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[adamiata]

So I went into last weekend all excited to do a bunch of routes at Frankenstein. First climb of the day, I started leading up a bulge at the bottom of Pegasus, got about 15 feet up, and had some difficulty getting a secure stance to place a screw. I looked down and saw something wrong with one of the front points on my Petzl M10 crampons.

Upon down climbing and investigating further, I saw that one point was broken cleanly in half between the mounting bolts, allowing it to flop around uselessly. It even broke through my anti-bott plate. Two of the other front points had small cracks visible in the same area around a casting mark.

Needless to say, this put something of a damper on my weekend. I got these 'pons about a year ago as a replacement for my Petzl Sarkens, which were recalled. They've seen ordinary use in New Hampshire less than 10 times. No abuse, or mixed climbing, just trade routes, really.

I think that with the fractures happening in the same spot consistently, this represents a clear manufacturing defect. Anyone who's currently using a pair of M10s, or other similar Petzl crampon should take a careful look at their front points for a similar issue.

I'll be contacting Petzl and will keep this thread updated.

Top View:


Bottom View:


Crack:


My in-house quality department performs a rigorous inspection:

[Admin Al]

wowser!!!!!! I have been using M10's for years and haven't had a problem, but that sure looks like it could be a manufacturing defect to me, but I'm no engineer. have you spoken to the local rep? that would be Dave Karl. he lives here in North Conway. I would be very surprised if they didn't "make it right". keep us informed...

--al

[bluesnpolitics]

good thing they weren't set up as monos That's really unfortunate (is that word strong enough?) to have two issues in a row like that. I haven't had Petzl crampons, but I've never had issues with anything else they make.

[tradmanclimbz]

Wow, I have used and abused my M10s for several seasons. I think this is the 3rd season? Anyways other than the anti bot plates being flimsy heavy and expensive they seem pretty rugged....

[adamiata]

wowser!!!!!! I have been using M10's for years and haven't had a problem, but that sure looks like it could be a manufacturing defect to me, but I'm no engineer. have you spoken to the local rep? that would be Dave Karl. he lives here in North Conway. I would be very surprised if they didn't "make it right". keep us informed...

--al

I didn't know we had a local rep for Petzl. I sent an email with pictures last night to the customer service address on Petzl's website. I haven't heard anything back yet. Think I should contact Dave as well?

[Admin Al]

I emailed him the link to this thread & he replied & said he would look into it. I will PM you his contact info.

HTH

--al

[adamiata]

I spoke with Petzl America and I'll be sending the crampons back today. They weren't able to offer a whole lot of insight until they have a look at the points. I got kind of a non-committal answer when I asked if they'd been having widespread problems with the M10.

[Climber57r]

After seeing the pic. I looked at my front points and noticed a hairline fracture in the same area as noted on 1 out of 4 ...I will be replacing it soon. Just figured I would throw that out there. Probably just a bad casting...hopefully... 

[adamiata]

I just got off the phone with someone at Petzl. They'll be replacing the pair of crampons, not just the front points. I was told they see this kind of thing periodically, but that there hadn't been any particular trend. They were very pleasant on the phone and I'm glad they're doing the right thing.

So, in the mean time I've been using a second pair of M10s that I have. These ones were set up as mono points for a while, though I converted them back to dual points recently. I found similar hairline cracks on 2 of the points after using them this weekend. They have the same number cast into the side of the point: 3557. I'll be sending them back to Petzl as soon as the replacement for my first pair comes in.

Climber57r, did your cracked front points have a lot number on them?

[adamiata]

Got my nice shiny new M10s in the mail yesterday. 

It's too bad that this happened in the first place, but Petzl has been given me the best customer service I could ask for.

[devkrev]

Got my nice shiny new M10s in the mail yesterday. 

It's too bad that this happened in the first place, but Petzl has been given me the best customer service I could ask for.

Oh jeez, I have a pair that I also got to replace the fractured front point sarkens.
Lemme go take a look.

dev

[Mike_R]

Hey, I'm looking for a set of Petzl crampon heel pieces.  Can be M10 or any current model.  Must be conventional heel lever style.  If any of you with bad M10's are planning on scrapping the 'poons, let's discuss the heels, OK?  Likewise if someone is going to return a pair, I'll give you my Sidelock heels to ship back along with your front parts.

[adamiata]

I've only seen the M10s offered with the lever style binding.

What don't you like about the side locks?