How to pack Microspikes???

[Rightfoot]

I snagged a brand new pair of Kahtoola Micro spikes this weekend at a yard sale for $20. Seller indicated they were never used. My question is how and where do you pack them when not in use so that you are not tearing up and puncturing gear?

Regards

[QHShowoman]

For in-pack storage, I got one of these because I had a 20% coupon burning a hole in my pocket, but any heavyweight nylon x-small pouch will do:
http://kahtoola.com/product/microspikes-tote-sack/

Otherwise, if I think I might need them, I usually clip them to the outside of my pack with a carabiner.

[burger]

I just kept the heavy plastic bag that the spikes came in, and I usually keep them in a side pocket of my pack. I suspect that a gallon ziploc freezer bag would work fine too. The spikes aren't so sharp that they're going to tear up your gear. But they will be wet and dirty if you've used them, so it's good to have something more or less waterproof to keep them in.

[Tipi Walter]

I use an MSR titanium cooking pot at .85 liters and put my microspikes in a thin nylon stuff sack with the top closure cut off (but you could also use a disposable bread bag)---and then place the spikes inside my cooking pot and put the pot inside its blue foam pot cozy with the pot lid on top. The spikes fit just right inside my pot.

For on-trail mvt and removal I either just clip them in my pack's sternum strap and let them dangle from my chest, or I take off the pack and use the pack's back carabiner to hold them as I hike. For pot storage I clean them in a creek before hand etc.

[1azarus]

I use an MSR titanium cooking pot at .85 liters and put my microspikes in a thin nylon stuff sack with the top closure cut off (but you could also use a disposable bread bag)---and then place the spikes inside my cooking pot and put the pot inside its blue foam pot cozy with the pot lid on top. The spikes fit just right inside my pot.

For on-trail mvt and removal I either just clip them in my pack's sternum strap and let them dangle from my chest, or I take off the pack and use the pack's back carabiner to hold them as I hike. For pot storage I clean them in a creek before hand etc.

let the record show I agree with Tipi about the dangling from the sternum strap thing. when you need to use your microspikes you are way more likely to put them on if they are convenient. otherwise, if you're like me, you'll wait till you fall down before considering putting them on. likewise, you'll take them off more quickly if you have a convenient place to stash them -- and it is nicer to walk without them on when you don't need them on. I keep mine in a very lightweight very small not particularly strong or thick stuff sack in an outside pack pocket when not dangling from my sternum strap. I won't comment on the cooking pot storage thing...

[Tipi Walter]

Last winter I found the conditions whereby Microspikes fail---in deep wet snow. When snow is 8 to 10 inches deep and it is "warm" outside and the snow is wet and melting, well, the spikes hold onto this wet snow until you have a 5 lb ball of it under each foot after every 3 or 4 steps. Of course such clumps cause you to fall on your butt. And you can't knock off the snow every two steps cuz the snow will just ball up again in a few steps. Solution? Take off the spikes and strap to your chest and hike in your boots without them.

[Traveler]

I mate the two sets together, pointy side toward each other, and use a nylon stuff sack (small) to put them in. I also agree with Tipi and 1azurus, I keep them in the side pocket of my pack, or will using a carabiner to hang the stuff sack on the pack where I can get at them quickly. The stuff sack I use is older and a bit heavier than I would otherwise get, but it doesn't puncture with the spikes and will keep any snow/ice shedding off them contained, preventing it from shedding on my pants or other gear as I walk.

For the "slush balls" that can build up on warm days, I have used silicone spray on the spikes and both sides of the chain, using care not to get it on the elastic rubber. It tends to work, but will wear off after a short time, especially if you are moving on muddy/soft ground between snow fields or ice monorail sections.

[Tipi Walter]

That's a good tip, AT Traveler---using silicone. May have to spray them before heading out.

[rocketsocks]

Mine are currently housed in an old cordura shaving kit pouch.

[Old Grouse]

A Tellico Plains man was found lying face down on the trail this morning. Preliminary indications are that he bled to death from Microspike punctures in his chest. Rescue personnel speculate that he might have lived but for his 90 pound pack which added to the force of the fall.

[Tipi Walter]

A Tellico Plains man was found lying face down on the trail this morning. Preliminary indications are that he bled to death from Microspike punctures in his chest. Rescue personnel speculate that he might have lived but for his 90 pound pack which added to the force of the fall.

