Here is a crampon bag hack I’ve been utilizing for the previous few years to guard the entrance mesh pocket of my winter pack from the sharp crampon and microspike enamel. It requires using a easy poly bubble mailer (these white padded envelopes used for Amazon prime packages) that’s massive sufficient to carry your crampons, path crampons, or microspikes. I discover that the graceful exterior of the poly bubble mailer slides simply into the comfortable mesh pocket on the entrance of my pack and the bag’s ease of use is without doubt one of the chief advantages of this strategy. These mailing envelopes are amazingly sturdy and I often get a complete winter climbing season out of a single one. If you want you may also punch a gap within the backside to assist it drain if snow adheres to your crampons or spikes and melts.
Besides saving cash, utilizing a poly bubble mailer may prevent some gear weight which is an even bigger deal in winter as a result of your climbing gear, traction and flotation aids, scorching water bottles, meals, and layers are often fairly heavy. For instance, a repurposed poly bubble mailer prices nothing and weighs 1 oz. Compare that to a Hyperlite Mountain Gear’s Prism Crampon Bag ($59) which weighs 4 oz (113g) or a Black Diamond Crampon Bag ($25) which weighs 5.5 oz (156g). On prime of that, a poly bubble mailer doesn’t have a zipper, in order that’s one much less level of failure.
I don’t take into account using a poly bubble mailer as a crampon bag to be that extraordinary, however I used to be just lately winter climbing with some buddies and so they have been fairly shocked that I carry my crampons and microspikes in poly bubble mailers as a substitute of utilizing crampon bag. It simply goes to indicate, that a number of the finest climbing gear will not be climbing gear in any respect.
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