These Switchblade crampons never worked for me. I'm glad they're history. I never felt like I got great sticks with these. The narrow dual points didn't work very well at all in any ice conditions. After a while with these, I switched over to my BD Sabretooths. Even though these are supposed to be more general-purpose/alpine crampons, I found them to climb vertical waterfall ice better than the Switchblades. To top it all off, they were difficult to fit to my boots. I dumped the Switchblades for some Trango Harpoons. A huge improvement - especially in the mono point configuration. Now I'm using Grivel Rambocomps. These are the best waterfall ice crampons I've ever experienced. The Switchblade really is a weak crampon. There are lots of better alternatives on the market. The Mako (which replaced it) was not much of an improvement. However, the latest 'Bionic' crampon from BD looks like they've finally started to get it right.

Customer Service

no problems

Similar Products Used:

BD Sabretooth. Trango Harpoon. Grivel Rambocomp. Others.

None

Used almost exclusively in monopoint mode on water ice, mixed, and alpine in Calif, Colo, Alaska, and Canada. Experience about the same amount of snow balling up under my Switchblades as do partners with their Grivel Rambo crampons -- seems like less than my Footfangs or my IceInvaders. Fit is perfect for my boots. The front points on my Fangs were too short and sheared out frequently(!). No such issue with my Switchblades. Metal rusts if it’s been exposed to water, so I dry, sharpen and lightly oil my crampons (wipe them with some WD-40) before putting them away ready for use. For tuning ''em on multiday trips I bring a file, file card, and a small can of WD-40; on multiday climbs just the small file. Haven’t tried any new crampons lately, but the Trango Harpoons and the new Black Diamond Bionic crampons look esp. intriguing.i

Customer Service

Outstanding

Similar Products Used:

IceInvaders, Footfangs, Chouinard Messer-step-ins, Chouinard rigids, SMC and Salewa flexibles i

Very good performance on water ice, very bad tendency toward snow balling, I did buy the optional anti-bot plates which seem to work well. They're rigid, fit my boots well ( Scarpa Invernos and La Sportiva Makalus ), and have the versatility of going mono-point. If they weren't so prone to snow balling I'd be more generous in my evaluation, but will save five stars for the yet to exist, perfect crampon..., same for value because with the required anti-bot plates they're not cheap...

Customer Service

Hey, it's Black Diamond...

Being one of two pairs of crampons I've owned, I liked em! They fit both pairs of my boots well (scarpa invernos and soloman supermountain 9's) and they work great for vertical ice and steep slippery stuff. However, they rust easy.

Customer Service

I've never had to call BD about any of their products, thats a good thing isn't it?

Similar Products Used:

grivel g-10's

These are pretty decent crampons, but I never fell in love with them. The narrow dual front points never felt all that secure to me. I never tried fitting them out as monos because I had a hard time finding parts, etc. They also never quite fit my boots perfectly. They came close; but note quite perfectly.

I know they work really well for other folks - I see them out there whenever I go to popular ice crags. But I sold mine.

Customer Service

BD is a great company

Similar Products Used:

BD Sabretooths - the best alpine crampon
Trango Harpoon monopoints - fantastic for vertical ice!

They work great and bite the ice really well. They do rust a lot though. The snow balls up on them a fair bit in wet snow conditions so they are better for steep ice rather than glacier travel. If you are doing lots of glacier travel get the plate thing that keeps the snow from sticking.

I own 2 pair of Switchblades (1 for me, the other for my girlfriend) and 2 major issues stand out. First, BD should automatically ship them with anti-bot plates. From the moment you step into them, they become quickly packed with snow. A real drag when you're feeling frisky on those summit attempts...Secondly, the "rust" factor is almost immediately apparent. When I opened the box in my local REI store, they were "pre-rusted" (for my convienience I guess...) Simply wire-brushing the rust, then a light coating of Tri-Flow was all that was needed to recover.

Moving beyond the shortcomings, the Switchblades are a stout, sturdy crampon that won't leave you guessing. Infinite adjustability to your shoe size (mine are 13's with plenty of adjustment left over) interchangeable front points (I run duals, while my girlfriend sticks to mono's)and replacement bolts/nuts/parts are "hardware-store" available. No need to special order a simple bolt or nut..

Overall, A good crampon for those of you who want a solid platform to climb sketchy ice, but keep them covered with a silicon/teflon based lube to prevent rust, and get yourself a set of anti-bot plates or you'll feel like a 6 inch-platform-wearing disco king!!

Customer Service

Black Diamond has a Customer Service line?? Why?? All of their products are top quality..

I bought these on sale because I read some good reviews about them in Climbing magazine. There a little heavy and rust very fast. They have worked great for me so far, I have done some routes in and around Mt. Washington with them but I have also used the Sabertooths, Rambos and the other basic crampon by Grivel which all performed equally well.