Crampon pants

[sooshee]

I use gaiters when I have my crampons on. I also have a pair of OR Cirque mountaineering pants with built in gaiter that has a great crampon patch.

[cougar]

IMG_0645.JPG (89.03 KiB) Viewed 2743 times

[daway8]

Thanks for a lot of great suggestions everyone (well except maybe that last one! )

For the short-term I think CaptainSuburbia may have the winning suggestion - my current gaiters were too short to do the trick and some of my previous ones were too expensive to be readily expendable - those ones are cheap enough that if I can't get the muscle memory solution to kick in I at least won't break the bank so bad - and with Amazon I can get them before the weekend!

But I'll keep some of these other suggestions on file as I consider gear options in the future. Thanks all!

[climbingcue]

Here's my take: embrace your inner Euro and buy some tighter fitting pants. Without the bagginess, you will be less likely to snag.

I agree with you, the tighter pants don't snag as much.

[daway8]

Here's my take: embrace your inner Euro and buy some tighter fitting pants. Without the bagginess, you will be less likely to snag.

I agree with you, the tighter pants don't snag as much.

It's the "as much" part that worries me... That's why I'm checking out the $11 tall gaiters first (along with trying to maintain greater awareness) and then will consider other more major gear upgrades as needed.

[12ersRule]

This piece of gear is just begging for a portmanteau - Crampants.

[martintravis]

Kids, here's your clue not to base anybody on their checklist count. Anyone can claim to have climbed or indeed may have actually climbed all the 14ers, including 20 of them in winter, and still not even realize what gaiters are for.

*Edit: Imagine the answers to this question if asked by someone who had done Grays and Bierstadt in August, only.

[supranihilest]

Kids, here's your clue not to base anybody on their checklist count. Anyone can claim to have climbed or indeed may have actually climbed all the 14ers, including 20 of them in winter, and still not even realize what gaiters are for.

*Edit: Imagine the answers to this question if asked by someone who had done Grays and Bierstadt in August, only.

No need to be so patronizing. He could also just not want to wear gaiters and be wondering about non-gaiter solutions. I don't like wearing gaiters myself, especially in spring when I'm already hot and sweaty, so I just accept having lots of holes in the lower legs of my pants. Ultimately I suggest simply improving technique, which will go a long way towards reducing snags and holes and making any outing in the mountains more enjoyable.

[Anima]

Kids, here's your clue not to base anybody on their checklist count. Anyone can claim to have climbed or indeed may have actually climbed all the 14ers, including 20 of them in winter, and still not even realize what gaiters are for.

*Edit: Imagine the answers to this question if asked by someone who had done Grays and Bierstadt in August, only.

Gaiters are not specifically designed to prevent crampon punctures. Some are, but the majority are for keeping debris/snow out of boots and will not resist crampons. Though I can't blame you for this type of comment—your checklist excuses it.

[daway8]

Kids, here's your clue not to base anybody on their checklist count. Anyone can claim to have climbed or indeed may have actually climbed all the 14ers, including 20 of them in winter, and still not even realize what gaiters are for.

*Edit: Imagine the answers to this question if asked by someone who had done Grays and Bierstadt in August, only.

Kids, here's your clue to check people's reading comprehension skills...

...my current gaiters were too short to do the trick and some of my previous ones were too expensive to be readily expendable...

So yes, I pretty much always wear gaiters when there's snow on the ground - and have had them on during every crampon incident - in earlier incidents I shredded some very expensive gaiters that were supposedly highly tear resistant. The last time I grabbed gaiters all they had on hand were ones shorter than I normally get - it was those which I had on during the latest incident.

The useful tidbit here was the that I could get gaiters that tall for that cheap (hadn't spotted a deal like that last time I looked) and I also got lots of backup ideas to possibly explore down the road.

IN ADDITION TO THIS, many others can now read and benefit from these many good suggestions and those with adequate reading comprehension skills will find a helpful variety of potential solutions for all price ranges.

So I consider this thread to be a success.

[GK83]

I feel like most of the people on this thread are making the problem worse... cordura patches on the inside of pant legs are great for ski edges, but horrible for crampon snags, they create a stiff ledge at the top of the patch where you are more likely to get a crampon hung up, get slim fitting pants without a patch or interior gaiter and you will rarely snag, most likely even less than with gaiters... Himali guide flex pants come to mind but there are plenty of options.

[k_fergie]

I also tend to avoid gaiters, they are for post holing and post holing is sad . In snow, I am usually wearing my ski pants (internal gaiter) or in the early summer I just wear shorts. No snags in either situation with care taken. A bare calf snag would be less than ideal, but that cool breeze is very ideal and worth it. And that good thigh tan, also very worth it.