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lumineferusother
Nov 16, 2005, 5:16 AM
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What are yalls opinions on Trango Harpoons? What's the advantages/disadvantages between dual and mono-point technical crampons?
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jimdavis
Nov 16, 2005, 5:48 AM
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I have them, and have only climbed on them setup as offset mono's. I think the only real advantage to dual points is reducing the pressure on soft ice. Other than that, I think mono's are the way to go for technical ice.
You can slot old pick placements on the way up, kinda stab at them with a mono and you get a pretty good placement. They make mixed stuff easier; it's a lot easier to match feet with mono's, you also have less sticking out up front, so say you want to use a small ledge with one of your dual points...your limited because that second point can interfere with that placement. It's easier to kick in, less metal to push into the ice. You can get a good foot on convex or small concave features that two points wouldn't engage well on. You can turn your foot a little more with mono's while on a placement, with dual points you'd torque the points and stress the ice.
I think the harpoons are a pretty good crampon. I replaced mine because I wanted hooking points (and a heel spur.) The Harpoons don't have any points or edges pointing rearward, so pulling on stuff is pretty much out.
I'll still use mine for straight up easy ice routes, but I like my Darts more for pillars and mixed stuff. Being able to wrap your foot around a pillar and rest some off a heel hook is really nice.
But, for a straight forward technical ice crampon, they're probably isn't a better crampon for the money. One of these days I've gotta order the dual point kit for them, then I'll use these crampons on those really soft ice days, or when I'm teaching and walking around more than climbing.
I have size 14 plastic boots, and these are one of few models that fit my boots. Other crampons I've used are FootFangs, G-14's, Darts, and G-12's.
Cheers,
Jim
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tradklime
Nov 16, 2005, 9:18 PM
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Just buy the Grivel G-14's and be done with it.
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jimdavis
Nov 16, 2005, 10:13 PM
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In reply to: Just buy the Grivel G-14's and be done with it.
Why? Their only real advantage is a horizontal frame rather than a vertical one. And how much more are you paying for that?
Not saying the g-14 is a bad crampon, but I don't think it's nescessarilly the best vertical crampon out there, by any means.
Cheers,
Jim
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tradklime
Nov 16, 2005, 10:53 PM
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In reply to: Not saying the G-14 is a bad crampon, but I don't think it's nescessarily the best vertical crampon out there, by any means.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "vertical crampon" but i will say that I think the G-14 is the best all around crampon on the market. By that I don't think it is only OK at a bunch of things, I think it does extremely well in all mediums.
Why I think it is better than the harpoon is that it has a lower profile, less bulky, asymetrical, semi rigid, packs better, better front points, and is easily adjustable.
Why I think it is better than most other crampons is versatility and the front points. You may find a crampon that is slightly better in a certain circumstance, but you will not find a crampon that performs better across the board. Further, for some reason, I find that the grivel front points stick better in ice than any other crampon I've tried.
That is why I say buy the G-14 and be done with it. You can buy one set of crampons and be happy in all occasions. The possible next contender would be the BD sabertooth, but I prefer the "T" shaped front points and having the option of mono or dual.
I've tried crampons with spurs, funky serrations, and back facing tertiary points and I haven't found them to be that necessary. I certainly haven't found that going without has hindered me at my mediocre climbing level of WI5/ M7. That said, those who actually climb hard may feel different.
The one possible improvement I would make is having more aggressive tertiary points. But again, I don't think not having them is a hinderance, and having them may possibly be more of a liability considering the possibility of snagging them and less performance while walking and in snow.
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