Petzl Crampon Compatibility

Posting this mostly as a buyers guide, so no one has to go through the experience I went through to figure this out. I really like the compatibility idea that Petzl promotes with its crampons, but the components are not as compatible as their Compatibility Guide suggests. I wanted two pairs of crampons: one for technical climbs and one for easy glacier stuff. I bought the full crampons for technical and only the front points for the glacier crampons with the idea that I'd just swap the fronts. Here are some of the issues I ran into:

Linking Bars

The first part of this is understanding which bars come with each pair. The technical crampons (Dart & Lynx) come with the "reversible linking bar M" and the non-technical crampons (Irvis, Vasak, Sarken) come with the "Barrette". These bars are not interchangeable between technical and non-technical

The above is the reversible linking bar in an Irvis front point. It would probably still technically work, but the wings do not sit flush with the frame as they're meant to. This drastically reduces the boot size they will fit (about 2 inches short for my 43.5 Scarpas (MBs and Phantom Techs)). The same issue with the wings sitting flush is also true for the Vasak (and assuming also for the Sarken though I did not buy these) but the Vasak is considerably longer than the Irvis. My boots fit at the last hole on the "reversible linking bar M" (ie, the technical bar). It would probably work but Petzl did not recommend.

Similarly, the Barrette is not compatible in a technical crampon. The wings sit flush but there's a lot of slop at the secondary slot on the frame. I would not use the Barette in either the Lynx or the Dart. The front point can slide even with a tight fit.

Sizing

This also relates to the linking bars but isn't as much of an issue for me. I tested fit on Scarpa Mont Blancs & Phantom Techs - both size 43.5

• Dart - Fit on the very last hole when the front bail is moved to the rear slot (as I'm assuming most people will do). I do not think a 44 (the advertised limit) would fit on the Dart with the front bail moved all the way back (unsure if the sole length actually changes between 43.5 & 44 for Scarpa but I would imagine so). 
• Lynx - For me, they fit well on the 'K' hole with front bail at the rear slot. The reversible bar has holes labeled A-M. 
• Irvis - With the correct bar, these fit at the very last hole (#9).
• Vasak - Fit on hole #5 on the Barrette. Holes are labeled 1-9.

Front Bails

I swapped my front bails for BD bails. Petzl's are trapezoidal and BD's are curved. Curved just fits better. Filing the squared off a little bit helps for getting them in. BD bails seem to move a little more freely in the Darts. In the Lynx, they don't really rotate without force. Assuming this is just due to the orange versus black coating.

The strappy bails are cool. The strap length on the Dart heel piece (which is shorter than the Lynx) is still sufficiently long to loop through the strappy bail if you want to go that route for all but the most monstrous boot (which would have a toe welt anyway)

I ended up with the Dart and the Vasak front points (also had to buy Barrette bar and strappy bail). If I were to do again, I'd say get the Lynx and Vasak/Irvis front points as the Lynx comes with the strappy bail. The Dart just happened to be on sale and cheaper. Also, Petzl customer service has been awesome.

Thanks for the info!, I was wondering about their interchangeability of parts between the Dart and Vasak myself recently. This clarifies the differences well.

why do you want the front bail moved to the rear slot?

Maximum secondary point engagement. Even if not at first, the points will wear down to a point where you’d need to move the bail to the rearmost slot. 

t.farrell wrote:

Maximum secondary point engagement. Even if not at first, the points will wear down to a point where you’d need to move the bail to the rearmost slot. 

gotcha. I have 44.5 Scarpa PTs and they just barely fit with the front bail in the middle slot. Might have to buy longer bars later I suppose

So would it be possible to modify the Barrettes at all to make them fit better for large boots? Or are there other solutions for large boots?

So I tried the linking bar from the new darts on a sarken and it fit my boot. The attachment is the same as how you have it pictured, but I actually think I can fit it on a larger boot than with the dart. It seems like it should hold up well, after all the leopard crampons are connected by chord. I assume you could also use the Vasak in this fashion, but the irvis is probably too short as you mentioned. I'll update after trying it out on some climbs. 

Alex Yorkovich wrote:

So would it be possible to modify the Barrettes at all to make them fit better for large boots? Or are there other solutions for large boots?

Which front points are you trying to use? The Barrettes should fit most boots. The main issue is trying to use the Barrette with technical front points (Lynx/Dart) as the bar is not wide enough for the slot (which introduces a lot of movement). If it you’re trying to use it with the Irvis, I think using the cord attachment is the best option

Nicola Farina wrote:

Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I was wondering how the Dart linking bar + Sarken front held up after some climbs. I am interested in using the Vasak front with my Dart linking bar and it would be nice not having to get an additional Vasak linking bar.

Thanks for the reminder! It actually held up quite well, I took the dart linking bar + sarken front up Rainier a couple times and numerous WI4+ climbs with no issues whatsoever.