Crampon Care and Maintenance

When you use crampons for hiking and climbing, it is exposed to a lot of abuse from hard rock and ice. If you want your crampons to be effective so that you can have a safe trip on ice, you've got to do what is necessary to keep it in good working condition.

You should always inspect your crampons before each trip. Check the condition of the straps and buckles. Make sure they're not fraying, cracked or cut. Replace if you see any signs of damage.

You should also make sure that the bails are in good shape and fits the radius of your boots. Try on the crampons and see if your boot welts can still hold it securely if you have a step-in crampon. Worn welts can prevent the crampon bails from staying on.

Tighten any loose screws, bolts, nuts and rivets but make sure that you don't tighten too much. If the bolts and nuts are cracked, stripped or bent then you need to replace them.

It's essential that you keep your crampons sharp or it won't be able to properly grip the ice. The points have to be sharpened by hand with a fine file. Sharpening with a grinder is not advisable because it can overheat and weaken the metal.

File the points in the direction of the file's teeth. Make them as sharp as possible but be sure that you keep it as straight as it is originally. Bent points can seriously affect the gripping performance of the crampon. Carefully straighten any bent points if possible.

Since the points will be really sharp, you should keep them covered or put them in a padded case to keep them from causing damaging your backpack and other backpacking gear.

It's always a good idea to carry extra parts for you crampons. Take extra bolts, nuts, bails, screws, straps, bailing wire and any part of the crampon that can potentially break or get loose. Make you take the right parts and have the right tools. You'll most likely need an allen wrench.