Ice?

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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Feb 2, 2005
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Several years ago, I received a pair of crampons at Christmas. I have been getting around fine in the minute amount of snow we have gotten with work boots or hiking boots with good tread, and a trusty walking stick. Today we got our first ice storm, and everything was covered in a nice glaze. Not really bad, but bad enough for fat people on unsure legs. These were the rubber ones that you pull over your shoes (found out that these are not really conducive to boots), and hope that the little titanium tips hold. I stamped around on the ice on the grass, was fine, and hopped in my truck and took off. Before I took the crampons off, like an idiot, I took them off standing next to my truck. Well, hoisting myself in, my boot did a nice slide. I guess that they really did do the trick.

These were rated for someone with a size 13 shoe. Can anyone recommend a good crampon for general use in an ice storm? I still suffer from bruised ribs and chest cartilage, and my back still hurts like hell. Mud and ice seem to be my bane, and I am looking for a product to keep me from hitting the ground. I know that the possibility of hitting the turf is still there.
 
Micro spikes made by kahtula are far and away the best without going to a real set of black diamond type mountaineering crampon. I have used these for years and they are super durable with great traction. I even used them when I climbed my Washington in New Hampshire
 
Even though their use is limited to once every couple of years where I live(and then really just on iced over pavement), the Kahtoola MicroSpikes impressed me enough when I rented a pair that I bought my own upon returning them. I jogged down the switchbacks of Walter's Wiggles at Zion National Park with a pack on wearing them while the trail was covered with several inches of solid ice, and take them on spring trips there.
 
While i've never used 'em (i have/use mountaineering crampons), i would recommend the Kahtoola MicroSpikes.

I have a pair of the YakTrax and they're OK with my business shoes, but they're not a substantial piece of gear (i got mine for $29.99 at a season close out and needed something fast).
 
I like Yaktrax. I've tried some ice creepers with carbide points that are even better than Yaktrax on glare ice, but they're no good on snow. Yaktrax work on ice, packed snow, even fresh-fallen snow over glare ice.
YaktraxHome-Page.jpg
 
I have a couple of pairs of YaxTrax Pros and a pair of Kahtoola Microspikes. They are both outstanding products and work very well for me. The YaxTrax work well in all conditions except steeper icy terrain. The Kahtoolas work very well. I was thinking of buying a set of crampons, but the Kahtoolas seem to handle anything I need to deal with.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
A buddy of mine took about 80 machine screws and screwed them into the soles of a old pair of boots. That actually worked pretty good. Of course then they are sort of winter only boots.

You're pretty smart to get something though. Just a couple of weeks ago my friend broke his ankle on ice.
 
I hiked today on Black Mountain in the Adirondacks. We've had some wild variations in the weather in the last week or two (freeze/thaw) and the trails were very icy with an inch or so of snow on top to hide the smooth ice. I counted seven different places where I could see that some hiker had fallen. Some of these spots were in frozen run-off areas that are like stream beds, with lots of big rocks sticking out. For a solo winter hiker, falling in an area like this poses a real risk of serious injury and the possibility of really bad consequences.

I wore my Kahtoola Microspikes and never slipped an inch. I would not go winter hiking without them.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
Kako ICEtrekkers are great.
I got mine at REI and they seem just a bit tougher than the yaktracks.
I did add a velcro loop over top also.
 
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