Reviews > Snow Gear > Crampons > Kahtoola Steel KTS > Jim Sabiston > Long Term Report

Long Term Report Kahtoola KTS  Steel Traction System

Date: April 18, 2006

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A Brief Description of the Kahtoola KTS Steel:

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. For additional field experience, please see my Field 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. After the Field Report was issued, only one more snow event came to our area. I managed to get out to Harriman State Park once more to do a long traverse of the park in what would prove to be the last snow and ice of a sparse season. Our goal was to spend the night on the summit of the Timp, a large, exposed rock promontory overlooking the Hudson River. To get there, we had to climb and traverse a long rocky ridge. This would prove to be the ideal place to check the performance of the KTS Steels on mixed rocky terrain.

The soft snow was not very deep so there was no need to where the Kahtoolas until we reached the first pitch: The Cat's Elbow. The ridge faces south and it quickly became clear that much of the south facing ice was rotten, breaking away in chunks as I tried to set the crampons. The climb up the pitch with a 30 lb (13.6 kg) backpack proved somewhat tricky as I tried to find solid ice patches to anchor the crampons, but I eventually found good ice on most of the route. The KTS Steels did well, with no slippage. They were especially good in the mixed ice and snow patches when I could find them. It was necessary to climb several sections of exposed rock when the ice proved to rotten to trust. This can be a problem when wearing regular crampons, as the long points can make for unstable footing on open rock. The short points of the KTS Steels proved very good here, as I could cross the open rock comparatively easily.  

Once on top of the ridge, I kept the Kahtoolas on, knowing that we would be descending on the other side, which was not far off. As before, the short points of the KTS Steels allowed for a comfortable, natural gait and I was ready to go when we reached the ridge we were to descend. The initial descent was down a fairly smooth, but sharply angled rock slab with patchy snow and ice. By sticking to the icy areas, I was able to descend this section with ease, thanks to the good grip of the Kahtoolas. The next section was made up of broken rock slabs and was very rugged. The ice and snow conditions were similar to the ascent of the Cat's Elbow and it was here that I found the limits of the Kahtoola binding system.

The broken rock required a good deal of scrambling and twisting and turning while maneuvering around and through the rocks. As we descended, I saw less and less ice and more open rock. Right near the end of the ridge, I noticed that the KTS Steel on my left boot had torqued off center, so that my heel was no longer in the center of the plate. The crampon was not loose and was in no apparent danger of coming off at the moment. I quickly released the strap, straightened the fit and reset the binding. A short distance later, the right crampon did the same thing. Both had shifted to the left side of the boot. I suspect that this was due to the strong, repeated torquing action applied to the crampons (the steep descent was pitched to the right as we contoured the ridge to the left) combined with my own weight and that of my backpack - a total weight of about 240 lbs (109 kg). Another factor would be my soft boots. My winter boots have a fairly stiff sole, but the uppers are soft leather. This combination is comfortable, but not ideal for working crampons in a semi-technical application. The Kahtoolas never slipped, even when they had shifted. Oddly enough, the extremely broken terrain tended to hide the fact that the crampons had shifted on the boots. I did not realize it had happened until I was visually checking foot placement on a particularly tricky spot each time.

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 – The Kahtoola KTS Steels are really good all around crampons for non-technical applications. There are limits however, as I learned on that Harriman ridge. It is very important that the straps be properly secured and tightened! This becomes increasingly important as the terrain becomes more challenging.

The Kahtoola KTS Steel crampons have exceeded my expectations on almost every point. They are easy to put on and remove, easy to pack and easy to use. The only balling occurred when walking in water soaked snow, and that was minimal. 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.

Wear and tear continues to be negligible.Although they have seen limited mileage due to the mild winter, they have seen a lot of rock exposure. 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 given the crampons. The points themselves have held up quite well otherwise, showing only a little dulling.

True 'front pointing' is not the Kahtoolas forte, but this is a limitation of the footwear that I've used as much as the KTS Steels themselves. Soft boots just do not provide the requisite support needed in this regard. The front points have proven useful when scrambling up a steep icy pitch, however, in those cases where the surface is too steep for the bottom points to bite, I find that sticking in the front points is usually all I need to make it up these awkward sections. I will not be using them to climb any vertical ice walls, though!

All-in-all, an excellent product and one that will see much regular use in my winter kit.

Reviews > Snow Gear > Crampons > Kahtoola Steel KTS > Jim Sabiston > Long Term Report