Axe, Boot and Crampon Advice
An overview of ice axes, crampons, mountaineering boots and crampon-boot compatibility. We’ve also added some advice on rock climbing shoes suitable for longer multipitch routes in the Alps and elsewhere.
With hundreds of different boots, crampons and ice axes available on the market, choosing the right kit for your upcoming trip can feel a bit confusing. With that in mind, we’ve done the hard work for you by distilling our guides knowledge on what works best and come up with the following recommendations.
Mountaineering Axes
For classic Alpine ascents like climbing Monte Rosa, or on any of our alpine mountaineering courses, a good quality traditional axe is ideal.
We cannot recommend enough that you spend a little more money in order to get one with a stronger and better designed T rated pick made for mountaineering, rather than just a hill walking axe with a B rated pick. It should be somewhere between 55-65cm long depending on how tall you are.
The DMM Cirque is a popular well priced model 100% made in Wales, or if you want our current ‘Guides Favourite’ then go for the excellent Petzl Summit.
Other good lightweight axes that are up to the job are the Grivel Airtech range – these are particularly popular for ski mountaineering and also a good choice for long rocky alpine routes such as climbing the Matterhorn and alpine rock climbing holidays, where being able to stow a shorter axe inside your pack whilst climbing can be an advantage.
Technical Axes
Reverse curved technical tools come into their own at around Scottish IV and for alpine ice and mixed climbing, but are conversely not so good on easier terrain. Models with curved shafts give better clearance and are less strenuous on really steep ground. For pure icefall climbing and steep mixed climbing, there are plenty of great tools on the market including the Petzl Nomic, DMM Cortex, Black Diamond Hydra etc. These are very specialist tools however, so only worth purchasing if you do a lot of very technical ice/mixed climbing each winter.
For all rounders that are good for a mix of alpinism, ice climbing and Scottish winter climbing, we really rate Black Diamond Vipers, DMM Apexs and Petzl Quarks as our favourites (other pure ice tools can still be used for this type of activity if you fit thicker picks, but will take a battering and the highly sculpted grips make plunging into deep snow more difficult).
Mountaineering Boots
Boots are rated for their stiffness and the type of activity they were designed for:
B1=flexible – suitable for trekking and hill walking only. Will take C1 crampons only.
B2=semi rigid – good for classic mountaineering and mid grade mixed climbing, but not suitable for pure ice climbing or harder mixed climbs. Will take C1 + C2 crampons.
B3=fully rigid – give much more support for front pointing on steeper terrain: suitable for steep ice climbing and harder mixed routes. Can take C1, C2 or C3 crampons. Less comfortable for walking long distances.
One Boot For All
If you want one pair of boots that are suitable for most types of mountaineering – ie summer alpinism, Scottish winter climbing and European icefall climbing – then a pair of fully rigid (B3), insulated mountaineering boots are a good choice (in Scotland, you’ll need to use a good pair of gaiters with them).
La Sportiva Nepal Evos and Cubes are both good all rounders in this category. Because of it’s volume adjustable tongue, the Evo model in particular fits a wide variety of foot shapes very well.
Easier Grade Mountaineering
For easier grade mountaineering (eg winter hillwalking, Scottish I-II, alpine F-PD) and alpine routes which don’t involve long sections of front pointing (easier classic 4000m peaks etc) – then a semi rigid (B2) 4 season mountain boot is a good choice. The Scarpa Manta Tech, Scarpa Ribelle, Scarpa Charmoz, Sportiva Trango and Sportiva Aequilibrium ST models are all popular choices. We recommend a good quality B2 boot for our Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 instructional courses, the Matterhorn (in dry conditions), as well as most of our other summer alpine trips, given average seasonal temperatures and conditions. B2 boots can also be used for 3 season UK mountaineering / mountain walking, so make a great all round choice which should get plenty of use. Please note that if you are especially big/heavy and have large feet, and you have older B2 boots that are well worn in, the midsole can become overly flexible. This can make securing a crampon to the boot more difficult, or cause discomfort by having to over-tighten the straps. In this case you should consider a B3 boot, to give you a more stable platform for crampon attachment.
Colder Conditions
For climbing in colder conditions – eg Arctic Norway, winter alpine climbing etc – we recommend either ‘one and a half’ boots (models with an integrated gaiter) such as Scarpa Phantom Techs and La Sportiva G-Techs, or for even colder conditions (or if you suffer from cold feet) one of the latest composite double boots such as Sportiva G2 Evos or Scarpa Phantom 6000s – both of which are very warm, but still great for technical climbing.
Custom Fitting
For improved comfort in your boots, you could also invest in a custom moulded footbed (eg by Sidas) or a pair of Sorbothane Double Strike insoles (the latter give less support, but more cushioning between your foot and the ground – take your pick!). Finally, if you want the best possible fit, then buy from a specialist walking boot fitting service such as Backcountry UK – as they will make sure you buy the right boot for your foot shape and they can also extensively customise the shape and fit if necessary, in order to make the boot as comfortable as possible for you. Uncomfortable and poorly fitting boots are the most common cause of problems on our trips, so it really is worth seeking out a good boot fitter if you can!
