Crampons
Product 2021
Woman, Man
These Petzl Irvis Hybrid 10-point crampons are designed for approaches and glacier skiing.
We noticed two interesting innovations compared with other similar products on the market. There are different materials used at the front and rear. The front block is made of steel and the rear is made from aluminium. They are held together with a Dyneema cord. These crampons are delivered with the LEVERLOCK UNIVERSEL system so you can use them on auto or semi-auto boots, depending on which you prefer. The price is around 130 euros and 542g.
After several sessions, we noticed that the steel front allows you to anchor with confidence when the ice is flush. We even used them on steep ice pitches. They work but at that point we were still happy to be seconding! The aluminum rear part is light and penetrates well into hard snow. At first glance, putting on the Petzl Irvis Hybrid turns out to be less intuitive than classic crampons, but after a few sessions we found them easier to use. The whole thing is no longer stiffened by a bar, there is now no left and right crampon. Once the crampons are stored in their storage bag, supplied by Petzl, they don’t take up much space, this is one of the factors that we appreciated the most about this product: their practicality.
To adjust the front part there are two holes to adapt it according to the desired size. The front of your boots should be sufficiently far away from the toes. The aluminum block has three settings to adjust according to the height of the rear overhang. Changing the front binding system is quite hard work but using the retaining strap as indicated in the instructions, you will eventually do it. However, do be careful not to spike yourself in the process. The LEVERLOCK UNIVERSEL system therefore increases their versatility. The retaining strap completes the set and provides additional security.
To adjust the size, nothing could be simpler: just pass the cord over the various notches in the back part to reach the desired length. No tools are needed to adjust, might look easy on paper but look out! Dyneema resists stretching, however, it creeps, in other words when it’s under tension it eventually elongates and doesn’t return to its original length. We therefore recommend, when you first use them to do tight adjustments, you can force lock the retention of the rear overhang present on the shoes and to repeat the locking several times. It seems preferable to us to do this the day before when preparing the equipment, especially during a first outing or when changing boots. It is pretty stressful to lose a crampon while climbing (!) and we speak from experience. The other notable drawback of Dyneema is its relatively low melting point (144°), which could be reached if friction is high on a protruding granite ridge for example. However, if you stay within what they are supposed to be used for, the risk of wear seems minimal but over time it seems prudent to check the cord length, also its overall wear and tear, especially at the pressure points.
The anti-snow module is composed of two parts and also present on the crampon’s front face. Its role is to prevent the accumulation of snow under the crampons, which, when there’s too much snow, no longer allows the spikes to anchor. During our various trips, regardless of the type of snow we encountered, we didn’t have this problem. Note that these anti-snow are removable, you just unscrew a few screws and thus remove 69.5g.
Lightweight, compact and versatile, the 10-point Petzl Irvis Hybrid crampons are for approaches and skiing on glaciers. Their main advantage is their very low volume, and easy packing thanks to the Dyneema adjustment system.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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