Crampon and boot advice needed! [A plea]

[EnFuego]

Check out sierratradingpost.com in the climbing section. There are alot of mountaineering boots on sale right now.

What he said.

You can get an excellent pair of light weight moutnaineering, half or 3/4 shank boots at super prices by shopping the net at such places like Sierra Trading Post, Moosejaw, Zappos and others. Most of these lighter weight mountaineering boots are considered "spring" boots, but honestly, (and I speak from owning quite a few boots) the quality is so good nowadays, that they can be used under most conditions anywhere in So Cal.

The first objective is to definately find a nice fitting pair of boots. Then the crampons. If you only had the option of buying one set of 'pons, then the BD contact strapons would be the choice so that you can use them with any boot. I have the contacts, as well as the Sabretoothe's and there is a big different in fit and performance. I would say do all that you can to at least buy the semi-auto crampons.

When your feet stop growing, you will be able to start collecting boots and crampons for every situation.

[zippetydude]

Hey EnFuego: I just got the Sabertooths. You feel like they perform really well? I haven't used them yet, but they look ferocious, so I'm hoping they work great. How do they perform differently?

z

[Kevin]

Cabelas sells an excellent snow boot called the Avalanche. Last time I checked it was $79, and is often on sale - they run a bit large in case you order them. It's great for winter travel using snowshoes, crampons or microspikes. It's not designed for full on mountaineering and steep ice. For that, I'd go with a rigid, insulated boot. Traditionally, plastics have filled that role, but there are leather boots which are also available. They're not quite as warm as plastics, but then, this is Southern California, and you don't need anything that warm. Mountaineering boots are expensive.

The Black Diamond contact strap, mentioned above, is a good choice of crampon, as it will work with a non-rigid boot. My preference is Grivel G-10's or 12's, but they're hard to find at the moment. This Grivel's model is less aggressive than the BD's, and you're less likely to tear up your clothing and body parts with them.