shoo

Though something tells me the new Petzl Lynx is going to put the cyborgs out of business, these are really a fantastic set of technical climbing crampons. They have a great fit to most modern climbing boots (some adjustment of the front bail would be helpful). The replaceable points are very handy, makes sharpening and replacing cheap and relatively easy. The ability to switch between dual and mono is invaluable. They are my default crampons for everything technical (steep waterfall ice, mixed, and pure dry tooling). While I am listing a few noticeable flaws below, it's worth noting that I am overall pretty happy with my purchase.

Flaw #1) It's NOT all-stainless. There are two key parts which are cro-moly steel: the bolts holding the front points, and the front points themselves. Mixing stainless and non-stainless steel parts INCREASES the rate of rust due to galvanic corrosion. I am a bit disappointed that a stainless bolt wasn't included for this reason, or at least free replacement bolts. There is also rust where the front points meet the holding bar. Bolt rust on mine is to the point where it is very difficult to change the points, and where breakage may occur, and I take VERY good care to try to keep them dry post-climb.

Flaw #2: You have to manually dissect the anti balling plates to use them in mono. It would have been fairly easy to just make a plate in which this is not an issue.

I use these for ice climbing with leashless tools. With a little modification, these things are fantastic, but as they are, they just can't stand up to the task.

They are pretty damn dexterous for their warmth. That's why I bought them in the first place. This makes them ideal for ice down into the mid temps for me (20F-30F). Very low profile. Really great overall feel for leashless climbing. Waterproof lining is also really nice, but there are issues with this. . .

However, I have two complaints. The leather on these gloves soaks up water like crazy. It's just silly how quick they go from dry to sopping wet on the outside. Once they get wet, the breathability of the membrane and the leather go out the door (breathability relies on a dry outer surface), and your hands will retain water on the inside of the glove. Wet, freezing outside + wet inside = your hands are screwed.

I'm currently trying a beeswax-based leather treatment to waterproof the outside, but honestly, for their price, this is a MAJOR oversight by Mountain Hardwear. They should have come try treated out of the box.

Second complain regards the pull-on loop at the wrist. It's pretty damn scratchy on the inside where it terminates at the top of the wrist. That's just cheap construction.