crampon patches on packs

[skyclimb]

Never really figured out how to fasten hinged crampons to the patch. Don't have bag for crampons, and have gotten very sick of packing them gently into the pack all the time. Any help would be much appreciated.

[Fence_Sitter]

that depends on the bag...whattya got?

[skyclimb]

gregory crux.

[Bronco]

If it's the pack pictured below, you're probably best off using an old bleach bottle or diswasher detergent bottle and storing the crampons inside bottle in the pack. It doesen't look like any good lash points are on the pack to me.

 

If you are real determined, you can sew a couple of fastex buckles on 2 nylon straps on a strategericlly located spot on the rear of the pack and lash the 'pons there.

 

[mattp]

I've done a lot of mountain climbing and I have never owned a pack that had a crampon patch, and never used any special crampon straps, and have never damaged a pack with my crampons or lost them. I've never used spike protectors, either, except when packing the crampons inside a duffel for airplane travel or a Yak train or something.

 

It looks as if the pack pictured may not be set up to carry things on the outide, so the bleach bottle would work or you could wrap them in a small square of canvas or get a crampon bag an put them inside the pack. Even if they are pretty well-protected by one of these methods you may not want to pack them next to your super-light down sweater, but when bushwacking I often carry my crampons inside the pack and if I am carefull about how I do so they do no damage.

 

Personally, I just face the crampons together, trying to pair the front points as best I can so that they tend to block each other, wrap one of the straps around them to keep them together and, if there is enough strap left, I lash them on the outside of the pack wherever I can with one of the ankle straps (it is a good idea to be sure a loop of it somehow goes through the frame of the crampon that it is not directly attached to). Then I clip an extra carabiner or use a piece of cord to make the whole thing hang straigt and tight, and to serve as a backup in case the strap comes undone.

[skyclimb]

The pack that is posted is not the pack i have. My version is about 6-7 years old. However your responses do answer my questions.

Firstly the idea of a bleach bottle or something of the like is great. Secondly i have realized that with my old hinged crampons it would be far to wobbly to attach them to the outside. So i will continue to pack them carefully inside. Also a cloth is a good idea, but i hate to take any extra weight. Although it is not much it hurts me mentally.

The nice thing about hinged is when not in use they fold on themselves, so the points when matched up closely aren't to big a threat. Scary with that life saving down sitting right under them though!!

[Dru]

make cutoffs out of some old jeans

put crampons inside cutoff leg

fasten one end with a rubber band off of broccoli

 

pay me $10 royalty fee for this great idea.

[skyclimb]

Bronco said:

If it's the pack pictured below, you're probably best off using an old bleach bottle or diswasher detergent bottle and storing the crampons inside bottle in the pack. It doesen't look like any good lash points are on the pack to me.

 

If you are real determined, you can sew a couple of fastex buckles on 2 nylon straps on a strategericlly located spot on the rear of the pack and lash the 'pons there.

 

If its the pack posted above i best shoot myself in the fucking head before i go, or just don't take crampons at all cause with a pack like that i am bound to eat shit anyways.

[allthumbs]

true dat. pack sucks donkey dicks

[skyclimb]

Dru said:

make cutoffs out of some old jeans

put crampons inside cutoff leg

fasten one end with a rubber band off of broccoli

 

pay me $10 royalty fee for this great idea.

Damn, innovation,innovation,innovation.

[mattp]

Dru's idea is not new.

 

By the way, I do not do anything differently with hinged or rigid crampons as far as how I pack them in or on my pack. Your question implies you think it would be more difficult to pack the hinged crampons, but they are actually easier to deal with because they have less "agressive" front points and they also usually have longer straps. Since I always make sure they are tied on two different ways if they are on the outside of my pack, flopping is not a problem.

[allthumbs]

now this is a damned serious topic

let's not be treating the pointy issue lightly

[Dru]

mattp said:

Dru's idea is not new.

 

 

BUT I was the first to patent it, so there

[allthumbs]

Dru said:

mattp said:

Dru's idea is not new.

 

 

BUT I was the first to patent it, so there

canadians are always trying to take the credit

[rbw1966]

Go to your local mountaineering store (or some other venue that sells it) and buy yourself some stretchy cord like small diameter bungy cord and feed it through the slots on the crampon patch, add one of those depression-clips and voila, you have an adjustable attachment point for your crampons on the outside of your pack. Beware of bushwacking with this in place lest you get snagged by a tree and that bungy bites into the back of your head.

 

Or buy a pack with a crampon pouch. I'll take the extra ounce for the convenience it provides.

[Ade]

Home Depot ("for all your climbin' needs") sells shock cord.

[Eastsider]

I usually wrap the crampons up, points together, the straps around them, and then wrap my sit pad (closed cell foam) around them. This all gets strapped to my pack; I haven't had a problem with this system yet.

[Dru]

except its bulky, and gets stuck on stuff, and you have to take off your foam pad to get your crampons....

[Ursa_Eagle]

Dru said:

BUT I was the first to patent it, so there

 

but it's a canadian patent... we laugh at canadian patents!

[Eastsider]

Dru said:

except its bulky, and gets stuck on stuff, and you have to take off your foam pad to get your crampons....

 

Not really bulky as it is only one wrap around (sit pad is about 1 foot square), in fact it fits perfectly into the crampon straps on the back of a Chernobyl pack, and since it's on the back of the pack, it rarely gets in the way. But you're right, it is a real hassle to pad from around the crampons...

[cluck]

A guy I climbed with once used a foam block slightly larger than his crampons and pushed his crampon points into the block facing each other. He ended up with all his crampon points buried into the foam block and the whole thing was only slightly larger than the crampons themselves.

 

Me, I'm a gear junkie so I bought an OR crampon bag. Works great inside a pack and had several attachment loops for strapping to the outside...

[skyclimb]

I found the solution. I picked up a Kelty Alpine for 65$ at cost-co. Took it to a local outdoor taloring place, and am having them sow crampon patch, shoc cord, and self attaching velcro on for crampons and tools. They are charging me 40 dollars for this. So for 105 dollars i am getting a customized pack, that suits all the problems i had before. The hardest part was resigning myself to eating chili,beans and noodles for another month and a half to pay for it.

[Rodchester]

My pack has a crampon pocket. The crampons just slide in. It absolutely

 

Quick and easy. Like my women....