Grivel Antiball Genius

One of the neatest solutions to crampon balling problems we've seen is the new Grivel anti-ball plate spotted at the recent Go Outdoors trade show.

They're in the shops right now and look like a major advance on the fiddly old-style rubber plates. The new versions are a quick, clip-on fit, but the really clever touch are the two big 'bubble' features - 'bellows' Grivel call them - which flex as you walk and should displace any snow that does stick to the plate immediately.

We reckon it's a great idea and even better, Grivel will be supplying them with all their G10 and G12 crampons from now on. The new plates add around £10 to the price of the crampon, which is £7 less than they'll retail for separately. They're also retro-fittable to existing crampons, which is good news. Versions for other Grivel crampons are under development and will follow soon.

If you've used crampons, particularly in the Alps or the greater ranges, you'll know that 'balling', the situation where damp snow collects between the crampon points is both annoying and extremely dangerous and we believe that all crampons should come with anti-ball plates as standard, so hats off to Grivel.

Other Grivel developments include a flexible link bar for C1-graded crampons. It uses the same principle as a car leaf spring suspension system and is both strong and more flexible than existing bars. It will be available separately as will a new asymmetrical crampon bar to aid fit with modern, asymmetrical boot designs.

More Grivel information at their web site.