Ice climbing crampons are a major purchase to make, and there’s not a lot of info available online about them. I put together the following guide to tell you everything you need to know.
So, what are the best ice climbing crampons? The best crampons for ice climbing are:
- Best overall: Black Diamond Cyborg
- Runner Up: The Grivel Rambo
- Runner Up: The Petzl Dart
- Best for Mountaineering: The Petzl Lynx
- Best for Beginners: The Grivel-G14 Cramp-O-Matic
When selecting the best ice climbing factors, I looked at a variety of things including the versatility of the crampon, its weight, the stability it provided, and its durability. Throughout all of those tests, the Black Diamond Cyborg came out on top, although it faced some stiff competition from Grivel and Petzl. Aside from those three, there are some specific recommendations for beginners and those who want to use their crampons for more general uses.
The Winners
So, without further ado, let’s dive into the best ice climbing crampons.
Top Choice: The Black Diamond Cyborg
The Cyborg is a classic of the industry that’s been around for a while and continues to prove, time and time again, why Black Diamond is one of the best gear manufacturers out there. While maybe not the crampons you want if you’re pushing the limit on a futuristic WI-6, these tried-and-true workhorses will be the perfect companion for most ice climbers out there.
Runner Ups: The Grivel Rambo and the Petzl Dart
The Grivel Rambo is an ice-climbing specific crampon that’s designed with a stiff sole and an adjustable mono-point. It performs exceptionally well on vertical and mixed routes, but a few key design flaws kept it out of first place.
The Petzl Dart is a lightweight, high-performance ice climbing crampon that came extremely close to nabbing the top spot on this list. With its adjustable front point(s), modular design, and Leverlock binding system, this is a good pair of crampons for any ice climber.
Best for General Mountaineering: the Petzl Lynx
Some people want to range away from the waterfalls, and not everyone can afford to indulge in two pairs of crampons. The Petzl Lynx are a more generalist option that perform exceptionally well on ice while still being flexible and tough enough for long mountaineering missions.
Best for Beginners: the Grivel G-14
The burly, semi-rigid crampons combine an affordable price point with a beginner-friendly design that allow you to learn your way around ice without needing to shell out a bunch of money. They won’t be the most technical piece out there, but for someone who wants a starter pair, these are a great option.
Ice Climbing Crampons
Before diving into the review, let’s talk a little bit about ice climbing crampons in general. Crampons are the devices that attach to your feet that let you kick into the ice and gain traction.
There are a lot of different crampons out there, from trail spikes (like yak-tracks) to high-performance mountaineering crampons to ultra-lightweight mixed-climbing footwear (sometimes called fruit boots). Because of this, picking which crampon you want to wear ice climbing can be a difficult process.
There are two main questions you’ll need to contend with when you’re looking for a pair of crampons:
Ice Climbing vs Mountaineering Crampons
One of the narrowest distinctions to make is the line between ice climbing crampons and more general mountaineering ones. Some crampons, like the Grivel Airtech, are designed for snow and glaciers instead of vertical ice climbing. While they attach to your boot and allow you to gain good traction on slippery terrain, they don’t have the sharp front points that you need to kick into ice. This makes them incompatible with vertical ice climbing.
Some mountaineering routes, however, will have sections with vertical ice, and so gear manufacturers have started to create mountaineering crampons that feature stiff front-points. These can be used for vertical ice, and they’ll perform pretty well. However, these are still meant to be more generalist devices.
Finally, there are ice-climbing specific crampons, that are built to get you up a waterfall with as much stability and confidence as possible. These often have fewer points and are more specifically designed for the task at hand.
You can ice climb in either ice-specific crampons, or mountaineering crampons that have stiff front points. Most of the time, however, you’ll find that the dedicated pieces of equipment tend to work better.
Mono or Dual Point Crampons
The sun rises and falls, the years pass by, and the debate still rages: do you want mono or dual point crampons to go ice climbing in?
I’m being a little overdramatic (as per usual). There are actually some pretty generally accepted truths surrounding mono and dual points in the ice climbing community, and the decision really comes down to personal preference. With that in mind, let’s look at the difference between the two of them.
In general, dual points are going to be better overall. They offer more stability, and it’s easier to find a good foothold when you have twice as many spikes reaching into the ice. They also distribute your weight better, which is safer if you’re on thin ice.
For dry tooling or uber-technical ice where you need to be exact with your foot placements, however, mono points reign supreme. The single point allows you to be far more specific with where you place your foot. Additionally, I’ve found that mono points work better for extreme cold days or on featureless ice, where you really need to kick to fain a foothold.
