Chriznitch Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 I think I've narrowed my decision down to these. Anybody have any strong feelings for this design--good or bad? Anybody tried the sidelock with Makalus or Koflachs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 I have two pairs: one in sidelock and one in spirlock. The sidelock will work on your koflachs (but check the height of the back rand... this can void the sidelock design working with your boot). If your Makalus have had a few miles on them they will be to soft for the crampon... always make sure your boot is more stiff than your crampon. If your makalus are newer the sidelock will work. Â I am confused by your question "good design"... can you clarify? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriznitch Posted October 13, 2004 Author Share Posted October 13, 2004 just looking for some opinions on this crampon, that's all. Sounds like you've been happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Putting the sarken on the makalu and then trying to alpine climb (mixed rock, steep snow/ice) is like putting a V8 engine in a golf cart... its overkill and if anything the golf cart will self destruct well before you reach the limits of the engine. What I'm getting at is the sarken is a sweet crampon for the alpine but its performance will be limited by the boot you put it on... the makalu sports a beefy leather upper which will prevent you from flexing/rotating your ankle... something you will need to do on genuine mixed terrain. Â Once the makalu softens up (generally a few seasons) its nothing more than a beefy back packing boot. I made the mistake of buying a pair at 15 when I was an aspiring OR mountaineer never again! Â What are a few routes you are looking at using the sarken on? I have a feeling you could get by with less... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 NOLSe says the Makalu is too soft, and at the same time that it isnt flexible enough for mixed routes? funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Too soft in the shank... too firm in the ankle. How's that? Â You climbing on a pair of these yet? Or are you a dart kid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 I have bolt ons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 For alpine? Â I'm gonna get a pair of bolt ons for this winter... still shopping around... what bolt on cramp/boot combo do you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Hockey skates with the blades cut off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafael_H Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Used Sarken w/sidelock last winter - absolutely love it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhyang Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 I've been curious about sarkens, being a newbie climbing with sabretooths so far, mostly in Sierra ice gullies, on neve and water ice. Will Gadd's book makes it seem like I'm very unlikely to get any benefit out of sarkens vs. the bd's due to the vertical frontpoints, but the light weight sounds good. Does it seem like they shear out easier than horz. frontpoints ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Sarkens have vertical front points mounted underneath horizontal front points... the vertical points poke out a few millimeters beyond the tip of the horizontal points... hot shit. Best of both worlds and they are lighter than other companies models. Look at a pair next time you are in a shop... Â Dru: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhyang Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Cool. I did see a pair on the boots of a climber above me last weekend. Yelled out 'how do you like your crampons ?" and he yelled back 'I'll let you know once I get to the top !' By the time we topped out his party was already long gone, though ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 Sarkens have vertical front points mounted underneath horizontal front points... the vertical points poke out a few millimeters beyond the tip of the horizontal points... Â No they don't. They have a front point with a T shaped cross section. Which is nothing new, DMM and Grivel have them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriznitch Posted October 13, 2004 Author Share Posted October 13, 2004 hmmm...after weeding through all this, they sound pretty good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Posted October 13, 2004 Share Posted October 13, 2004 The frontpoints are just like the Grivel G14's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriznitch Posted October 13, 2004 Author Share Posted October 13, 2004 really? I thought they were wider horizontally than the G14's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Crash Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 Hockey skates with the blades cut off. Â I'd like a pair. Care to make a small home production run for the cc.comers? Â drC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 You can buy your own Fruit Boots for $300 or so  Or buy a pair of used skates from a thrift store, ($20), carefully remove the skate part and bolt the front plate of some old Poons to the sole. It's like rock climbing in tight slippers instead of mountain boots! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlechronic Posted October 19, 2004 Share Posted October 19, 2004 Picked up a set of Sarken w/spirlock and KayLand Super Ice Boots for 250 for both...Boots Fit Like none other but HAve not really got to try the crampons and Boot Combo...Seems good On a little Dry Tooloing in the Backyard...Super Stiff and nice..Can't Wait!!  ERic  ERic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhyang Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 really? I thought they were wider horizontally than the G14's  I got a pair of spirlock sarken's in the mail yesterday and had a look. The frontpoint hoods do look wider than the g14's. Looks to me like a horizontal frontpoint crampon that has had vertical sections welded on to the bottom. I like the idea, but obviously haven't tried them to see how my noob footwork fares in them.  Unfortunately, the spirlock binding didn't live up to my high hopes - no matter how I adjusted the length or tinkered with the bail and bail holes I couldn't keep the back end from flopping around on my boots, and decided to just send 'em back rather than try pounding the bail with a hammer or something. Maybe will look at the leverlock at some point, or try out the 'wirelock' that AMH says they have on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriznitch Posted November 3, 2004 Author Share Posted November 3, 2004 I just bought a pair too--the sidelocks. The sidelock mechanism is pretty weird and seems a little flimsy, but once I got it locked it seemed pretty secure. Definitely after you tuck it under the strap. Anyways, after I try them I'll try to offer up an easy to understand, helpful comment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Serl Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 i had to carve back the underside edges of the heel blocks on my boots a bit to get the spirlock side-arms to engage, but now that they'll go on, they seem secure. the leverlock is probably easier to use. i don't look forward to fiddling these on at -15ºC in a foot of fresh snow.  only used 'em one day on the seracs at baker and was quite impressed by how they placed. i guess the big advantage is lightness - the big DISadvantage is they're light because they are "unit" crampons, i.e., no interchangeable points - when they're gone, the crampons are dead. judging from how fast i wear back the front points on my G-14s, the sarken's might not have a long life. we'll see over the winter how durable the metal is.  cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhyang Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Interesting ! btw I read somewhere on cc that petzl sells sarken front units for $75. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Frieh Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Good points Don... mine seem to be holding up so far. Just a heads up Petzl sells replacement front pieces which might save you a few bucks over buying a whole new crampon... also the heel piece of the sarken is identical to the dart (which petzl also sells replacement front pieces for) so instead of kicking for 2 pairs of pons just buy one pair plus a front piece for the other and then rotate the front piece: mono or dual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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