CAMP XLC 390 Review
The XLC 390 exists to solve one problem: carrying crampons you will probably not use. At ~390 g a pair it weighs less than a single steel crampon, folds flat against a pack panel, and disappears from a skimo kit until the moment a firm couloir demands it. For that job it is one of the best pieces of gear CAMP makes.
It is also the crampon most likely to be bought by the wrong person. Aluminum points are soft. They blunt on rock in hours rather than seasons, they skate on hard water ice instead of biting, and they bend under the leverage of front-pointing. Buying one because it is light, then taking it onto ground where a slip runs out, is a genuinely dangerous mistake.
Buy it as a second pair of crampons for firm spring snow. Do not buy it as your only pair.
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Points | 12, horizontal front points |
| Material | 7075-series aluminum alloy throughout |
| Weight | ~390 g per pair |
| Binding versions | Semi-automatic and automatic fittings (welted boots) |
| Boot rating | B2–B3 in practice — ski touring and mountaineering boots with welts |
| Anti-balling | Plates included |
| Adjustment | Tool-free linking bar, ski-boot friendly sizing |
| Best for | Skimo, ski mountaineering, spring snow, firm névé, glacier travel in cold conditions |
| Not for | Water ice, mixed ground, rocky approaches, any route where crampons are the plan rather than the contingency |
Where 390 g is brilliant
Weight on your feet costs several times what the same weight costs in your pack, and weight you carry all day for twenty minutes of use costs more than that in decisions. The XLC 390 changes the calculation. It is light enough and small enough that you stop debating whether to bring crampons, which means you have them on the day the couloir is bulletproof at seven in the morning.
On firm spring snow and cold névé, aluminum points penetrate perfectly well. Snow is softer than the alloy, and the physics that make aluminum a poor choice on ice are irrelevant when the medium yields. Flat-footing across a 35° firm slope in these feels no less secure than in steel, and the reduced swing weight is obvious on a long traverse.
The frame is stiff enough to sit properly under a ski boot, which is not a given at this weight — ski boot soles are rigid and unforgiving, and a flimsy crampon rocks under them. The XLC clamps up solidly and stays put. Transitions are quick, which matters when you are standing on a bootpack with skis on your back.
Packed, it takes almost no room. That is a real safety argument: gear you actually carry protects you, and gear left in the car does not. For the ski mountaineer whose crampon days are three per season, all of them on firm snow, this is close to ideal. Our aluminum crampons roundup puts it alongside the other featherweights.
Where aluminum is dangerous
Be blunt about this, because the marketing never is.
Water ice. Aluminum points do not bite hard ice; they skate across it and then deform. On a frozen waterfall, an icy runnel, or a wind-scoured slope that has turned to blue ice, these are the wrong tool, and the failure is sudden rather than gradual — a foot that was holding stops holding. Steel is not a preference here, it is the requirement.
Rock and mixed ground. A single rocky traverse can round the points measurably. Two or three can leave the front points visibly shortened. Steel points wear over years; aluminum wears over hours of contact with stone. If your route has any rock band, scree crossing or exposed slabs in it, wear something else.
Front-pointing. Hanging your body weight on two aluminum points levers a soft alloy at the worst angle. They can bend. This crampon is designed for walking in balance on snow, not for climbing.
Warm ground and consequence. Aluminum's other quiet problem is that it is at its worst exactly when the day goes wrong: late in the afternoon, when the snow you climbed at dawn has refrozen into something harder, or when a route-finding error puts you on ice instead of snow. A steel crampon copes with the surprise. An alloy one does not.
The rule. Aluminum crampons are for snow you expect, at a time you chose, on ground you have seen. If there is a realistic chance of hard ice, rock, or a slip that would not stop, take steel. The trade-offs are laid out fully in aluminum vs steel crampons, and no crampon of any material substitutes for an ice axe and practised self-arrest.
Fit, bindings and living with it
The XLC is built around welted boots. The semi-automatic version needs a heel welt; the automatic version needs welts at toe and heel. Ski touring boots almost always have both, which is the intended market. Flexible hiking boots are outside its scope entirely — and outside the scope of any crampon, a point worth checking against the boot compatibility guide before you buy anything with points on it.
