KahtoolaKTS Steel Hiking Crampons for Winter Hiking & Backpacking

My brother and I recently summited Snowmass Mountain (14,092’). Neither of us had any previous experience hiking or climbing in snow. I was wearing Merrill Vibram boots, which are standard hiking boots and have extremely flexible soles—not the sort of things you can put ordinary crampons on. My brother was wearing something similar. Fitting the crampons to our boots was quite easy, and putting the crampons on the day of our hike was also straightforward.We camped overnight at around 11,000’, and there was deep snow from below our campsite all the way to the summit. The slopes ranged from flat at the beginning to a 70+ degree incline closer to the summit. The crampons were excellent: they stayed tight and on our boots the entire time, and they provided great grip on all the various angles of slope. The included silicone Snow Release Skins did a great job as well, and neither of us had any issues with snow clumping on the bottom of the crampons. It is not an exaggeration to say that without these crampons, we would never have been able to summit, and we would have been at serious risk of injury.Overall, the Kahtoola KTS steel crampons are a great product, and we would highly recommend them, especially to anyone lacking standard crampon-compatible mountaineering boots.

These were easy to adjust and slip onto my Altra Lone Peak Mid RSM trail running shoes. They're now my staple for deep packed snow and ice mountain hiking and running. Totally replacing both my Microspikes as well as my Hilllsound Crampons (which were WAAAY too rigid for anything other than a thick boot). I got a carrying bag for them separately as well.They are super flexible, lightweight, and form fitting to footwear. It feel like you aren't wearing crampons at all. The 1" teeth make you feel invincible on even the hardest ice.So far I have used them half a dozen times. Aside from minor paint wear on the red teeth, they have not shown any sign of wear down or dulling.Hoping to get a few seasons out of them. I've had to replace my microspikes every year and my Hillsound Trail Crampons were never worth the discomfort to wear them unless completely necessary.

I really liked these things once I got them adjusted properly. Slipping on ice with these on does not appear to be an option, however, the quality of the red paint job is super low and it started to disappear on me after only one hike. Just a few days later I had noticeable oxidation. A few days after that and the rust had spread considerably. Black diamond has stainless steel crampons for cheaper than this garbage so that's what I ended up getting

As of 4 JAN 22 we STILL don't have enough snow to barely cover the rocks - but plenty of ice. I Started off a climb of Giant Mt. in the Adirondack High Peaks with Kahtoola microspikes and had these in my pack (I didn't want to expose my new crampons to the rocks). The microspikes did their job but I was itching to try these crampons. I switched to the KTS when the snow got a bit deeper as I gained elevation.KTS's were super easy to get on in the near zero degree temps. Wow, what a difference. I was deliberately taking the most icey steep options as I climbed. A young couple past me on the way up, but I passed them back on the way down because their microspikes weren't cutting it on some of the steep shelves. I left them on the rest of the day - even at the bottom where there was exposed rock. These babies didn't care. I see no reason why I'll ever pack my microspikes again. Other than getting used to the toe spikes, there's zero penalty wearing these over the micros.I'm a normal size Men's 9 and that puts me on the border between the smaller and larger size KTS. I bought a large size for my size 10 Vasque boots and they're perfect.

These quality crampons are just what I need. I use these to work on a steep slope with a chainsaw to clear invasive brush in winter. I have used them and the g10s for two years.I just about forget about slipping with the one inch spikes. I would not be able to do this work without these crampons. There is no way that spikes with rubber bindings like the micro spikes would hold up in this environment.I also have the Kahtoola g10 crampons. They are quality also. I like the bindings with theses kts crampons better, and I like the one inch spikes.The snow skins didn’t last, but that doesn’t bother me.Thank you Kahtoola for a quality product.

I hike 4,000 footers in the White mountains of NH. These crampons do the job on ice