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sharpie
Feb 4, 2003, 8:26 PM
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Registered: Nov 8, 2002
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I’ve always climbed with dual front points installed on my M-10s, but was thinking of giving the mono-points a go this weekend. Any words of wisdom from anybody who has switched, or climbs with mono-points.
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ontario_guide
Feb 4, 2003, 8:28 PM
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Registered: Nov 29, 2002
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I switch back and forth on my M-10's depending on what kind of ice I am climbing. Mono-points work really well and have a more gymnastic feel. The dual-points are good too in that in some types of ice they tend to hold better. I find I usually just go with the mono-points though.
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pbjosh
Feb 4, 2003, 8:37 PM
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Mono-points are really great. They stick easier in most ice conditions and allow you to draft your tool placements with your feet, which can be a huge efficiency gain. They also allow you plant a foot higher and rock over it because you can turn your foot while it's securely planted. For drytooling, monopoints are also usually a great advantage.
Occaisonally it's advantageous to have dual points - on long low angle climbs on soft ice, although you could draft your tool placements more readily with mono points it might feel more secure with dual points, particularly when soloing.
Probably the most common conditions when dualpoints are an advantage are on really really chandeliered ice, tons and tons of small daggers flying off with every kick or stick. The dual points will clear more ice with each kick and plant more securely, whereas monopoints have a tendency to glance off an individual dagger and slide beside it which isn't very secure.
That having been said I've never switched back to duals. The other advantage is that I have a spare monopoint for my M10's now that I took the 2nd point off
josh
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tradklime
Feb 4, 2003, 8:38 PM
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Registered: Aug 2, 2002
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When I first started ice, I prefered duals for the stability. I now prefer mono's for almost all conditions. Also, mono's are much prefered on mixed routes
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rockhugger
Feb 6, 2003, 5:24 PM
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I've been using mountaineering crampons for a long time now and I finally got to try dual point crampons and I couldn't really tell the difference.I haven't tried the monopoints yet.
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tradklime
Feb 6, 2003, 5:45 PM
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rockhugger,
The duals should'nt but much more stable than your mountainering crampons but they should be "stickier" and penatrate the ice better, and therefor feel more secure.
The benefit for monos really depends on the crampon, for example, the mono point for the old switch blades suck in my opinion. THe grivel monos rule.
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rockhugger
Feb 9, 2003, 8:40 AM
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Registered: Aug 13, 2002
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That's what I figured about the dual points too. I think it would help if the points had been sharp and then they would have felt stickier. Can't wait to try the mono point crampons.
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takeit4granite
Feb 10, 2003, 12:39 AM
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Registered: May 31, 2002
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Mono is the way to go. My bet is in a few years you won't see a single pair of "Technical" crampons (ie for waterfall ice) that have two points.
Only glacier walking non tech crampons will likely have two points.
In my opinion don't waste your time with dual points!!
But opinions are like ass holes... everyone has one and they all stink!!
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rendog
Feb 12, 2003, 12:49 AM
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Registered: Jun 30, 2002
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mono points are the way to go for any thing techinical.
I climbed with dual points for about four years and when I finally made the transition I haven't looked back. In the alpine I would think that it wouldn't really matter. It all depends on how confortable you feel in pushing your own limits.
and like takeit4granite said .... that's just my opinion.
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polarwid
Feb 12, 2003, 8:41 PM
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Registered: Nov 22, 2001
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Mono points are all the rage right now for mixed climbing and extreme technical ice. In the mountains, though, I prefer dual point crampons on technical routes.
Mono points allow your foot to twist on a small hold without a second point to lever it off. Any dual point crampon will not allow a foot to twist in one direction without the other point hitting the wall. If the foot is twisted beyond that the point not on the hold will push against the wall and lever the other point off the hold.
Dual points are easier to learn in and most of the hard pure ice routes were put up with them, so they add, if nothing else, potential to our abilities.
Mono points work really well in brutally cold ice. The point can be placed gently in the placement made by an ice tool. That said dual points can feel more secure with a little kicking.
Dual points are more stable if you like to stand up on your toes a bit (too far and you lever the front points out of the ice) but if you keep your heels low the secondary front points on a mono point crampon have a tripod effect and are quite stable.
Generally, most intermediate climbers will find a dual point crampon more versatile and perform as well as a mono on pure ice. If you are about to delve in the realm of mixed climbing you may want to try a mono point.
If you are starting to climb hard mixed routes see if someone you know will loan you some mono point crampons. Remember to keep your heels down while on the icy part of your mixed route or you will hate them.
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