When Grivel invented and began making the world’s first modern crampons, based on the designs of Oskar Eckenstein, over 80 years ago they manufactured from the best quality steel that could be found; old railroad ties were cut up, reheated and forged by hand. Now manufacturing processes have been modernized and better quality steel is available. The crampons themselves have changed little in terms of design and function, with the exception of Laurent Grivel’s history-making invention of the twelve point crampon in 1932. The steel Grivel uses for crampons today is harder than in the past. This has been dictated by the change towards almost exclusive use of the front points over the years. Harder steel forms a rigid, rail-like structure underfoot; this penetrates ice more efficiently and does not have to be sharpened as often. The disadvantages are that it tends to skate off rock more than a softer steel does and it is more brittle. Today we begin with 3mm thick strap iron that we buy in an annealed state; that is, it has been heated and then cooled in a controlled manner that renders it soft enough to work. We choose this particular material because it is very sturdy, it starts becoming brittle at a much lower temperature (-20°C) than normal steel, which changes at –5°C, and it is close in composition to stainless steel so is less affected by corrosion. The line of crampons uses the new technology, which is exclusive to Grivel at this time, called “3 Dimensional Relief Stamping (3DRS)”; this process increases the strength and rigidity, not only of the crampon’s frame, but of each individual point as well