BD Sabertooth crampon: wire bail or plastic strap?

[vsigler]

I am considering a purchase of BD Sabertooth crampons. They are offered in two configurations at the toe: wire bail, or a plastic strap. In general, what are the pros and cons of the wire bail? I have used a pair of old Charlet Moser 10-points, with straps all-around (most like the BD plastic strap), for years on everything from flat glaciers to vertical ice and they never have failed me. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[Water]

pro: fast. never fiddle. should never need to snug up.

con: requires toe and heel welts. does not function with 'light' boots.

 

[genepires]

wire bail - needs complete rigid sole on your boot. better for vertical climbing but you really gotta check to make sure it fits the groove in the boot.

 

toe strap - better for alpine with boots with a little flex.

 

[Jake_Gano]

Anybody out there ever broke a plastic toe strap? My G12s are 10 or so years old. I'm not a heavy user but they do see a dozen or so days out a year.

[bonathanjarrett]

I have broken the plastic retainer on both the toe and heel portion of Black Diamond Contact strap-on crampons (on separate occasions). To be fair, the crampons were at least 5-6 years old at the time. That said, I still prefer the plastic toe piece to a wire bail, because I have had the wire bail jump off the toe of the boot many times. I feel like the security of the plastic toe piece outweighs potential for failure, and if your crampons are not that old, the risk seems fairly low to me.