My New CAMP Frost Crampons Review

This CAMP Frost Crampons Review is about my new light strap-on crampons with 6 points that fit practically any shoes or boots. They are suitable for short and dangerous passages with late snow on pre-season tours, or for simple glacier walks.

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Key features & benefits

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What this is about

I bought these CAMP Frost Crampons in the process of preparing for my pre-season trip to the Alps. I was checking the snow conditions and realized that even the low Slovenian Alps were still under last year’s snow. The snow will melt soon in such warm weather, but I know from my many tours in the past that there will be short passages with snow that are hidden from the sun. At such places, you can have snow till late summer. 

Normally, I always go very early in the morning, and such places can be frozen. So going without some tool is not an option. This can ruin the plans for the day.

I already had my old and reliable Petzl crampons, but those require a certain type of boots with stiff soles. I currently use La Sportiva and Scarpa Triolet GTX boots, and I normally have them all in the car together with Petzl crampons. But these I use only if I end up in some higher glaciated mountain in Austria or Italy.

So, I wanted to have lighter type strap-on crampons that would fit any lighter hiking or mountaineering boots with flexible soles, and keep them in the pack just in case of a sudden dangerous passage. You can see how they look on my Salomon Quest Prime GTX Boots that I was using recently on several climbs in the Slovenian Alps.

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Overview

These are six-point crampons, and this means half the number of points/spikes when compared to my Petzl LeverLock Vasak crampons. You have seen above how they look on the Salomon boots, and they will fit practically any other shoes or boots. I shall also have some low-cut hiking shoes.

The crampons are short, this is also what makes them lighter than standard mountaineering crampons. But this is exactly what I want for the described environment. From what I have read about them, they fit boots/shoes in the size range of 36-47 (EU sizes). From the pictures, you realize that spikes are quite long.

The picture below shows the two screws which you use to adjust the width for the shoes/boots you use. There is a tool that comes in the package for this purpose. This fits a large range of shoes and boots. You can see also the red anti-balling plate.

I really like the locks and the binding part, the picture below shows how this looks. They are very easy to use as compared to my heavy mountaineering crampons.

But this is a sort of plastic, and before going to the mountains, I was concerned about its durability. If such a part fails in a critical passage with ice, this can be very dangerous. 

The crampons come with a zippered carry bag shown below. Its dimensions are around 16 x 12 x 9 cm. There is a carry handle on the top. The material may be Cordura but I am not sure about this. When you close the box it is unlikely that the spikes could damage your equipment in the pack.

Regarding the price, I bought these crampons in our local store and I was happy with the price. They are also available at many global online sellers, and the prices are quite close to each other, you will see some links below.

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My real testing in the mountains

I have put these crampons to really serious tests. I have just returned from the Alps where I had far more snow in the pre-season period (the last week of June) than in the previous years. I was told by local people that this was because last winter they had more snow than ever in the past 20 years. 

There were many steep passages fully covered with compressed snow. I used the crampons in my tours to Skrlatica and Spik (in the Slovenian Alps), and also in the tour to Jof Fuart and the hike to Bivacco Luca Vuerich (in the Italian Alps). I used these crampons also on my Anita Goitan ferrata tour on Jof Fuart.

Ease of use – an important feature

I already mentioned that these crampons were easy to use. This was important because I had to put them on and to take them off many times during the climbs. In the picture below you can see those red pulls, you can use them to quickly tighten the straps.

So pass the strap through the locking part and then pull the strap, you will hear it clicks. Note that the system is with gears so by pulling up a few times you will feel that the strap tightens around the boot. The picture is from my tour to Foronon del Buinc (Bivacco Luca Vuerich). As you realize, I was using my excellent Salomon Quest Prime GTX boots.  

The picture below shows the handle that you simply pull up and this releases the strap instantly. So you can have the crampons off in seconds.

Note that there are no spikes (points) on the front. So these are not crampons for very steep slopes where you would move directly up. But you can use them when you perform a zig-zag movement or you traverse such places. I had them many on the mentioned tours.

I want to say a few words about my concern related to the material of the straps. On a steep gully on Jof Fuart (the Anita Goitan ferrata route), I lost balance and almost had an accident when I was sliding down the gully. So the straps were under sudden stress and pressure in those moments.

Later at home, after inspecting the system I could not see any sign of damages. This was before the mentioned Bivacco Luca Vuerich tour where I used them again on several passages with snow.  

I used these crampons also on my tour to Skrlatica in the Slovenian Alps. I had long part of the route under the late snow and you can see the crampons in the pictures there. The same was with my climb to Spik, without these crampons I would not manage.

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Specifications

• Weight: 19.5 oz (554 g).
• Points: 6
• Sizes: 4 – 12 US (36 – 47 EU).
• Material: steel
• Packed size: 6.3 x 4.7 x 3.5 in (16 x 12 x 9 cm).

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Final thoughts, rating, pros & cons

Please see how I rate these crampons:

For more stuff useful in the mountains just look around in various categories. Let me know if you have questions or comments, there is a comment box below. Thank you for reading and have a nice day.