Keeping your crampons clean, sharp and oiled with WD-40. Wipe the excess off and do not let the oiled crampons contact ropes or slings or Gore-Tex clothing just to be safe.

Instead of using WD-40 try a dry film spray on lubricant, just wipe of the excess after a few minutes. That will protect them between use and not lube on the nylon webbing.

I reckon you can scrape the rust off your crampons for about fifty years before it makes any difference. If you use crampons much, you're going to be sharpening them once or twice a season anyway, so the WD-40 is probably a waste of time.

Crampon rust is superficial -- they are made of chromoly steel (if not the new stainless BD stuff).

I usually just let them air dry, and then wipe down with some white lightning bicycle chain lube (simply because I have a lot of it lying around). Metolius distributes cam lube based on the same stuff, so I don't worry about what it will do to soft goods.

Rinse/wash them off if they are dirty, then air dry and store in a dry place. No need for oil.

nhluhr wrote:Rinse/wash them off if they are dirty, then air dry and store in a dry place. No need for oil.

Agreed. I've never oiled crampons. I just ignore the tiny bit of rust they get on them.

I keep them sharp and if there's rust I go to work at them with a towel and just scrub...I prefer to keep the chemicals away