Ha ha that's funny but I actually did fall off a trail with a 90 lb pack WHILE using microspikes in the snow. My left leg slipped off the trail down a steep hill (due to spike snow balling---look it up), and my pack swung me around in a squatting position whereby my leg got pinned underneath and twisted as I started to tumble. I likened it to a iron train wheel rolling down a mountain. No spike punctures, though.

[Dogwood]

Heavy Ziploc outside of the pack w/ spikes facing each other as AT Traveler and Burger said. Have put them inside my pack in the Ziploc dry on the top of the load though too which I've never had an issue damaging anything. The spikes aren't all that long or sharp. They aren't full instep ice climbing crampons. I spray mine in the metal area with a silicone spray occasionally too. I've sprayed the Elastomer many times too and have damaged it. Helps keep the snow off and prevents rust. Some of the metal is not non ferrous stainless steel so can tarnish or rust although that has never been an issue even in long term use for me. As Tipi found out Kahtoola Microspikes aren't optimally designed for heavy wet deep snow long duration traction. I never store mine wet or with ice!

Have the Kahtoola Nanospikes and two different instep crampons as well for icy trail hiking, running, climbing, mountaineering, etc too all designed for different functions.

OG, that was good.

[rocketsocks]

Heavy Ziploc outside of the pack w/ spikes facing each other as AT Traveler and Burger said. Have put them inside my pack in the Ziploc dry on the top of the load though too which I've never had an issue damaging anything. The spikes aren't all that long or sharp. They aren't full instep ice climbing crampons. I spray mine in the metal area with a silicone spray occasionally too. I've sprayed the Elastomer many times too and have damaged it. Helps keep the snow off and prevents rust. Some of the metal is not non ferrous stainless steel so can tarnish or rust although that has never been an issue even in long term use for me. As Tipi found out Kahtoola Microspikes aren't optimally designed for heavy wet deep snow long duration traction. I never store mine wet or with ice!

Have the Kahtoola Nanospikes and two different instep crampons as well for icy trail hiking, running, climbing, mountaineering, etc too all designed for different functions.

OG, that was good.
I put and edge and point on mine with a small file, like kitchen knives, dull spikes lead to accidents.

[peakbagger]

A really nice modification to Kahtoolas is to install a Velcro strap that runs over the top of your foot similar to the ones that come with Hillsounds (or just buy the Hillsounds that are superior in my opinion). Folks will walk out of Kahtoolas on occasion and leave them in snow bank behind them. The strap serves a second very important goal, it keep the chains up against your feet and more important keeps the rubber loops where the chains attached above the welt of the boot. If they are sagging down, it is far more likely to cut a rubber loop.

Unfortunately not much can be done if the snow is sticky to keep them from balling. Silicone may work for a minute or two but it quickly seems to go away.

[Tipi Walter]

Peakbagger---Is wet snow clumping a big problem on regular crampons like Hillsounds???

[Rolex]

Mine are currently housed in an old cordura shaving kit pouch.

Good Idea! and someplace to stick those tent stakes I'm always worried are going to poke something.

[egilbe]

Peakbagger---Is wet snow clumping a big problem on regular crampons like Hillsounds???

I've not experienced that phenomenon, although Phil Werner of Sectionhiker.com has reported it. I have experienced where my foot has slid forward within the spikes on a steep decline. I guess the conditions haven't been right for snow clumping to my spikes. Hillsound has two versions of their trail crampons, the pro version I haven't tried.

[Marta]

I do either of the ways listed above--hanging from the outside of the pack (threaded through a clipped strap or a carabiner), or in a freezer bag in the outside pouch of the pack. You definitely want them easily accessible.

One of my neighbors here in Montana never steps out the door of her house without the spikes. You never know where there's ice lurking under the snow...

[Tipi Walter]

One of my neighbors here in Montana never steps out the door of her house without the spikes. You never know where there's ice lurking under the snow...

What I find amazing is the thousands of miles of winter backpacking I have done WITHOUT using spikes. I've only been using them for the last two years. Now I know better, much better.

Young backpackers in their 30's or 40's or even 50's can "afford" to fall. Heck I routinely fell off the trail in the snow hundreds of times. If I had to trek down icy rocks on a steep descent I just worried myself to death and pinched up my forehead and did a few bung abseils and reached the bottom in a sweat.

Why didn't I just pack some microspikes and laugh at the ice? Extra weight, idiocy, "falling's okay", boots work fine, never needed them. Now I've wised up. Spikes make all the difference especially when carrying a 70-80 lb pack.