Siping Your Footwear

[wordstew]

Does anybody sipe their footwear for winter use... curious if you get better traction by doing so


Siping: is a process of cutting thin slits across a rubber surface to improve traction in wet or icy conditions

[egilbe]

I put on snow shoes or crampons. No need to sipe and surface I'm covering up.

[Malto]

Microspikes allow you to be siped and unsiped in a matter of a minute. I learned a new word today. :banana

[peakbagger]

I have seen hikers who install hex screws into the soles of their boots.

[wordstew]

I have seen hikers who install hex screws into the soles of their boots.

Hex screws sound like a cheap low tech alternative... are there any other footwear hacks

[Leo L.]

Our ancestors had nails, and one of my unlces had been a Cobbler so I inherited some boxes full of those: different types, some to be placed more in the middle, some for along the edges, and also several partial-horseshoe-like irons to be nailed to the tip of the soles and the end of the heels.
Mountain boots with full-leather soles were pegged with such assorted nails until somebody invented rubber soles and crampons maybe 100yrs ago.

I'm seriously considering to carry a set of such nails on a hike where there is a small chance of a need for traction enhancement, just in case.

[Tipi Walter]

There was a day when backpackers wore full leather boots with deep lug soles. These babies worked great in the snow and/or mud. Nowadays it's almost impossible to find deep lug sole boots (or hobnail boots for that matter)---and so we carry microspikes.

[egilbe]

The waffle stompers destroy trails when they are heavily trafficked. We wear microspikes when the trails are covered with another surface, like snow or ice. The damage is minimal. Our footwear is lighter as a result.

[peakbagger]

Peter Limmer and Sons will gladly sell a stock boot with lug soles or custom build you a pair. The trades offs is months of break in and carrying a lot of extra weight on the feet.

[Leo L.]

Those are the ones I have in mind:
http://www.schlattergroup.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Bilder/Geschichte/Schuhnagel_.jpg
(to be set along the edges of the sole)

[saltysack]

Hex screws sound like a cheap low tech alternative... are there any other footwear hacks

They work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[saltysack]

Microspikes allow you to be siped and unsiped in a matter of a minute. I learned a new word today. :banana

Glad I’m not the only dummy....I thought he was a real UL weenie and was drinking from his shoe![emoji23]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tipi Walter]

The waffle stompers destroy trails when they are heavily trafficked. We wear microspikes when the trails are covered with another surface, like snow or ice. The damage is minimal. Our footwear is lighter as a result.

The waffle stompers sure did grip the trail better and prevented many falls as when compared to the minimal soles now sold.

[Feral Bill]

Boating shoes are often siped, for grip on wet decks. I wouldn’t hike in them, though