Adding Traction To Hiking Shoes

[gonegonzo]

You have probably seen my post on hiking shoes . I'm staying with B Cross Trainers unless another option comes along .

I can work with the shoes but would really like more traction on the trail . Is there a method of adding traction to the soles of shoes used for hiking ?

Thx,
Gonzo

[johnnybgood]

There are traction devices which are designed for snow and ice but you wouldn't use them for dry trail. My question : What has you thinking that you need more traction, or that these shoes need more traction ? Have you been told this by someone that wanted to sell you a more expensive shoe or is it through purely your on trail experience ? Sorry I haven't seen your prior posts.

I'm always looking for better grip in a shoe I find comfortable...so I suggest continuing to research and try other options.

[Malto]

If you are looking for better traction on the trail, aside from ice and snow, then you picked the wrong shoes.

[Slo-go'en]

Except for adding mechanical devices for traction on ice, there is nothing you can do. It seems modern lug and sole material just doesn't stick well to wet rock, especially the granite ledge we have in NH and Maine when it's wet. You just have to be real careful how you step on it and assume you'll slip.

I really miss the old leather hiking boots with the classic Vibram lug soles for their great traction, but don't miss their weight!

[ridehard]

I have both Kahtoola Nano and Microspikes for winter traction. The plan is to have the Micro's at KM on the PCT, depending on the snow pack at that time.

Both versions can be a bit "skatey" feeling on solid hard surfaces - rock, concrete, pavement. Microspikes not at all pleasant on hard surfaces and to me have a really unstable feeling.

I run in the Nanospikes, and even with those have clipped my maleous, with a wobble on a trail run, leaving a slight divot there. I would definitely NOT run with Micro's because a clip like that could be bad.

The comfortable surface for the Nano's is a packed snow trail, and more for Micro for steep, ice or refrozen.

For general use, I've thought about installing hex head scews in the soles in a pattern similar to Nanospikes, as a trial, on a pair of old trail runners. If it doesn't work out it would be pretty quick to remove the screws. In general I'm pretty happy with the Nano spikes though.

In the past, I rode MTB year 'round for quite a number of years. In the winter I'd ride wide, heavy lug, real rubber tires (Continental at that time) and put the shortest hex head screws I could find into the thickest parts of the lugs of the tires. Great traction, but they could be a little tricky and pretty noisy on a frozen or frosted paved surface.

Real rubber seemed to maintain flexibility better at cold temperatures, and I road well into the -30C OAT, and colder with windchill. I have a number of shoes on the go right now (Hoka One One, Pearl Izumi, La Sportiva, Cascadia). Some of the soles can get hard and quite inflexible -- my "fun factor" WC limit is -20C these days.

Today is -35C windchill. Hot Yoga day!!!

[nsherry61]

I expect you may be able to take you shoes to a good cobbler and have different, more aggressive, soles put on them without too much hassle.

[Oslohiker]

This is meant to spray on tires when it is ice or snow on the road. It also work great on shoes:

[Don H]

I don't think Snow Grip is sold in the US. At least it's not listed on the Turtle Wax website.
Interesting product though, spray a resin on your tires to make them sticky.

[MuddyWaters]

Truckers reportedly pour bleach on tires. It softens the rubber tread temporarily and gives better grip in icy spots. Somewhat doubtful however. Mostly used just to get started after overnight parked I think. More than likely it melts the ice under the tire .,.

[Traveler]

You have probably seen my post on hiking shoes . I'm staying with B Cross Trainers unless another option comes along .

I can work with the shoes but would really like more traction on the trail . Is there a method of adding traction to the soles of shoes used for hiking ?

Thx,
Gonzo

I have used microspikes on light trail shoes, but not trail runners myself. I have seen people using them, but they are not loaded with gear so I suspect they are only on the trail for a few hours or day hike at most, but thats a guess.

Look at the Katoolah microspikes, and you may want to look at Stabilicer, who make a variety of slip on traction devices that will spare you from having to poke holes in the soles to put screws in and have the added benefit of being able to be used on different or new shoes.

[Wise Old Owl]

[Don H]

Very interesting video, thanks!

[Brup Bup]

Stableicers sells their replacement screws in packs that runners up here in Alaska screw into their shoes for grip on the ice...

[Acacia]

Can the added screws on running shoes work on rocks?

[Adriana]

Amazon.com has something similar. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...p+%2Caps%2C257

[Traveler]

Can the added screws on running shoes work on rocks?

My experience with microspike and stabilicers (that use screws) on rocks is poor unless there is an ice coating on the rock.

[Another Kevin]

My experience with microspike and stabilicers (that use screws) on rocks is poor unless there is an ice coating on the rock.

Yeah. What you really need on rocks that aren't icy is sticky rubber. That has the tradeoff that it wears fast, so a lot of hiking shoe manufacturers go with much harder rubber and try to get all the traction from the texture of the lugs. On the more challenging scrambles, I've been known to resort to approach shoes, but there's no way that they'd hold up for a long hike. Life is full of tradeoffs.