I can’t say I have any direct experience with Kahtoolas, but I’m familiar with them and have used other “shorty” crampons. Basically, Kahtoolas are very light, ten-point, short-point crampons that have non-aggressive front points (they slant down rather than sticking straight out). They’re designed to work with just about any kind of footwear on slippery but non-technical terrain. The main model, the KTS, is very light (18 ounces per pair), and costs $129.
The idea is great; climbers often need some pointy things on their feet, but not necessarily two-inch daggers. For icy snow or hard snow, up to a moderate angle, Kahtoolas are all you need. And I think they’d be fine for Shasta. To me, the cost is the main factor. As you note, a pair of Kahtoolas cost the same as a pair of cramponsa nice pair of crampons. Yet they aren’t crampons, so shouldn’t be used on really steep snow or ice.
So if all you plan to do is Shasta and some occasional hiking on snow, get Kahtoolas. The ease of use and lightweight is worth the price. But if you think you’ll do some occasional climbing, then get some Grivel G10s. These are real crampons, albeit with fairly short, non-aggressive pointsmore aggressive than those on Kahtoolas, less than those on most mountaineering crampons. They’re also pretty light (27 ounces a pair) and adaptable to just about any kind of footwear. And the cost is very reasonable: $90. I have used G10s and think they’re terrific.