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Hi guys, just dropped the dough on some Spantiks in a Eur45 and as I should have probably expected my Petzl Sarken Leverlocks ain't fitting, the heel bail wire isn't wide enough for the back of the boots. Anybody else managed to get Sarkens onto the Spantik? I don't like the toe bail wire interface either, there's not a lot of space upfront on the Spantiks. Would i be better off going for the sidelock Sarkens? Any tips for a spare bail that fits the front of the Spantik well?

Hi,

My Spantik work fine with my Sarken WIRE/LEVERWIRE without any adjustments.
You can probably by the spare part toe bail from Petzl and and change the side lock.

I find the Petzl Dart and Dartwin the best fitting crampons over all between offerings from the BD, Grivel and Petzl. The slim fit on the front bail is one reason. The Petzl heel levers are a little tight on my 45s but work well enough. The BD heel levers do work better how ever. So I use them. Easy on and off. You can buy the spare parts from BD at a small cost. You'll find it a much more positive latch up as well because of the slightly differeing leverage.

I've never had the sidelock versions fit any of my boots very well.

I haven't used the Sarken but would expect the same fit and heel lever issues from them since it is the same heel piece and toe bails used as the Dartwin.

My suggestion, is keep the standard front bail. Buy a set of BD heels and make sure the length adjustment is right on the connecting bar. I use a normal straight, long bar. The big rocker in the heel of the Spantik doesn't help when fitting the crampons tightly. That is the reason you want to be sure on crampon's sizing. As a last resort it is not unheard of to take a belt grinder to the sides of the heel on a Spantik either to make it fit the crampon heel piece better. It has been required on some of my previous boots but wasn't on my current pair.

Hi Dane,

thanks for the in depth reply, have had a good read through your site and remembered reading about grinding down the sole to get a fit, not sure I could trust myself on a pair of expensive boots not to screw it up though. Like you say in one of your articles on the site the manufacturers should really sort their acts out and come up with some sort of consistent boot/crampon interface standard so we don't have to put up with this bullshit. A bit of bending of the rear wire means they now go on, needs to be cranked in tight to pull the toe wire bail really close in and seems to fit the rocker of the boot quite well. Glad I'm not a size or so up and need to shell out more for a long bar.