store them is to completely collapse them and place them point to point, but toe to heel. This stuff sack seems a bit larger than the one supplied last year and sliding the devices in is much easier. Once in, I snug the sack closed and this ensures that the crampons remain fully collapsed. As the points are facing each other and not in contact with the fabric, wear should not be an issue.

What I like:

1 – Excellent quality.
2 – Ease of installation once fitted.

What I don’t like:

1 – No material issues at all.

Testing Plan:

The Kahtoola KTS Traction System will be put to use as much as possible in the Catskills and the Adirondacks. I will concentrate on some known steep routes and look for icy exposures when possible. As spring rolls in, many well-packed trails deteriorate into hard, icy walkways and crampons are essential for safety. Temperatures should drop to -10 F (-23 C) or lower on some of these trips. Elevations top out around 4000-5000 ft (1219-1524 m) or so, and a typical ascent is about 1800 ft (549 m) to 3000 ft (914 m). The trails vary from relatively smooth and flat to quite steep and rocky with occasional pitches that require scrambling. Ice exposure is common and snow almost guaranteed.

I have had occasional problems with snow balling up on the inside of my crampons and snowshoes in the past. Will the short spikes and flexible Extender Bar prevent this from occurring? There is a possibility of us making a traverse of the Presidential Range in the White Mountains in New Hampshire, one of the most difficult mountain routes in the Northeast. I will bring the Kahtoola KTS Steel traction devices along for this traverse, as while difficult, it does not require technical crampon use and the KTS Steel crampons may prove to be just the ticket. The original aluminum version had limits as to what type of icy terrain I would use them on. The Steel version seems designed to pick up where the aluminum version leaves off.

I would like to thank Kahtoola for the opportunity to test this very interesting product.

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