Opinion on ski boot (Scot Cosmos 3) crampon fit with Petzl Darts

Would like people's opinion on the fitting of the Petzl Darts with my ski boots. The heel lock is in locked position and I can secure it with the strap. The best thing I can do is to actually go top rope ice climbing but there's a lack of that in Washington currently so I can't really test it out. Curious to hear if how other people ice climbing in their ski boots. 

That white heel lever is 100% UPSIDE DOWN.

I set up  some Petzl crampons for my wife’s Scott Orbit boots, same issue. she hasn’t climbed in them yet. I swapped the toe bail for Grivel curlycue ones. I think the ankle strap will be key, but I am also going to try some other heel levers.

This is how I solved that problem.

Many AT boots have this issue.  You need to really mix and match and potentially modify/trim your heel levers (with file, sander, or band saw) to find a right fit if you already have an established pair of ski boots you want to retro-use for climbing.   For leading anything of potential consequence, I would not want to rely on the keeper strap.  Your crampons should positively “snap” into place without any need for a strap.  The strap should be superfluous.  

regardless, even if the fit isn’t much better, your strap will be much more effective (above the wire bail) when you turn your lever right side up

FWIW, The Fischer Travers series has a match fit for BD crampons and allows you to front point in locked or unlocked boot mode.   I chose these boots specifically for their climb-ability and crampon compatibility.  

Demetri V wrote:

This is how I solved that problem.

How do you like them? I have heard people complain about kicking in with the lever on the front like that. Certainty makes for less contortionist movements to get crampons on boots on difficult terrain,

I think the Scott boots have an uncommonly low and protruding latch, compared to other AT boots.

@Rio H , does your toe bail fit securely? It did not on the Orbit.

if I can’t find or mod a heel bail to fit, I will get pair of those Grivel Skimatic crampons for these boots.

and of course I agree with Mark that the heel bail should be what holds the crampon on. What I meant with the strap being key, was that if the heel lever can not flip as far forward, it takes less of a pulling the heel lever, by somehting weird (other crampon, stick, etc) to flip it open. So extra important to have the ankle strap preventing that from happening, not using the ankle strap to keep it closed, much less, keeping it on the boot!

It's the external walk mechanism on all the latest AT boots. Most of them get in the way. I liked those Scott boots when I tried them on but crampon fit was my deal breaker. 

I get a good fit with Maestrales and putting the low profile CAMP SkiMo heel bails on whatever crampon I'm using. 

https://www.camp-usa.com/outdoor/product/crampons/crampon-accessories/skimo-heel-bail/

Tjaard Breeuwer wrote:

How do you like them? I have heard people complain about kicking in with the lever on the front like that. Certainty makes for less contortionist movements to get crampons on boots on difficult terrain,

I use them without any additional ankle strap. So they’re very easy to get on and off; and they store very compact and neat without all the straps.

In exposed terrain last weekend I was able to plant my axe, clip my ski leash to the adze, open my ski binding, and stand on one ski while putting the crampon on my opposite foot.

I don’t climb WI in ski boots, so I don’t know how the toe lever would be in that application. They don’t get in the way at all when climbing steep supportable/breakable crust or windboard.

Gunkiemike wrote:

That white heel lever is 100% UPSIDE DOWN.

Ughh, what a noob. Really ashamed for not catching this. 

Updated ski boots. It seems like it's 90% locked in so around half an inch more space needed to fully lock it in. . @Tjaard Breeuwer the toe bail fits pretty well on my Cosmos boots. I guess I really should just spend a day at the seracs or something climbing this or follow instead of leading. The grivel ski crampons look nice but then again not sure if I would want to wear them while leading ice. 

Hard to tell for sure, but it looks like the bottom of the white plastic heel lever is not sitting on "the ledge" back there. Move the heel bail forward in the holes provided; that'll help it sit a tad lower in the back.

On my Maestrales, the hard heel bail (Petzl's BACK LEVER) has the same problem, so I use the soft bindings (respectively, FIL FLEX and BACK FLEX). Easy to swap out the bindings and it sits a bit lower on the walk pin mounting. Seen here on my Irvis Hybrid because that's what I had lying around, but the Dart will work the same way.

Pat Light wrote:

On my Maestrales, the hard heel bail (Petzl's BACK LEVER) has the same problem, so I use the soft bindings (respectively, FIL FLEX and BACK FLEX). Easy to swap out the bindings and it sits a bit lower on the walk pin mounting. Seen here on my Irvis Hybrid because that's what I had lying around, but the Dart will work the same way.

I just happened to look at the Petzl website yesterday, and they explicitly  say NOT to use the basket heel with ski boots, I  don’t know anything more, but you might want to check that out,