Kahtoola K10 Crampon Review (with video)

A few months ago Kahtoola contacted me and asked me to test out their newest hiking and trail crampons, the Kahtoola K10. Having know of the brand for a long time, I wanted to try out their response to the snow and ice covered trails that so frequently hamper my outdoor adventures in the off season.

Let’s be honest. Where I like to hike, I’m usually limited to 2 to 3 months of snow free trails. Anything that can get me out more is a boon. A 9 to 10 month off season unless I want to hike in the coastal areas is not an option in my books. I also don’t want to switch over to full winter gear or technical equipment if I’m only chancing snow or ice or will only be hitting on the shady side of the peak I’m bagging.

Trail or hiking crampons are designed to fit that need. They are supposed to fit on almost all types of shoes or boot, be light weight, flexible and compact and give you good traction.

Read on to see how they held up, check out the video and see some amazing views of Bolivia where I tested these crampons.

For off season hiking I find myself turning to my Treskta Asault Hiking boots. They’re a great boot as you’ll see from the review, but they do have an oddly shaped toe box. I have another pair of trail crampons and they struggle with the shape. Not so with the K10s. The design allowed them to adjust to my boots and trail runners with equal ease.

Quick-Fit?

 

The K10 employs what they call a Quick-Fit system. They’re medium duty straps with buckles. The buckles are very sturdy and hold together well. I cinch the down very hard and they have never slipped or come off or undone.

They use heavier duty buckles which make it a bit more difficult to undo, but I think it was a good choice to avoid them breaking or becoming undone when you’re hiking.

 

The one thing I noted was that the straps were a bit long for my boots. Once I cinched them down there was a lot of leftover. I understand this is to allow for much bulkier footwear (like snowboarding or ski boots) and they’ve dealt with the extra by providing an elastic loop that any extra strapping can be doubled back into. If you’re only going to use them on hiking boots or shoes then you can deal with this by simply cutting the straps to size.

The K10 Crampons are adjustable and fit men’s US size 6 to 13. They fit Women’s US size 7 to 14 for regular footwear. For something heavier duty like a Pac Boot they fit as low as size 5 and up to a size 10 1/2.  Adjusting them is best done at home. Although it’s straightforward and tool-less, you do have to take off the neoprene Snow Release Skins to do it and that’s difficult.

They fit down to a size 7 Ladies, which is good for my wife, but only barely. If you’ve got smaller feet you might want to try the KTS crampons.

Anti-Balling?

 

The Snow Release Skins are claimed to be the lightest weight anti-balling system on the market. They serve to prevent snow build up under the ball of the foot which could effectively defeat the purpose of the 3/4″ spikes. They don’t look like much, but they really do a good job. Once the snow comes out and the snow gets stickier you’ll be glad you put the on. They do weigh almost nothing so no need to leave them at home for weight concerns.

The skins are a 2-piece set-up for each foot. You slip them over and around each spike on the crampon. Once you get them on they’re very snug and aren’t going to come off easily, but putting them on was a bit of a pain. I had to pull out a pair of pliers and work away at it. For me it was a one time thing as I set them up at home. If you plan to do it on the trail or lend them to someone with a different shoe size, just bring a multi-tool and a bit of patience.

I must say I find the leafspring concept is pretty intelligent. It’s like you’d see on a car. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just ignore me or check out this wikipedia page. Basically it uses 2 lighter weight metal strips to connect the two parts of the crampon together and allow for support and smoother movement of the foot. When you bend your foot it makes flexing your shoe easier while still providing a strong and supported connection between the front and back of the crampon. Kahtoola is so confident with the quality of the design they offer a Lifetime warranty on the leafspring.

The spikes themselves are 3/4 inch tall and there are 10 of them They’ve gone for a nice wide design and placed them at different angles around the crampon. I have 2 other pairs of trail crampons, including a pair with longer spikes. I felt the combination of width and the varying angles made these just that much more secure on snow. wide spikes great for digging in to slippery and even very steep terrain. I felt very stable due to how kahtoola placed the spikes in different direction to reduce slipping.

At 21 ounces for a pair the k10s are one of if not the lightest trail crampons of this style (not including things like microspikes). I don’t feel they’ve made any compromises in quality in keeping the weight down that much. If that isn’t light enough, try their KTS Aluminum crampons which shave off 2 ounces to weigh in at 19 oz a pair.

 

I struggle with all crampons as far as packing. I usually am reduced to strapping them on the back of the pack with spikes out to prevent damaging things in my pack. It also serves to intimidate anyone that is hiking too close. That said, they claim a packed size of 8 5/8″ x 3 1/2″ x 4 3/4″. That’s because you can slide them together when not in used to save a few inches on length.

1 percent for the people

I was sceptical of the K10 when I first tried pulled them out of the box, but when I stepped foot on snow for the first time my opinions had changed. They’re a great, lightweight hiking crampon that’s easy to put on and take off on the trail. They flex really well making walking easy with no need to adopt a funny gait like you would with technical crampons. The Quick-Fit binding makes them easy to tighten onto your foot and easy to take off.

It’s easy to see that kahtoola has taken their experience with hiking crampons and put what they’ve learned into the K10 to make a great all-round hiking crampon that I know I will be recommending to you and others.

Features: Quick-Fit Binding

Material: 4130 Chromoly Steel

Spikes: 10 x 3/4″ multi-directional

Weight: 21.1 oz (598 g)

Pack Size Inches: 8 5/8″ x 3 1/2″ x 4 3/4″

Fits: Men’s US 6-13, Women’s US 7-14

Fits Pac boot: Men’s US 5-10.5, Women’s US 5-10.5

Warranty: 3 year on the crampon, Lifetime on the Leafspring

Ideal use: Winter Hiking, Trail running, Glacier travel, Non-technical mountaineering

Disclaimer: I was given a pair of K10 crampons unsolicited, but this did not affect my opinions in my review. All are my own and recommendations are the same as I would give to any of my friends.