I personally prefer dual points, whereas I have a friend who only climbs in mono’s because he likes the benefits they provide for his footwork. I would recommend experimenting with both setups and deciding what’s best for you.
Now that we know a little bit more about ice climbing crampons, let’s jump into the review.
The Best Ice Climbing Crampons: Black Diamond Cyborg
Quick Summary: Adjustable front points, a timeless design, and a good price tag make these all-arounders the number one pick on this list.
Price: $240
Pros:
- Quality performance for their price
- Modular front-point design has three modes (dual point, mono point, mono-point offset)
- Crampons are solid enough without feeling overweight
Cons:
- Not the most technical piece of gear
- Heavier than other models
When writing this list, I had to ask myself what I was trying to do when defining ‘best’. Obviously, my first instinct was to go out and find the most expensive, flashiest crampon out there and define it as the best.
That approach seemed a little disingenuous to the people reading this list, however. We’re not all Will Gadd setting new routes at Helmcken Falls; we don’t necessarily need the most cutting-edge gear.
So, instead, I tried to ask myself a different question: what would the best crampons be for your average ice climber?
The answer to that question is the Black Diamond Cyborg.
The reason I love these crampons so much is because they perform well in almost every category, and they don’t have any obvious defects. They’re a true jack-of-all trades. Throughout the course of their life, every ice climber is going to strap on a pair of Cyborgs at some point, because they’re just too good to ignore.
So, what makes these crampons stand out from the crowd? They’re good for steeps mixed and ice routes, with an adjustable front toe that lets you climb single, mono, or in an offset setting. This allows you to tailor them to your personal preference, the route you’re on, or the conditions you’re climbing in.
The Cyborg’s strike the perfect balance between burly and delicate. A 1.13 kilograms I don’t think anyone would call them lightweight, but for waterfall ice climbing they’re not excessively heavy. Additionally, those extra pounds can help with the Cyborgs, allowing you to kick into ice more solidly and gain better traction. It also helps with their durability.
The Cyborg’s are a classically designed crampon, with an adjustable middle and a semi-flexible design. They’re easy to operate and they don’t over-rely on any moving parts, which is always a good thing when you’re dealing with snow.
Finally, the Cyborg’s are made almost entirely out of stainless still, which makes them both low-maintenance and bomber. These crampons will last you for years if you treat them properly.
Now, obviously, I know that the Cyborg’s aren’t perfect. Like I said, they’re heavier than a lot of crampons out there. They’re not the most technical piece of gear, either, and if you’re pushing the limit on a WI-6, you might want to opt for something better.
However, for most ice climbers, the Cyborgs are going to be exactly what you need and at a price point you can afford. You owe it to yourself to at least give them a shot and see how they perform.
Runner Ups
The Black Diamond Cyborgs were my personal top pick, but there are a lot of other crampons out there on the market. These next two pairs came oh-so-close to taking the top spot, and they would make an excellent choice for any ice climber.
Grivel Rambo’s
Quick Summary: These rigid crampons are designed specifically for ice climbing, and it shows in their performance.
Price: $270
Where to Buy: https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5011-700/Rambo-4-Crampons
Pros:
- Stiff sole helps with balance and places less strain on your calves
- The rigid front point is easily replaceable and doesn’t require and specialized gear
- Durable design will last you several seasons
Cons:
- Difficult and awkward to walk in
- Some people have raised complaints about the flexible Antibot that’s used to give them their stiff design.
The Grivel Rambo’s are about as specialized as you can get. These things are designed with only one purpose in mind: they’re meant to get you up steep walls of ice with as much safety and stability as possible.
These crampons differ from their competitors in the way that the sole is designed. While other crampons, such as the Cyborg’s, have a flexible middle part that allows for them to be adjusted and to pack small, the Rambo’s are made out of firm plastic and chromoly steel. This adds weight, but it makes your foot placements a lot more solid when you’re actually climbing.
Kicking into ice with the Rambo’s is somewhat akin to strapping on a pair of climbing shoes after you’re been trying to send something in runners. All of a sudden, your feet just stick. They stay in place without you really needing to think about it, and it’s a great feeling.
The Rambo’s are maybe the best crampon on this list for when you actually find yourself on the ice. They have a couple of design flaws, however, that kept them out of first place.
First and foremost: the still design of the sole makes walking in these more difficult. That means they can’t be used as easily for mountaineering missions; even strapping them on for the approach will make you waddle a bit. It’s not a huge point, but their lack of versatility still counts as a drawback.
