This year Petzl have released a range of super light crampons for ski touring and general use. We stock the Irvis Hybrid and Leopard LLFs. You may have seen them, taken one look at the cord attaching the front and rear halves and thought to yourself, crazy Euros!
Don’t be put off by the cord system, it’s actually genius and works really well when paired with modern lightweight summer alpine boots like Scarpa Rebel Lites. I took a set of Leopard crampons to Chamonix this year. With some sketchy mixed conditions up high we ended up doing a lot of rock routes. Many of the rock routes have short snowfield and small glacier approaches which is when these super light crampons come into their own. Taking up minimal space in your pack and weighing under around 500g you won’t regret bringing them once you get onto the rock. For summer Alpinists the Irvis Hybrid crampons come with a heel bail binding on the rear and a choice of strap or bail binding on the front. This way you can fit them to any boot with a heel welt. The Irvis Hybrid also has a steel front section for durability on harder or rubbishy moraine ice.
Ski tourers obsessed with keeping the weight down will appreciate the weight saved on an item which while necessary will spend a lot of time in your pack. At only 330g you will hardly notice they are there. The Leopard LLF comes with the leverlock binding system so will fit on any boot or ski boot with both front and rear welts.
If you are looking for lightweight kit to open up rock routes with approaches that you would normally be put off by or are looking for flexibility and a huge weight saving then the Leopard and Irvis Hybird crampons are definitely worth a look.
Hi Nick,
The Leopards are designed as a super light crampon so Petzl may have decided that adding anti balling plates made them too heavy! The Irvis Hybrids would be a better option if you are looking for more all round use including lots of soft wet snow that clags up.
We are always happy to special order in and Petzl spares and accessories if you wanted to add anti balling plates to the Leopards.
I would be great if you also offered the Petzl Leopard Antisnow plates.