Petzl crampon question

[jerseyscum]

I've got some Petzl 10-points and there's a little clamp gizmo in the middle, for the bar, that converts them to semi-rigid from hinged. I showed the clamp to a hot-shot ice climber and he suggested it had no real function. I UNDERSTAND THE THEORY, but does this feature make any practical difference; have any value and/or any down side? I may (or may not) have used them both ways for steep hiking and didn't notice. Is this feature unique to Petzl?

[ketch]

I've not seen the device you mention. I would think it not much help. True ridgid crampons help for front pointing as they give you a more stable platform. If you are trying to use flexible crampons with a clamp to make soft boots ridgid that sounds kinda hoky. If your boots are plastic with little inherit flex than the clamp is not going to help much either. Just my .02

[Nick]

Set the thingy on the rigid setting when you use the crampons with rigid boots; it might help the crampon stay on the boot. Set the crampon to hinge when worn on a flexible boot; the crampon may stay on better, and the flexing of the boot will put less stress on the crampon itself if it can hinge. The rigidity of the system is determined by the boot. The two settings help the crampon fit the two types of boot better. If your boot is semi rigid then take your pick and set the gizmo whichever way seems more secure.

Edited February 7, 2006 by Nick