Kahtoola KTS Aluminum Crampons

"The KTS Alum crampons are of great quality, nice design and light wieght. They are not hardcore crampons for mountaineering / climbing, (nor were they designed to be) but are nothing short of excellent in snow pack & icey hiking or trail running routes. I have used them on strenuos hikes through snow and ice. They work very well while rock scrambling up treachorous icey and snowey rocky spots here in the north east. So far, they have worked flawlessly. I highly recommend them for thier intended purpose."

"My review might be a little biased as the Kahtoola KTS Steel is the only crampon Ive ever seriously used. However, I really dont see the need to use any other for anything but the most technical climbs. If for some reason you might think these crampons are not quite beefy enough for hardcore use, just consider that Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa set the former speed ascent (10 hours 56 minutes and 46 seconds) of Mt. Everest using a pair of Kahtoola KTS.I purchased my pair of Kahtoola KTS steel crampons before climbing Gannett Peak, WY. This was my first glacier climb, and admittedly was rather naive and made many silly mistakes. One mistake I didnt make was choosing the KTS. The first thing that appealed to me was that these had been called racing crampons. I didnt want to spend 500 dollars on crampons and mountaineering boots, and the Idea of crampons strapping onto practically any piece of footwear was very appealing. Add to that they were the least expensive crampon I could find at the time. :-)I will fully admit using my Brooks Adrenalin road runners was a weeeee bit of a mistake on Gannett, but the crampons worked exactly how I would expect them too. Since Gannett, I have used my Kahtoola KTS on Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Shasta. On the latter three peaks I upgraded my footwear a bit; using the Asolo Fugitive GTX on Hood and the Raichle (Now Mammut) Mt. Trail XT GTX on Rainer and Shasta. On all peaks the KTS performed beautifully.The advantages should be fairly apparent. The leaf spring allows you to wear flexible footwear. This means lighter more comfortable travel. In my opinion the ability to move quickly and agilely, more than compensates for perceived shortcomings that the Kahtoola might have against a C2/C3 set up.As with any product the Kahtoola KTS is not perfect. Adjusting the crampons with mittens is next to impossible. The Leaf spring can get bent. I took a hard fall on Gannett (not the crampons fault, I was being dumb) flew over the bergschrund and the first thing to hit the side of the mountain were my Kahtoola KTS. I tweaked the leaf spring a bit. Once I got back home I adjusted them a little and havent had any problems since. After a awhile the rubber bands that hold the excess strap in place can become brittle and break. Im not sure where my next glaciated climb is going to be, but my Kahtoola KTS are going to be right there with me."

"I recently purchased a pair of Kahtoola aluminum crampons. Once i adjusted them to my boots they were awesome. Very lite compared to the steel ones I had been using the last two seasons. Very easy to deploy and take off. Very good traction with not a lot of snow and ice build up. No worries about rusting either because of the aluminum. The straps work great with zero chance of loosening up. Overall very excited about purchase. I hike twice a week so well see how they hold up."

"I would avoid buying this pair as your heel has no left/right support even when adjusted properly. It is an adjustment nightmare. As soon as your heel falls out the entire crampon falls off. I would fine a good pair that has bars to keep your heel in place. The BLACK DIAMOND Contact with ABS Crampons would seem to be a much better choice (note the bars on the heel) They are also stainless steel which means you dont have to dry them off every time to prevent rust."

"Took these with me for a week long tour of the southwest in january, lots of snow and ice, these took everything in stride. They even held their own on the slickrock, my only problem with these is they are not the easiest to get on and off which caused problems in mixed media, I got the steel KTS I dont know how the aluminum ones hold up but these are rock solid"

"Tried them on a late spring hike up Mt Quandry, Colorado. They worked perfectly on the snow and snow/scree mix! I wore a pair of light hiking boots...didnt have any issues chaffing/rubbing and they stayed snug the entire day (I didnt have to re-tighten them). They exceeded my expectations!"

"A good set up for the weekend warrior. Light weight and compact. Great for hikes on snow and ice. all purpose set up."