View Full Version : Help me decide on some "Winter Traction"
I've never gone in the winter, but I'd like to extend my hiking to 4-season. I just picked up a pair of snowshoes and now I want something a little less geared towards the fluffy stuff and more suited to the icy stuff for recreational trail hiking.
I live in the greater NYC area and I plan on using one of the device-types below on trails ( no ice wall scaling, purely trails), help me pick what would be the most cost-effective, durable, easy to use, best traction on the trail:
STABILicers:
http://www.32north.com/prod_cover.htm
Instep Crampons:
http://greatoutdoorsdepot.com/cmi-instep-crampons.html
Microspikes:
http://www.spadout.com/p/kahtoola-microspikes/#
6-pt Heel and Instep Crampons:
http://tinyurl.com/8n84lw
Thanks!
I have the first three, or your four, choices.
My new favorite (this year) is MICROspikes. They are light, aggressive, and stay in place. As your link shows, EMS has them on sale, now. They are also offering free shipping, for $100 orders, and will include a $25 gift card, for your next purchase.
I used Stabilicers for years. I like them, but they are much heavier. Some of my friends have a problem with these shifting on their feet, although it was never an issue for me. The replaceable ice-screws are a nice feature.
Ah crap, forgot replaceable, you're right. Here is how I see each products benefits...correct me if I'm wrong from looking at their descriptions.
STABILicers:
http://www.32north.com/prod_cover.htm
(replaceable, best for icy sidewalks if I wanted to get dual use out of them, but Roland says they are heavy)
Instep Crampons:
http://greatoutdoorsdepot.com/cmi-instep-crampons.html
(easy to put on, light, cheap, portable, but if I needed to dig in with my toes on something, thes ewouldn't help)
Microspikes:
http://www.spadout.com/p/kahtoola-microspikes/#
(gives you a little more dig that the two offerings above...but I worry about them shifting around as they are strapped in, just stretchy rubber holds them on and the chains would move around, right?)
6-pt Heel and Instep Crampons:
http://tinyurl.com/8n84lw
(most difficult to put on, but best traction. Most expensive.)
Thoughts?
MICROspikes actually stay put quite well, if fitted properly. The rubber harness if very rugged. You really have to stretch it, to fit over your boot.
Remember, none of the products you list take the place of real crampons, if you hike in places where 10-12 point crampons are needed. But when hiking in mixed conditions (especially in late fall and early winter), they are real handy; quick to put on/off and very lightweight.
I have no use for instep crampons. They are junk, in my opinion.
If I had to limit myself to one of the 4 products you list, I would go with MICROspikes.
Hikerhead
12-22-2008, 21:59
I have a pair of these and have liked the way they've held up and they have helped me out of slick spot or two. I tie my shoe laces through them though just in case one does come off the shoe I won't loose it.
http://cozywinters.com/shop/dg-go.html
Microspikes:
http://www.spadout.com/p/kahtoola-microspikes/#
(gives you a little more dig that the two offerings above...but I worry about them shifting around as they are strapped in, just stretchy rubber holds them on and the chains would move around, right?)
[B]
Thoughts?
The chains have a little give that is disconcerting at first. It took a few hours on some nasty, smooth ice before I was trusting. Then, have at it.
MICROspikes actually stay put quite well, if fitted properly. The rubber harness if very rugged. quick to put on/off and very lightweight.
If I had to limit myself to one of the 4 products you list, I would go with MICROspikes.
Agree. The crunching noise bothers me when on hard ice, but I would not be there without them.
I have reserved a set of microspikes at my local EMS...thanks everyone!
LIhikers
12-23-2008, 20:30
Do you have a pair of hiking boots that you can "donate" toward the cause of extra traction? If you do, get a set of the replacement cleats made for Stabilicers and screw them into the soles of those boots. Of course you can't put them on and take them off as easily as other devices, but they are more secure than anything you'll strap to the outside of your boots.
understood LIhikers, but the one good pair of boots I have, I would die for at this point in time. :p Perhaps when they wear out. *cheers*
Blissful
12-23-2008, 21:27
I used Yak trax around here and they worked pretty good. Only went hiking with the once though in ice.
Stabilicers work great, used them for years successfully, but the Khatoola microspikes are on my list. Yaktrax have a tendency to slip off your foot, esp. going downhill. They're great for gentle conditions, but will quickly break on rocks.
