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Rexford Nesakwatch
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Aug 24, 2020
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Unknown Hometown
· Joined Oct 2018
· Points: 0
As the long, dry shoulder season known as summer is slowly winding down, I am thinking this is the Fall that I will finally embrace dry tooling. I am looking for the best crampon for rock only, the ice performance isn't that important. I realize if I wanted to go full in I would get fruit boots and some Michael Bolt-ons, but I am not ready to go that far yet, I just want a good pair of automatic crampons for my Phantom Techs. Bonus points if anyone has spent a fair amount of time dry tooling in both the new Darts and G20 plus and can A/B them. Thanks.
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Double J
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Aug 24, 2020
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Sandy, UT
· Joined Apr 2006
· Points: 4,284
Get something with a replaceable front point, like the Stinger. Depending on the rock that you will be on (hard granite vs. soft limestone) you may be burning up front points faster than you imagined.
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Rexford Nesakwatch
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Aug 24, 2020
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Unknown Hometown
· Joined Oct 2018
· Points: 0
All the 'pons I am considering have a replaceable front points. I currently use a trashed pair of older BDs (Bionics maybe?). I have always agreed with the sentiment that crampons are the underdogs of ice climbing, and most people don't put enough thought into them but they are as important as rock shoes. For ice, I've always preferred crampons with aggressive, large secondary points, which make them less good on pure rock, I assume. Conversely, one of the things I've never liked about BD crampons like the stinger are the smaller secondaries, which maybe is why people think highly of them for dry tooling. I keep wondering what the step in crampon is which performs the closest to just bolt on fronts? Based on the lack of points, it seems like the G20 plus is closest, but if I knew I wouldn't be posting here obviously
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FosterK
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Aug 24, 2020
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Edmonton, AB
· Joined Nov 2012
· Points: 67
Didn't have a chance to test the new G20, but the new Darts I recall have smaller secondaries compared to the Stingers, IIRC.
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Ted Raven
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Aug 24, 2020
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Squamish, BC
· Joined Aug 2016
· Points: 220
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Kyle Tarry
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Aug 24, 2020
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Portland, OR
· Joined Mar 2015
· Points: 448
If you're just getting started in dry tooling and you're doing it in Phantom guides, the crampon probably isn't that important as long as it's any modern monopoint. The best course of action may be to buy another pair of whatever crampons you like for ice, and use the older ones on rock. As a bonus, when you get on a mixed route you'll be familiar with how that exact crampon climbs on both ice and rock.
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Karl Henize
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Sep 15, 2020
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Boulder, CO
· Joined Aug 2013
· Points: 648
If you plan to dry tool primarily as a means of training for mixed climbing, I suggest having two sets of the same crampon. Using different types of crampons can mess with proprioception and kinesthetic feedback. Otherwise, for pure sport drytooling, I would just get fruit boots. I have a beater pair of Darts that I use for drytooling, which never get sharpened. I have a nicer pair of Darts that I use when I need sharp points.
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Joe B
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Oct 8, 2020
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nyc
· Joined Dec 2019
· Points: 125
I've beat up my Darts pretty good on mixed because I only have one pair. For how expensive they are, I wish that I would have bought a cheap shitter pair for mixed. Something I regret but whatever. They climb excellent on mixed. Joe
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