Howdy!
I would not purchase the Air Tech Lights. They are aluminium. They are fine for things such as ski mountaineering, or other forms of transportation in which you will not be stepping on things harder than soft ice and compact snow. In the San Gabriels, things get mixed really fast, so you'll really really do better with steel crampons, as you will often step on rocks.
That said, I've never broken a crampon tip, nor have I used aluminium crampons. My opinion of aluminium in a high-stress environment (under your foot, stepping on all sorts of stuff) is low, after having seen aluminium objects in the military environment break, where I believe steel would have been a much smarter choice.
I have a set of Grivel G12 (steel, standard) crampons with "New-matic" binding, which has the bail up front, and the clippy-dealy at the rear that clamps down on the rear of your boot (major brainfart here), will add terminology when my brainfart has passed.
This system is very strong and very positively attached to the boot, which is VERY helpful when you do any mixed or harder ice. At the least, this inspires confidence in the equipment, as I know many folks have done more with less.
G12:
http://www.grivelnorthamerica.com/produ ... id=5&id=47
This photo shows the fancier new-matic binding system, my preferance.
I have the squishy (yet another fancy technical term) anti-bott plates on my Grivel G12's, the ones they came with. I removed the Accordion, which is an ant-ibott for the center bar. I've not had an issue that made me wish to replace these. They stop my crampons from compacting down enough to be stored in the crampon bag integral to my pack.
I've had several pairs of Black Diamond crampons, and my oldest are standard run-of-the-mill Contact Strap models, as basic as BD makes them. They're great for most stuff, but make me feel uneasy if I'm on technical terrain, if you intend to do any of that. Aside from that, they're by far more versatile than any other attachment system, and I've put them on several pairs of boots, from Army issue boots to trail runners. If you o not intend to climb vertical ice or mixed routes, I'd buy these, or their Grivel equivelant (G10 with Classic binding).
G10's:
http://www.grivelnorthamerica.com/produ ... id=5&id=43
Those are the classic bindings. They fit on nearly all forms of footwear that you intend to wear in the mountains in winter. This is, in my opinion, the best system for general mountaineering, if you only wish to own one set of crampons.
Contact Strap:
http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/ge ... _strap.php
The Trango's are fantastic. I have the Scarpa equivelants (Charmoz), and they're great. Several of my friends have, and love their Trangos. Since you are getting crampons, you can either buy the Grivel's that have the fancy binding, or the standard straps.
I don't know much about the Raven Pro. I have had the standard Raven for a few years, and I cannot think of anything to improve on it. It's just the way a general mountaineering piolet (axe) should be, in my opinion. The only one I've tried that I like more is the REI-standard Grivel Brenva axe, not that there is anything wrong with the Ravens at all. The Grivel has a nicer spike, and the head is more comfortable for folks with lage hands to hold for long periods of time.
And yes, I'm happy with my stuff. 8)
Feel free to ask questions. Don't be a stranger!
