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Using B&D Ski Crampons with Fritschi Explore Bindings

Bookmark and Share            By Lou

It’s well known to the ski crampon cognicenti that Fritschi OEM ski binding crampons are less than ideal, because they rise with the binding rail and may have little bite when you’re in the higher heel rise positions. To solve that problem you can easily rig aftermarket crampons such as B&D or Voile to work with the Fritschi Freeride, because the Freeride has plenty of stack height and thus enough space under the rail. (Note, if using B&D crampons with Freeride and mounting them under the forefoot, rig them as fixed rather than dynamic, otherwise you’ll risk bending the binding rail because it will end up cantilevered over the crampon pressure plate.)

Mounting aftermarket crampons for use with bindings such as the Fritschi Explore is a different story, as those binders are lower to the ski and thus provide less room to work with.

Blog contributor Dave’s wife Jessica needed ski crampons for her Fritschi Explores. In an attempt to avoid the problems with Fritschi crampons, the three of us did some creative mods and got a pair of B&D cramps working for her despite the lack of clearance. Our solution works better than the OEM crampons, but since the crampon still has to hinge up and down (dynamic mode) it does have limited bite while using maximum heel lift. I was hoping we could add the excellent B&D crampon locks and thus make Jessica’s crampons fixed, with maximum bit at any heel lift, but we couldn’t quite get to that point. Interesting project, check it out:

Fritschi backcountry skiing.
Getting this figured out was fairly complicated, as a bunch of variables come into play. For example, you want the crampon to work with a useful amount of heel lift, but it’s necessary for the binding “foot” to rest on the crampon pressure plate, rather then having the binding rail resting on the crampon pressure plate. More, the pressure plate has to be positioned in a way that allows it to glide along the binding foot as the crampon hinges up and down. It would have been simpler to just make the crampon fixed to the ski using the nifty B&D crampon locks, but the only way to gain enough room for the crampon is to mount it as far back as possible, thus leaving no room for the locks.

Fritschi backcountry skiing.
Key to this project was modifying the crampon mounting block so it fits under the rail. We found that cutting a groove in the block was all it needed, if mounted back as far as possible.

Fritschi backcountry skiing.
Side view of the mounting block after installation, binding rail has a lip on the bottom that sits in the groove we made in the block. It would be nice if the block thickness was tapered slightly from front to back. A touch with the disk grinder would take care of that, but I was leery of weakening the block as it gets quite a bit of torque when the crampon is in use. Note how we mounted the block as far rearward as possible. This position will vary according to where the binding heel unit is located on the rail, after adjustment for boot length. Like I said, tricky variables.

Fritschi backcountry skiing.
Unlike crampons mounted under the ball of the foot, you can raise your foot so far with this configuration as to have the crampon flip forward and jam. Again, best solution to this would be using the cramps in fixed rather than dynamic mode, as they would then work with any heel lift height and be more reliable on steep terrain. Since that’s not possible, we figured out a simple solution using a loop of bungee cord that prevents the crampon from flipping forward.

Fritschi backcountry skiing.
On snow, before we added the bungee cord. Jess can use her heel lift in medium height position and still get plenty of crampon bite. We could add more height to the pressure plate if she preferred more heel rise. B&D gives plenty of options for pressure plate height.

Caveat: I don’t recommend this configuration for larger/heavier skiers. If you’re in that class, just get Fritschi Freerides and mount your crampons to be used in fixed mode. We’ve recently done just that and found that in most applications the crampon mounts still need a tiny bit of grinding for clearance under the binding rail, this is easily accomplished with nothing more than a file.

Posted by Lou on May 20, 2008 | Filed Under Gear Mods 

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Comments

13 Responses to “Using B&D Ski Crampons with Fritschi Explore Bindings”

  1. Andrew_L May 21st, 2008 7:42 am

    Lou,

    The Fritschi Axion crampon doesn’t suffer from this problem. I’ve been using them this year. You get decent bite even with the heel elevator in the highest position, and obviously no problems in the lower position.

    The ability to engage/disengage the crampon while underway is fantastically useful. With the Axion, the Fritschi Freeride/Explore binding continues to make its case as the best all-rounder. Check ‘em out. :)

  2. Tony May 21st, 2008 9:28 am

    Lou,
    I thought B&D made crampons specificaly designed to work with Fritschi bindings, but I might be wrong.

  3. Gary Deverell May 21st, 2008 9:55 am

    Is there a specific ski crampon for Marker Duke’s?

  4. BJ Sbarra May 21st, 2008 11:22 am

    My understanding is those Axion’s only fit skis up to an 82mm waist. Do they even make skis with 82mm waists anymore?

  5. Lou May 21st, 2008 11:26 am

    Tony, the problem is that B&D crampons work great with Fritschi Freeride, but not with Explore, due to Explore having less room under the rail.

    Gary, good question! Anyone know the answer?

    BJ, I’ve seen guys using Fritschi crampons with wide skis, so that’s probably not an issue.

  6. Lou May 21st, 2008 11:31 am

    Andrew, I’ve been out recently with several guys using Fritschi ski crampons, and they did not get good bite while using heel elevator. I’ll check into it. If I’m wrong, then that’s worth another blog post.

    As it is, the B&D used with the Freeride, locked in fixed mode, is a primo way to go.

  7. dave downing May 21st, 2008 1:38 pm

    @Lou: You’ve “seen guys using Fritschi crampons with wide skis” … that means anything over a 65mm waists for you, right ;)

  8. Lou May 21st, 2008 3:23 pm

    Very funny Dave (g)

  9. Jess Downing May 28th, 2008 11:55 am

    So when we going out again so i can test those bungees?

  10. Lou May 28th, 2008 12:36 pm

    Answer: Probably in a few days, but then, I thought you hung up the skis for the season?!

  11. Tim from NZ May 28th, 2008 9:33 pm

    Hi Lou tried to check out B&D ski crampons but my computer says their site is trying to give me a trojan virus. Keen to buy some of there 100mm crampons from some dynafits.

    Enough snow to ski down here if they never open Indy Pass for you.

    Tim

  12. Mike November 18th, 2008 3:40 pm

    Lou,

    I just ordered B&D crampons w/locks for skis with Freerides. Are there tips/tricks to mounting? Or should I expect detailed instructions in the box? Type of glue to use in the holes?

    Thanks

  13. Lou November 18th, 2008 4:09 pm

    Mike, it’s pretty basic, just use the provided template and go slow as the locks have to have exact spacing from the crampon. Using the locks is the way to go, as trying to get the crampon to hinge up and down properly can be difficult, and having it move up and down is over rated, in my opinion.

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Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information and opinion website. Lou's passion for the past forty years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about backcountry skiing and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the Fourteeners! Books and free back country information here, and tons of Randonnee rando telemark info.

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