IRVIS Crampons Flexlock

Most mountaineering crampons do one thing well. The Irvis does most things well. The 10-point configuration and tine orientation give you solid balance and grip across the range of terrain you actually encounter on a route like the DC, from softer glacier snow to rockier sections on the cleaver, without the aggressive front points that make walking technical and tiring. They hold up to steel-on-rock abuse across more seasons than most guides can count, and they come from the factory almost uncomfortably sharp. The feature that sets the whole Petzl crampon line apart is the interchangeable parts system. Bindings move between crampon models, so one bail system works across your entire quiver, and in the field that modularity has saved clients who showed up with the wrong attachment for their boots. One guide tip: buy a second Petzl crampon with a different binding setup and you have four usable combinations from two crampons. Honest limitation: these are not the tool for steep technical ice like the Kautz or the North Ridge of Baker. For everything short of that, they are hard to beat.