Since I only use my boots in winter, I jsut might try screwing in the Stabilicer replacement cleats. (actually, I bet you could get almost the same thing at the hardware store for way less)
buckwheat
12-23-2008, 23:34
Stabilicers work great ... actually, I bet you could get almost the same thing at the hardware store for way less)
It's basically just a hex screw of about 1/4" length. Home Depot?
maybe i am missing something here, but in the relatively flat ct/ny AT area, step 'n crunch or step n' slide, along with hiking sticks has worked fine for me. i cannot see where putting on and taking off something on my boots would have helped me much. not trying to say it is bad idea, but i'd hate to buy something as useless as the snowshoes hanging in my garage
It's basically just a hex screw of about 1/4" length. Home Depot?
Look very similar. Type/hardness of metal might be different.
In an emergency situation, you can put a sock over your shoe/boot to get traction. Just saw Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild do it in a glacier in Patagonia. It seemed to work well.
Here's video of it.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6dv9u_man-vs-wildadventure-of-patagoniapa_travel
Starts around 00:50 into the video.
buckwheat
12-24-2008, 18:44
I just bought some Neos overshoes with Stabilicers built in.
Did a mini-review for another post here:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=745000&postcount=6
Cheers!
Instep Crampons:
http://greatoutdoorsdepot.com/cmi-instep-crampons.html
!
$7
4 oz
and they work fine
http://greatoutdoorsdepot.com/ice-walker-cleats.html
Be careful with any of those metal traction devices. Make sure you take them off before you get inside. They are very slippery on waxed floors, not to mention they can do some damage as well.
I don't use anything around the house. I just take my chances, I guess. When I go hiking and there's ice I take my 10 point crampons. Sort of an all-or-nothing solution.
Yak Trax are NOT the thing for ice in the hills. Sasquatch2014 used them on our hike last weekend and they slid around on ice coated ledge like ice skates (except he couldn't control the direction). On a positive note :confused:, they did NOT come off his feet at any time.
River1 was using Stabilicers (Vibram soles with studs which strap over your footwear). He did much better.
I had my old Camp crampons strapped over my Asics trail runners (first time using trail runners with supplemental traction devices). I could walk up and down ice covered ledge like Spiderman. The only downside is that they are much more dangerous to use than the above. Once during the trip, I stabbed my left pants inseam with my right crampon while trying to duck under an ice covered tree bent low over the trail and I tripped and fell flat on my face. Once, a long time ago, I actually stabbed my calf with a spike on the opposite shoe.
When light snow coveres the ice, only the crampons have enough depth of penetration to make contact with the ice and hold firm.
Lastly, my crampons with a flexible stainless sheet between the fore and aft spikes kept my trail runners from flexing with my feet as much as they usually do, resulting in hot spots on my heels (in 1-1/2 days of hiking), and trying to use the middle of your foot for traction is impossible due to the smooth stainless there. Care of foot placement is necessary.
Btw: We all hammocked in temps between 5 and 12 degrees in comfort.:)
Thanks Roland on the EMS deal. Just ordered my Kahtoola Micro Spikes from them. Think I'll add a piece of Velcro over my instep to help keep them on like the Pro Yak Trax.
Yak Trax are NOT the thing for ice in the hills. Sasquatch2014 used them on our hike last weekend and they slid around on ice coated ledge like ice skates (except he couldn't control the direction). On a positive note :confused:, they did NOT come off his feet at any time.
River1 was using Stabilicers (Vibram soles with studs which strap over your footwear). He did much better.
I had my old Camp crampons strapped over my Asics trail runners (first time using trail runners with supplemental traction devices). I could walk up and down ice covered ledge like Spiderman. The only downside is that they are much more dangerous to use than the above. Once during the trip, I stabbed my left pants inseam with my right crampon while trying to duck under an ice covered tree bent low over the trail and I tripped and fell flat on my face. Once, a long time ago, I actually stabbed my calf with a spike on the opposite shoe.
When light snow coveres the ice, only the crampons have enough depth of penetration to make contact with the ice and hold firm.
Lastly, my crampons with a flexible stainless sheet between the fore and aft spikes kept my trail runners from flexing with my feet as much as they usually do, resulting in hot spots on my heels (in 1-1/2 days of hiking), and trying to use the middle of your foot for traction is impossible due to the smooth stainless there. Care of foot placement is necessary.
Btw: We all hammocked in temps between 5 and 12 degrees in comfort.:)
there;s a cure for all that. it's called spring. :)
In an emergency situation, you can put a sock over your shoe/boot to get traction. Just saw Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild do it in a glacier in Patagonia. It seemed to work well.
