What Are GSB Crampons?

A fair few Scarpa winter and alpine boots, including the classic Manta, are now designated 'GSB' which means they can use an alternative Grivel crampon binding intended to be faster and more secure than traditional bindings.


Instead of a front bail or cradle, Grivel's GSB crampons use a metal prong which locates in a slot at the toe-end of the outsole - this is metal reinforced, so you're not reliant on rubber - you simply slide the prong in and fasten the heel binding securely.

Fitting a set of Air-Tech GSB crampons to a compatible boot is dead straightforward, though bear in mind that you need to fit a set of plastic inserts to take up a dead space between the toe-end of the sole and the crampon frame because the sole unit isn't thick enough in this area.


Once on the crampons feel just as positively located and secure as any other binding we've used. Wwe do have theoretical misgivings about the possibility of the narrow slot getting choked with ice or small bits of gravel, but so far it hasn't happened to us though we have heard anecdotal evidence of it being an issue in some conditions. We'd also keep a careful eye on sole wear in the toe area.


One point worth making is that you don't have to use GSB crampons with GSB-capable boots - they can also use any appropriate crampon binding - but you do need GSB boots if you  have GSB crampons, which is potentially limiting if you want to use the same crampon on more than one pair of boots.

Grivel Air-Tech GSB Crampons

We're liking the look of these - they use the GSB system up front and a heel clip at the back and come complete with Grivel's excellent Antibott plates plus a spare pair of Super Asymmetric bars to cope with banana-shaped technical boots.


Interestingly the points themselves are shorter than more traditional crampons to improve stability on ice, points have serrations for stable grip in certain conditions and the third set of points are splayed wide while the third set are angulated for added grip when traversing or descending.


We're looking to get them out on the snow and ice as soon as possible and will report back.

More information at www.scarpa.co.uk and www.grivel.com.

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