Grivel Ski Tour New-Matic Crampons review: specs, sizing and what it costs you
The Grivel Ski Tour New-Matic Crampons sits in the under-$250 budget tier. Published specifications: Type Boot crampons, Binding New-Matic, Use Bootpacking and ice. Best for: Ski mountaineering with real bootpacks and firm couloirs.
The Grivel Ski Tour New-Matic Crampons is a ski crampon in the under-$250 budget tier, and this page is the short version of everything published about it: the manufacturer's own specifications, who it suits, what it gives up against the alternatives, and where it sits on the shelf it competes on. We have not skied this item and we do not pretend to have. Everything below is researched from published specifications, published certification standards and verified owner reviews.
These go on the boot rather than the binding, for the section of a ski mountaineering objective where skinning stops and climbing starts. Different tool, different job, and confusing the two is a common and dangerous mistake.
A ski crampon bites into refrozen snow that skins cannot hold, which describes every spring morning before the surface softens. It weighs almost nothing, it is binding-specific, and it is the difference between climbing and turning around.
Published specifications
These are the manufacturer's figures, not measurements we took. Specifications change between model years and between sizes, and a listing tied to one size is exactly that, so confirm the numbers on the retailer page for the size you are actually buying before you commit.
| Category | Ski crampons |
|---|---|
| Brand | Grivel |
| Budget | Under $250 |
| Tier | Expert |
| Type | Boot crampons |
| Binding | New-Matic |
| Use | Bootpacking and ice |
| Used for | Backcountry touring, outside a ski area boundary |
Who it suits
Ski mountaineering with real bootpacks and firm couloirs.
What it costs you
Not a substitute for ski crampons and not a beginner purchase. Steep firm snow with crampons and no training in self-arrest is a serious hazard.
That trade is worth stating plainly because it is the thing a product page will never tell you. Nothing in snow sports is free: every gram removed from a ski comes out of its damping, every degree of cuff rotation added to a boot comes out of its downhill stiffness, and every dollar saved on a shell comes out of either the fabric or the features. The question is never whether an item has a weakness, it is whether that particular weakness lands on the days you actually ski.
Where it sits on the shelf
It is the most expensive ski crampon on this shelf, so the question to answer before buying is what the money buys you over the next one down.
Compared with the rest of the shelf
| Ski crampons | Tier | Budget | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grivel Ski Tour New-Matic Crampons (this page) Ski mountaineering | Expert | Under $250 | BC category Amazon |
| Tyrolia Ambition Ski Crampon, 105 mm Widely compatible | Intermediate | Under $100 | BC category Amazon |
Prices are what the retailer listed when this page was last checked and change constantly. We earn commissions from Backcountry and from qualifying Amazon purchases, and every outbound link in this table is one or the other. A button reading "BC category" opens a Backcountry search for that category rather than that exact model, so it finds comparable gear alongside it.
How to shop this category
A ski crampon, sometimes called a harscheisen, clamps to the binding between the boot and the ski and bites into refrozen snow that skins cannot hold. That describes almost any spring morning tour before the surface softens, and any traverse across a wind-scoured slope. It weighs almost nothing and it is the difference between climbing and turning around.
They are binding-specific and ski-width-specific, which is the part buyers get wrong. The crampon has to fit the toe piece interface of your exact binding model, and it has to be wide enough to clear the ski waist while still reaching the snow. Confirm both against your actual setup before buying, because a crampon that is too narrow for the ski does not touch the snow.
A ski crampon is not a boot crampon. A boot crampon straps to the boot for bootpacking and climbing on hard snow and ice, and is what you carry for a couloir approach. They solve different problems and neither substitutes for the other.
Ski crampons and boot crampons are different tools
A ski crampon clamps to the binding and bites into refrozen snow that skins cannot hold, which is the situation on almost any spring morning tour before the surface softens. A boot crampon goes on the boot for bootpacking and climbing. They are not interchangeable, they solve different problems, and ski crampons are binding-specific so the fit must be confirmed against your exact binding model and your ski waist width, not just the brand.
The three mistakes this category produces
Buying a crampon that is too narrow for the ski
It has to clear the ski waist and still reach the snow. Check the width against your specific ski, not against the binding alone.
Assuming crampons are universal
They interface with a specific binding toe design. Confirm the exact binding model, including generation, before buying.
Leaving them at home in spring
The one morning you need them is the one where a refrozen traverse turns a routine tour into a retreat. They weigh almost nothing.
Looking after it
Dry them after use so the hinge and the interface do not corrode. Check the points for burrs after rock contact and file them back rather than leaving a hook. Keep them in a small stuff sack so they do not shred the inside of a pack.
None of that is glamorous and all of it is cheaper than replacing the item. The pattern across every category on this site is the same: snow sports equipment is destroyed by water, heat and neglect far more often than by use, and the difference between gear that lasts three seasons and gear that lasts ten is almost entirely what happens to it in the twenty minutes after you get home.
Which build this appears in
This item is a line in one of the complete build ladders on this site, which means it has been costed against everything else you would buy alongside it rather than picked in isolation. That is the useful way to look at any single purchase: what it does to the total.
- The ski mountaineering setup: Carbon skis, a kilogram boot, an airbag, and the full assessment kit. A specialist setup with a clear warning about who should not buy it.
What to read next
If you are still deciding between models, the full ski crampons roundup ranks the shelf by tier with the same published specifications used here. If you have not settled on the rest of the kit yet, the first backcountry touring setup budgets a complete setup line by line with a running total, which is a more useful way to spend a budget than optimising one item.
For sizing, the calculators cover ski length, snowboard size, mondopoint boot sizing, skin width and the skier code your shop uses to set a binding. The reference charts hold the same numbers in printable table form, and the comparisons work through the decisions where two reasonable options genuinely pull in different directions.
If this is your first piece of backcountry equipment, read avalanche safety basics and how to get into backcountry skiing before you buy anything else. The order that keeps people alive is training first, then the three minimum items, then practise, then everything on this page.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the Grivel Ski Tour New-Matic Crampons best for?
Ski mountaineering with real bootpacks and firm couloirs.
What are the drawbacks of the Grivel Ski Tour New-Matic Crampons?
Not a substitute for ski crampons and not a beginner purchase. Steep firm snow with crampons and no training in self-arrest is a serious hazard.
Do I need ski crampons?
If you tour in spring, on refrozen morning snow, or across wind-scoured slopes, yes. They bite into surfaces where skins alone slip, and they weigh very little. If you only tour in midwinter powder you will use them rarely, and they are still the cheapest insurance against turning around.
Are ski crampons universal?
No. They interface with a specific binding toe design and must also be wide enough for your ski waist. Confirm both against your exact binding model and ski before buying.
What is the difference between ski crampons and boot crampons?
A ski crampon clamps to the binding and works while you are skinning. A boot crampon straps to the boot for bootpacking, steep snow and ice. They are different tools for different parts of the same day and neither replaces the other.
How do ski crampons attach?
Most slot into a receptacle at the binding toe piece and pivot with the boot as you stride, so the points engage when your heel is down. Some are held by the boot itself, some float independently. Fit and function vary by binding, so try them at home before the tour.
How we choose: we compare published manufacturer specifications, published certification standards and verified owner reviews across retailers. We do not test equipment in person, and every figure quoted here is the manufacturer's published number unless we say otherwise. This is researched buying guidance and not professional instruction: binding release values are set by a certified technician on a calibrated jig, and avalanche terrain requires formal training and a current regional forecast that no article can replace.