Our Recommendation
If you expect to do a mixture of mountain walking, perhaps some easy Scottish winter mountaineering and also spend some time in the Alps during summer, a B2 mountain boot is an ideal choice. If you also plan to do more technical ice climbing, either in the Alpine or Scottish winter season, or for trips to Norway etc, then a B3 boot will be an essential further purchase and many people own both a B2 and B3 model when they reach this stage in their climbing career. Boots are expensive, but good quality, well fitted boots make your time in the mountains so much more enjoyable and are a great long term investment.
Crampons
As with boots – crampons are rated as C1 – flexible, C2 – semi rigid and C3 – rigid models. It’s vital that you get a crampon at least as stiff as your boots as otherwise they may fall off, so you can put any crampon on a fully rigid B3 boot, but only a flexible C1 crampon on a flexible B1 boot etc – it’s best to take your boots down the shop.
All Purpose Mountaineering Crampons
For most of our alpine mountaineering holidays, go for good quality 12 point mountaineering crampons with anti ball plates.
Currently we reckon that Petzl Vasaks are one of the best all round mountaineering crampons at the moment, so these would be a good choice.
NB Unlike ski boots (which have a standard heel and toe shape to clip into various ski bindings) there is no standard heel/toe shape for mountaineering boots – which makes life very difficult for crampon designers! The upshot is that the best crampon fit for your boot may not be the model that you’ve researched online – so it’s best to take your boots down to a shop with a good selection of crampons and try different models on your boots to see how they fit.
Some boot/crampon manufacturers also have collaborations – eg Grivel and Scarpa – the idea being that Grivel crampons are designed to fit well on Scarpa boots. This doesn’t guarantee that all Grivel crampons give the best fit on all sizes and all models of Scarpa boots however, but at least it’s a start.
Technical Climbing Crampons
For a technical crampon that is also very good for steeper alpine ice climbing and pure waterfall ice climbing, then look at the Petzl Lynx – this is a modular design so it weighs a bit more, but it has vertically orientated front points and several different options for varying styles of climbing.
In a similar vein, amongst hard Scottish winter activists nowadays, Petzl Darts set up with mono points are hard to beat.
A word of warning about super light crampons – we do not allow Blue Ice Harfang crampons on any of our trips or courses (unless you have super small feet! – ie size 3/36), as when fitted to a regular sized adult boot, these crampons do not cover enough of the boot to provide a solid grip in all snow conditions. Likewise, alloy ski touring crampons are great for ski tours where you carry them most of the time and only ever climb steep snow, but they are not suitable for summer alpinism or any other technical use, as they won’t stand up to the abuse.
Rock Climbing Shoes
On long multipitch rock climbs in the Alps and elsewhere, you are rarely climbing right at your limit, but you are always wearing rock shoes for several hours at a time. Therefore, you need a pair of climbing shoes that provide ‘all day comfort’ rather than maximum toe crunching performance!
Rock shoes with a ‘flat’, ‘straight’, or ‘neutral’ last (which means your toes are straighter inside the shoe, rather than crunched up) are much more comfortable on longer days, so this is a good feature to look for. In terms of choosing a suitable pair, look for models designed for ‘all day comfort’. Models with a velcro closure (vs laces) are also a great idea since they are very quick and easy to loosen/slip over your heel on belay ledges, to give your feet a break on longer routes – this is especially useful for ‘performance’ all day shoes, where you might choose to fit them a little tighter for climbing precision.
Good Value, All Day Rock Shoes
Below we suggest some good value ‘all day comfort’ models that are suitable as a first pair of rock climbing shoes, or as a second ‘more comfortable’ pair for longer routes and alpine rock climbs – ie perfect for a day out with a uk rock climbing guide. Many of these are labelled as ‘suitable for beginners/low grade climbing’ etc, but don’t be put off by this; they still climb really well and you’ll feel a minimal drop in performance, but a massive increase in comfort – they are usually cheaper too!
- Boreal – Joker
- Fiveten – Kirigami
- Scarpa – Helix and Reflex V
- Evolv – Nighthawk/Skyhawk
- La Sportiva – Tarantulace and Finale
Performance All Day Rock Shoes
If you are an experienced rock climber looking for a high performance shoe for climbing close your limit on hard multipitch/alpine rock/big wall style routes, then there are also many good models to choose from – a few of our favourites are:
- Boreal – Ace and Diabolo
- La Sportiva – Mythos and Katana
- Fiveten – Anasazi and Niad
- Scarpa – Maestro and Vapour
NB There are plenty of in depth reviews and info online to help narrow down your choice, but please be aware that rock climbing shoes are not like regular shoes or trainers – so unless you already know that a particular model fits you well in a specific size, then it’s essential that you try them on before buying, as they are very close-fitting and there is considerable variation in size and shape between different models and manufacturers (ie many, many people have tried buying their first pair of rock climbing shoes online, only to find they bought completely the wrong size – so don’t fall into this trap!) Find a store with a good selection of different models and try a few on – if you have a local indoor climbing wall nearby that also has a gear shop, then this is an ideal place to try some on and explain to the staff what you are planning to use them for.