BD Sabretooth vs Petzl Sarken

Both of these are the same kind of crampon: a 12-point steel alpine tool for routes where you walk for hours and then climb something that bites back. Both need a boot with at least a heel welt. Both weigh within ~20 g of each other. Neither is a waterfall ice crampon and neither is a pure walking crampon.

The difference is front-point geometry and steel. The Sarken uses T-section front points — a horizontal blade with a vertical rib — which penetrate hard ice with fewer kicks. The Sabretooth uses long, aggressive horizontal front points in stainless steel, which give a broader, more supportive platform, shed snow well and resist corrosion. The Sarken climbs ice better. The Sabretooth is the more forgiving all-round alpine platform.

Front-point bite on ice

A horizontal front point displaces a wide slot of ice with every kick. That is stable and supportive in névé and soft alpine ice, and it is work in cold, brittle water ice — more kicks, more fracturing, more calf. The Sabretooth's front points are longer and set more aggressively than a general mountaineering crampon's, which is why it climbs steep steps better than a Vasak or a G12, but the physics of the profile does not change.

The Sarken's T-section rib narrows the leading edge while stiffening the point against twisting. It enters hard ice with less force and holds a placement more securely when you weight it off-axis, which is what happens on any real pitch. On sustained ice to roughly 70°, the Sarken asks less of you.

The reverse holds on snow and mixed ground. The Sabretooth's broader front points give a more supportive step in soft névé and hook rock edges with more surface behind them, and its stiffer, wider frame feels planted when you are stemming between rock and ice rather than climbing straight up. If the profile question interests you, crampon points explained covers the whole spectrum.

Walking comfort and time on the approach

Both walk well by technical-crampon standards, and both are less relaxed than a dedicated walking crampon. Over a long approach, the Sabretooth's flatter, broader platform is marginally more comfortable for flat-footing, and its front points sit at an angle that is a little less prone to catching a gaiter cuff. The Sarken is the more forward-biased crampon; you feel its front end when you are tired.

Snow shedding is a wash on paper — both ship with anti-balling plates fitted front and rear — but Petzl's ANTISNOW plates are the better shape and clear a load of wet spring snow with a lighter tap of the axe shaft. Stainless steel gives the Sabretooth a small compensating advantage: snow sticks slightly less readily to stainless than to coated carbon steel, particularly once a coating has worn through.

Durability and corrosion

Stainless is Black Diamond's signature and it is a genuine practical benefit rather than a spec-sheet line. Crampons live wet: they go into a pack soaked, sit in a car boot for a week and come out in spring. Stainless tolerates that neglect, and it matters more than usual for anyone climbing near the coast, in maritime ranges, or walking roadside approaches salted in winter.

The Sarken's steel is not stainless, so it needs the routine: rinse off salt and grit, dry before storage, check for rust at the start of a season. In exchange it files quickly, and Petzl's spare-parts availability across the range is the best in the industry — bars, straps, plates and toe hardware are all replaceable, which is covered in the Petzl crampons guide.

On point wear, neither is hot-forged. Expect both to need a hand file after rocky seasons. The Sarken's T-section points have more edge geometry to maintain and are doing harder work if you use the crampon as intended, so they need attention sooner. Never take either to a bench grinder — the heat softens the steel.

Bindings, boot fit and price

This is where the two brands differ most in packaging. Black Diamond sells the Sabretooth as Clip (semi-automatic, toe strap cradle plus heel lever) or Pro (fully automatic, toe bail plus heel lever). You choose at purchase and you are choosing for the boots you own.

Petzl sells the Sarken with Leverlock Universel, whose toe can run either a strap cradle or a wire bail from the same box. One purchase covers C2 and C3 fitting, which is worth real money if you own a B2 boot now and expect a B3 shell later. Neither crampon fits a boot without a heel welt — check yours against the boot compatibility guide before you shop either.

On price the Sabretooth is usually the cheaper of the two, and Black Diamond's crampons tend to discount more often than Petzl's. If the budget is tight and the routes are mixed rather than icy, that settles it. The rest of Black Diamond's ladder, from the Contact up to the Cyborg, is in the Black Diamond crampons guide.

The verdict

Buy the Petzl Sarken if:

• Your alpine routes include sustained ice — couloirs, north faces, gullies that stay frozen — rather than occasional steps.
• You want the fewest kicks per metre from a crampon you can still walk in all day.
• You may change boot type and want one binding version that covers C2 and C3.
• You are willing to maintain non-stainless steel properly.

Buy the BD Sabretooth if:

• Your routes are alpine mixed — snow, névé, rock steps and ice sections — rather than ice-dominated.
• You climb in a wet or maritime range and want stainless that tolerates being put away damp.
• You want a broad, planted platform for long days of flat-footing with climbing at the end.
• You want to spend less without giving up capability on anything short of steep ice.

For a reader whose season is genuinely half ice, the Sarken is the pick. For everyone else on alpine ground — which is most people who ask this question — the Sabretooth covers more of the day for less money. Full detail in the Sabretooth review and the Sarken review.

Consider a different category if: your days are mostly glacier travel and snow slopes with rare ice, in which case both of these are more crampon than you need and a lighter all-rounder from the mountaineering roundup will walk better and cost less. If instead you climb steep waterfall ice most weekends, buy modular mono/dual points from the ice climbing roundup — both crampons here will get up the pitch and both will make you work for it.

BD Sabretooth on Amazon Petzl Sarken on Amazon

Sabretooth listings come as Clip or Pro and the thumbnails are hard to tell apart — confirm which toe system a listing is for, and that it matches your boot welts, before ordering.

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