Just like U said, in an emergency situation, yeah. Good for probably a few miles or until the socks get ripped up, or, if U R Bear, U call in the helicopter to take U back to base camp. Sure, we can all learn something here, but there certainly is an element of Hollywood in his show.
I've never gone in the winter, but I'd like to extend my hiking to 4-season. I just picked up a pair of snowshoes and now I want something a little less geared towards the fluffy stuff and more suited to the icy stuff for recreational trail hiking.
I live in the greater NYC area and I plan on using one of the device-types below on trails ( no ice wall scaling, purely trails), help me pick what would be the most cost-effective, durable, easy to use, best traction on the trail:
STABILicers:
http://www.32north.com/prod_cover.htm
Instep Crampons:
http://greatoutdoorsdepot.com/cmi-instep-crampons.html
Microspikes:
http://www.spadout.com/p/kahtoola-microspikes/#
6-pt Heel and Instep Crampons:
http://tinyurl.com/8n84lw
Thanks!
I use the Microspikes, had them for about 2 years now. My area of Queens gets really icy and they don't salt the ice often, these grip like a charm. Just take them off on the train lol
buckwheat
01-13-2009, 05:13
I use the Microspikes ... My area of Queens gets really icy and they don't salt the ice often, these grip like a charm. Just take them off on the train lol
I second this. Kahtoola Microspikes should be in your winter traction arsenal. I did a mini-review of them here. (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/report.php?p=756601)
Lone Wolf
01-13-2009, 05:16
they're not needed on the southern AT
they're not needed on the southern AT
...except for the few days in the Smokies when it has been freezing rain for several days and the trail has turned into a frozen waterfall several hundred yards long...
...or on the north slopes of mountains that haven't melted yet where the springs and seeps have made 50-100 yards of the trail a frozen waterfall...
...or the rocky sections of trail just after a foggy day when the moisture on the rocks in the trail has frozen and is "black ice" : invisible a few hundredths of an inch thick, but as slick and as dangerous as a frozen waterfall...
...or the high country of Mt Rogers where there's still snow that has melted and refrozen several times and has turned the trail into a frozen waterfall...
...but ...
...if you are agile, and like risks, and posses unflagging self-confidence, and have a pack to cushion your fall and protect your back from breaking when you fall onto one of these frozen waterfalls and bruise your ass so you'll barely be able to walk for a week, and a hiking stick to bolster your belief that it will steady you before it slips to the side, flies from your head and then lands on your head as your camera (on its strap) whips up to bang you in the face and cuts your cheek as you slide down the side of the mountain bruising your hips and ankle bones and knees as your hands grasp uselessly at the trees and black-ice covered rocks to keep you from stopping before you finally come to rest with your feet uphill and your shoulders are wedged between a rock and a tree and it takes several minutes to regain your equilibrium after your life flashed before your eyes as that very rock which stopped you barely missed becoming one with your face ... then ...
you don't need them in the southern Appalachians. :) Have a nice day.
Lone Wolf
01-13-2009, 18:22
you really don't need them on the southern AT
sticks&stones
01-13-2009, 19:48
...except for the few days in the Smokies when it has been freezing rain for several days and the trail has turned into a frozen waterfall several hundred yards long...
...or on the north slopes of mountains that haven't melted yet where the springs and seeps have made 50-100 yards of the trail a frozen waterfall...
...or the rocky sections of trail just after a foggy day when the moisture on the rocks in the trail has frozen and is "black ice" : invisible a few hundredths of an inch thick, but as slick and as dangerous as a frozen waterfall...
...or the high country of Mt Rogers where there's still snow that has melted and refrozen several times and has turned the trail into a frozen waterfall...
...but ...
...if you are agile, and like risks, and posses unflagging self-confidence, and have a pack to cushion your fall and protect your back from breaking when you fall onto one of these frozen waterfalls and bruise your ass so you'll barely be able to walk for a week, and a hiking stick to bolster your belief that it will steady you before it slips to the side, flies from your head and then lands on your head as your camera (on its strap) whips up to bang you in the face and cuts your cheek as you slide down the side of the mountain bruising your hips and ankle bones and knees as your hands grasp uselessly at the trees and black-ice covered rocks to keep you from stopping before you finally come to rest with your feet uphill and your shoulders are wedged between a rock and a tree and it takes several minutes to regain your equilibrium after your life flashed before your eyes as that very rock which stopped you barely missed becoming one with your face ... then ...
you don't need them in the southern Appalachians. :) Have a nice day.
Heck I've had all that happen to me just walking on dirt, maybe I should get me some of them cleats. I'm about as agile as a pony on a linoleum floor, and I never wore no cleats in the southern ice