Secondly, there have been some reports about the plastic Antibot breaking. This antibot is the yellow plastic-y stuff in the middle that Grivel included to help the crampons add support. While it contributes to how comfortable these feel on vertical rock, some have said that it’s liable to crack if you step on it wrong.
The Grivel Rambo’s are a high-quality crampon overall, though, and for people who care less about comfort and more about how good you feel on the ice, these are still a solid option.
Petzl Dart
Quick Summary: On the opposite end of the spectrum from the Rambo’s, these lightweight crampons are designed for technical ice, mixed, and dry routes
Price: $300
Pros:
- Adjustable front points vary in length and setup
- Ice-specific design transfers your weight forwards, helping with your kicks
- Lightweight design saves you energy
Cons:
- Pricier than other models
- Some climbers have trouble getting them to fit with their boots
- Expensive to replace the front points
The DARTS are one of the best crampons out there, and they very well could have been first place on this list. When Petzl combined three of their designs (the Dart, Darwin, and Lynx) into one crampon, some people were skeptical of the result.
That skepticism faded, however, as soon as people strapped on the DART and got their feet on some ice. These lightweight, high performance crampons work exceptionally well in a variety of environments.
The secret lies in the three-tiered frontpoint system that Petzl designed. There’s the toe spikes, which you use for kicking and are standard across all crampons. What Petzel then went and did, however, was put a secondary pair of spikes closely behind them, so that they also bite into the ice when you kick. Furthermore, there’s a tertiary row of spikes that sit even farther back, giving you additional purchase on ledges or when back-stepping.
This method of moving the crampon points towards the front gives the DARTs a level of stability and control that’s almost unrivaled. It also means that you can mono point without needing to sacrifice stability, because the additional spikes help you sit more comfortably on the ice.
While they perform exceptionally well while climbing, the DARTs have a couple of off-wall drawbacks that need to be mentioned. First of all is the price; they’re 25% more expensive than the Cyborg’s are, which isn’t insignificant.
More than that, however, is the maintenance cost. Replacing one of your front points can cost up to $100, which is an insane amount to pay. To put that another way: you might have to pay 1/3rd the price of the crampon if one of your points breaks.
Added to that, there have been some reports that the DARTs don’t fit every boot type, which can be disappointing if you have your heart set on them only to find out they’re not compatible with your current gear.
Despite those two minor flaws, the DARTs are a high-quality piece of gear that would serve most ice climbers well.
Best for All-Around Mountaineering: The Petzl Lynx
Quick Summary: One of the inspirations for the DART, these 14-point crampons can handle both steep ice and snow gullies.
Price: $330
Pros:
- Versatile took for a variety of winter-related activities
- Same Petzl system on the front points allows for dual, mono, and offset formations
- Interchangeable bindings allow them to be worn without toe welts
Cons:
- Expensive
- Will perform less well on pure ice routes
- Questionable versatility
For those who want one piece of gear to do it all, the Petzl Lynx is a crampon that can handle steep ice routes, but also works for trudging up glaciers and battling narrow ridges. With a 14-point design and a flexible midsole, these crampons are good for someone who wants a little bit more mobility.
If you’re in the sport solely for the ice climbing, these crampons might not give you the same degree of control that any of the above three will, but for more people they’ll still perform perfectly well. The modular front point system allows you to tailor them to your personal preference, and the two secondary points should add a degree of stability.
Where the Lynx will shine, however, is when you take them mountaineering, or even on ice climbing objectives that have long and somewhat technical approaches. The additional points, and the way they’re placed around the base, gives excellent traction on any surface. They way 1kg, so they’re not adding a crazy amount to your boot, and they’re flexible enough to not bother you as you walk.
Best Crampons for Beginners: Grivel G-14 New-Matic
Quick Summary: A solid all-around crampon that will provide good stability at a more affordable price point.
Price: $250
Pros:
- Affordable price point is good for beginners
- Semi-rigid design allows for greater stability on ice
Cons:
- Less technical performance than other crampons on this list
The first time I ever went ice climbing, my guide company handed me a pair of Grivel G-14’s. With their low price point, horizontal frame, and solid dual-point design, the G-14’s are a good starting point for anyone who want to get into the sport.
These crampons are an all-around workhorse. They won’t blow you away with their performance, but they’ll do more than enough to get you up a route. They’re not insanely light weight, but they don’t feel bulky to wear, and the extra heft can actually feel a little comforting to beginners.
What sets the G-14’s apart from other beginner crampons, however, is their versatility. These will serve you well for a variety of mountaineering activities. That means that if you’re someone who’s just getting into the sport, the G-14’ss will give you good purchase on ice while still serving you in other scenarios, saving you from having to buy two pairs of crampons.
