On refrozen snow, where a skin slips and an edge does not bite. That is a specific morning — a spring dawn, a north-facing traverse in shade, a skin track polished by twenty people the day before — and on that morning nothing else in the pack substitutes.
What a ski crampon does that a skin cannot
A ski crampon is a steel comb that drops beside the boot, clipped into the touring binding. As the ski is weighted it bites through hard snow that the skin plush cannot hold.
Skins grip by friction on soft snow. When the surface is frozen, there is nothing for the plush to key into, and the skier slides backwards on a slope they walked up the previous afternoon.
The two numbers that decide the purchase
Width, in millimetres — 90, 100, 105, 110 in this catalogue. The crampon must straddle the ski: at least the waist width, and not much more, since a crampon far wider stops biting.
The binding system. A crampon is made for one maker’s binding and does not enter another’s slot. Listings that name the binding are the ones telling the truth; anything sold as universal is asking the buyer to check.
Get one of the two wrong and the crampon is scrap.
What else to look at
Tooth depth: shallow teeth for a frozen skin track, deeper for spring crust, and depth costs weight.
Material: steel or aluminium, with the obvious trade.
Weight per pair, because it is carried on every tour and used on few.
The honest position
Many tourers own a pair and use them three mornings a season. Those three mornings are the ones where the alternative is turning round, which is why they are still in the pack.
For a first season of touring, they are a reasonable thing to postpone — until the first frozen traverse, after which they are not.
How this site prints it
Crampon pages print the width in millimetres, the binding system the maker names, tooth depth where it is published, material and the weight per pair. Where a listing says “universal” and names no binding, the page says the compatibility is unstated.
The questions asked most often
Are they the same as boot crampons?
No. A ski crampon clips into the binding beside the boot and bites while you are still on skis. Boot crampons go on the boot for walking, and they are a different family here.
Will any crampon fit my binding?
No. The width in millimetres has to suit the ski, and the mounting has to suit that specific binding system. Both have to match, and the second is what most listings leave out.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026