My progression is; diamond grips when aggressive boot soles fail, easy on/off and pretty versatile and cheap. Next option is snowshoes of small-meium footprint w/ aggressive crampon across articulation at ball of foot. My new ones are Morpho w/ snowboard type bindings. Pretty easy on/off, are carbon fiber so very light and easy to maneuver in the woods. They also have climbing lifts for the steepstuff. I only use crampons on ice/frozen snow, and prefer the step in type which require specific types of boots. If I am wearing crampons I am probably holding an ice axe.
mike r
