Okay, we only had a couple of days of snow over Christmas, but I've already got a bruised bum from walking on ice.

As Jon's Arse Crampon is impossible to find in the shops I'm looking for an alternative. My boots aren't full-crampon compatable and they'd be overkill for Kent. What I'm basically after is something that will cope with compacted ice on pavements, so that I can get as far as the fields.

I seem to recall seeing spikes on a rubber band affair somewhere, or alternatively would a cheap pair of instep crampons be better?

Alternatives welcomed!

Hello there,

Maybe instep crampons would do the job? I got some last year but I've not used them yet. A friend tells me he can run in them with fell shoes, though, so presumably they're pretty versatile!

we were in new zealand earlier this year and took a tour on a glacier where they had what were basically crampons with little pointy teeth rather than spikes

http://www.franzjosefglacier.com/iceTalonz.asp

no idea where you'd get them!

Found these at FaceWest
Petzl Spiky
or the same thing here
at Cotswold but out of stock!
Or these at F&T
Grivel Spider

Not used either of them mind. I do have some 6-point Grivel Gripper instep crampons but to be honest they strike me as overkill for pavements.

I've got the Petzl Spiky things - a godsend when walking down the access ramps to the canals at work when we had the sudden cold snap a few weeks back.

Being a tight-fisted old-fashioned sort of bloke, I find that the cheap and easy way of dealing with icy pavements is to hammer a handful of segs into my bootsoles. They fit just about any boot, they are easy to remove/replace, get them from shoe-repair shops. My local cobbler sells them by the bag - a quid buys about 50, that's enough for 2 pairs of boots. Place them right and you can still wear crampies with them. Sorted.

Macsen, those Stubai ones are very like the Grivel Gripper instep crampons I have. I consider them a useful contingency for easy hill terrain when it's not worth carrying full crampons, but I think the points are probably too long for them to work comfortably on pavements.

LOL. Oops! Thanks for the tongue in cheek response Matt. That will teach me to read the original post properly. But then I did do 20:00-08:00 shift last night and I hadn't been to bed.

I have a pair of Grivel Grippers up for grabs if you are interested (never used - bought by my dad to walk the dog in the snow)

I like Bearded Gits suggestion. Retro will no doubt be 'De Rigueur' at some point.

So, I would also suggest the addition of some putty gaiters, plus 4's, tweed Jacket, carry an alpenstock and smoke a pipe. It also means rather than carrying feta cheese and olive sandwiches with dried fruit flapjack, you can make do with just a quart of tabacco and a flask of whiskey.

It's also normal practice to carry a theodalide and tempest prognosticator.

Please advise a website where a tempest prognosticator could be sourced as my theodolite supplier has sold out!

Hey, Paul, why are you dissing my kit-list???

:-)





(To be fair, my kit-list does include the pipe, the baccy and the flapjack.)

Ok, I admit it - the list's got breeches on it, too.

BG!!!!!!!
I'm shocked that you've gone all foreign and fancy with that revolting flapjack stuff!
Your mind has clearly been befuddled by persons that are not under British administration!!!

I would remind you that the Alpine Club doesn't recognise an ascent with flapjack and therefore I will be reporting you forthwith!!! You are a Charaleton, cad and a bounder sir!

Derby tweed breeches? And why not, it's not so long ago ..............ad nauseum.
I'd better stop now.

No No No, NOT tweed!
I meant the stretchy Craghoppers stuff, bought in the 80s/90s. Honest!

And as for the flapjack, SWMBO makes it with her own fair hands. None of your ex-Colonial imported rubbish. She makes a mean Parkin, too.

I still recommend the segs, though.

You wouldn't be one of those frightfull awful 'Mods', would you???. All segs, scooters and brillcream!

Nope.
Can't you see the utter simplicity of the plan, Paul?
Use of segs -> no slippage -> no grazing of exposed knees -> no dropped flapjack -> no wasted parkin.
Makes sense to me.

Yes I can.
But unfortunately, I just have a terrible memory of 'dealer' boots, segs, Mod and Ska and Harrington jackets in the late 1970s/early 1980s, it just makes me cringe. I was there in my youth putting segs in my Dealers and thinking I was cool with the sound of metal against tarmac, if you know what I mean!. If anyone mentions segs now, I just squirm.

Missed spent youth!!