Sizing is quick. The linking bar slides and locks without tools, and the range covers the ski boot sizes it is aimed at. Set front-point projection to roughly 1.5 cm beyond the toe, less than you would run on a steel crampon, because there is no reason to expose more soft alloy than necessary. Twist the boot by hand afterwards: no rock, no rotation.
Anti-balling plates are fitted, and they matter more here than usual. Spring snow is exactly the condition that balls up, and the XLC's use case is spring snow. Keep the plates intact and tap your boots regularly on warm afternoons.
Maintenance is mostly about knowing when to stop. Aluminum points can be dressed lightly with a file, but every pass removes material from a component that has little to spare. Inspect the front points each season. When they are visibly shortened or rounded, replace the crampon rather than trying to restore an edge — you cannot file a soft point back into a sharp one that will hold.
Pros
- Among the lightest full 12-point crampons made, at ~390 g
- Packs flat and small enough to carry as insurance
- Genuinely secure on firm spring snow and cold névé
- Stiff enough to sit properly under a ski boot
- Fast, tool-free adjustment and quick transitions
- Anti-balling plates included
Cons
- Aluminum points skate on hard water ice
- Wears rapidly on rock and mixed ground
- Not built for sustained front-pointing
- Short service life compared with steel
- Needs welted boots — no true beginner option
- Easy for a novice to buy for the wrong reason
Who should buy it
Buy the XLC 390 if you already own a steel crampon and want a second pair for ski touring, skimo racing and spring couloirs. Buy it if your crampon use is measured in minutes per outing on firm snow, and the weight penalty of steel is why you keep leaving crampons behind. Buy it if you race, where every gram on the foot is paid for repeatedly.
Those are narrow criteria on purpose. Inside them, this crampon is excellent and there is very little competition at the weight.
Who should not buy it
Anyone buying their first crampon. A first pair has to cope with what you did not plan for. That means steel and 12 points — start with the mountaineering crampons roundup. If budget is the constraint, the CAMP Stalker is the same brand's steel workhorse at a modest price.
Anyone whose route includes ice. Not "might include ice" — if ice is even plausible, the answer is steel. This is where hybrids earn their place: a steel front section with an aluminum heel gives you real bite where the load concentrates and saves weight where it does not. The Petzl Irvis Hybrid is the reference point, at roughly 150 g more than the XLC, and it is the crampon most people shopping for the XLC should actually buy.
Anyone crossing rock. Approach slabs, rocky ridges, boot-packed trails with stones showing through. Aluminum will not survive the season, and blunt points on firm snow are a hazard in their own right.
Winter hikers on icy trails. Crampons of any material are the wrong category for rolling icy paths in flexible footwear. Use microspikes, which are safer, lighter and easier on that terrain. Crampons begin where the slope steepens enough that a fall would not stop on its own.
CAMP sells several crampons under the XLC name, including hybrid versions with steel front points. Check which variant a listing is for — the hybrids are heavier and considerably more capable on ice. The full range is compared in our CAMP crampons guide.
FAQ
Can I use the XLC 390 on a glacier?
On a cold, snow-covered glacier, yes — that is close to its ideal terrain. On bare glacier ice in late summer, no. Exposed glacier ice is hard, and aluminum points do not hold on it. Take steel for anything where you expect to walk on ice rather than snow over ice.
How long do aluminum points last?
Entirely dependent on rock contact. Used strictly on snow, several seasons. Used on a couple of rocky approaches, you will see measurable rounding immediately. Treat visible shortening of the front points as the end of the crampon's useful life, not a sharpening job.
What is the lightest crampon I can safely use as my only pair?
A hybrid, not a full aluminum. Steel front points where the bite and leverage happen, aluminum in the heel where they do not, at around 500–550 g a pair. That covers snow routes, firm névé and short ice steps without the alloy failure modes.
Does it work with a hiking boot?
No. It needs welts, and it needs a rigid sole. A flexible boot flexes the frame, levers the points and loosens the fitting. If your boots are soft, no crampon is appropriate for them.