Hyperlite Mountain Gear Prism Crampon Bag

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Crampon case is, as it sounds, a case designed to protect your stuff from the numerous sharp points inherent to a piece of gear designed to stick into ice. Made from DCF fabric and lined with a rigid foam this case is light (4.0 ounces), protective...and too small (I have tried both the Grivel G12 and the Black Diamond Sabretooth Pro with it).

EASE OF USE

Winter gear needs to be able to work consistently and easily, and if it doesn’t then it’s frustrating, or worse. When your fingers are freezing and numb the last thing you need is to be wrestling with your gear. Anyone who has spent some time after the screaming barfies, or descending a mountain when the snow has been balling for hours underfoot, knows that taking off crampons, and storing them, needs to be painless.

I have found the HMG Prism crampon bag is too small. As mentioned above, I have tried both the Grivel G12 and the Black Diamond Sabretooth Pro with it for testing. It is far more difficult than it needs to be, and only works when the crampons are aligned heel to toe. When packing my crampons at the end of a long day I don't want to have to line them up orderly—I want to throw them in the general direction of a bag and then zip it closed.

In my opinion the case should be at minimum another two or three inches, both in terms of width and length. I get that this would increase the weight, and that HMG is an ultralight-focused business, but not at the expense of working. I use a pair of Grivel G-12 crampons (pretty standard general use crampons, for reference) and even fully shortened (they utilizes a tool-free length adjustment luckily) they just fit, and only if packed heel to toe; they do not fit in any other way, same with the BD Sabretooth Pro pair that a buddy uses.

A question was posed to me, "would someone want a smaller crampon case? Is that something that HMG should explore, different sizes?" In my opinion, no. I don't see any value in a smaller size case. This same case made 25 percent bigger would be negligible in terms of extra weight and cost and make it far more usable.

Personally, my crampons are only in a case very rarely. If I am heading out on a trip they are usually strapped to the outside of my bag if not needed right away (now I definitely value this feature on an alpine backpack—the ability to store crampons on the exterior, some may not have that feature so a bag to store the crampons in while packed in the backpack becomes far more important). And even then, when they do need to be stored inside a pack, I would argue that it would be even more important that it's simple and easy to get them in and out of the Prism crampon bag.

The size compared to my current crampon case. You can see that when your fingers are numb there is clearly a way easier option.

This is what I'm usually left with before the frustration makes me give up. You can see the middle accordion bar is scrunched almost as tight as it will go—nowhere close to fitting when packed toe to toe.

Or this.

This is how easy it should be. Not pictured, the Prism crampon bag!

The zipper slides smoothly and is of adequate size with orange cordage attached for use with gloves (almost a guarantee).

FEATURES

The key upgrade is obviously the use of the DCF fabric which allows this crampon case to be substantially lighter than a traditional carrying case.

The case is lined with a rigid foam which helps protect your gear from the multiple sharp points designed to stick into solid ice.

There is a small interior pocket to carry a file, small wrench, or other tools, additional front point, etc.

Drain holes on the bottom allow that melting snow to not pool against your crampons.

CONSTRUCTION AND DURABILITY

The case is made well, as I’ve come to expect from Hyperlite. All stitching is clean and straight, zippers are high quality and run smoothly, and there is clearly a focus on quality. It’s been exposed to a lot of moisture as it's been curiously warm this winter, so lots of slush/snow/sleet mix, and I don’t want to pack it inside the pack with the teeth exposed.

CONCLUSION

I have found the HMG Prism crampon bag to be frustratingly small. So despite the high build quality and use of a cutting edge fabric I am unable to recommend it at this point. I will unfortunately have to continue using my case that weighs slightly less than a rhinoceros.

*The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Prism Crampon case was tested in conjunction with the rest of the Prism Alpine Climbing Kit collection (Prism ice screw case and Prism pack). An in-depth look into how the system pairs together will be posted shortly.

Background

I received the Prism crampon bag in mid-November and have been using it for more than four months. I previously used a Ragged Mountain Equipment crampon case and will return to doing so.