Anybody use traction aids ....... like STABILicers, duenorth, Yacktrax or others?

Opinions?

I use the Yak-Trax.
They work well on hard packed snow. Not bad on ice as long as its not to steep.

They do have a tendency to come off however.
They make them in black and flourescent orange.
I bought the black ones, but after searching my back track in the snow I was wishing I had gone with the orange.

I "fixed" the problem by looping a small bungee across the top of my boot intertwined with the Yak-Trax.

I prefer this style to the ones with the carbide cleats. The cleats pull out of the rubber over shoe part when they stick in the ice.
The worst part is you don't notice it until you start sliding.

The big complaint I've heard about the Yak-Trax is that the rubber straps that hold them on break frequently.

I got a set on the way....... so I guess I'll find out.

Kahtoola micro spikes work well, from Iowa ice storms to trails and ski resorts.
I would not take them hunting though. Too heavy and if I knew I would be on an ice field or glacier, I would take real crampons.

quote:

Originally posted by DaMan:

I'll abuse these and see how long they last!

They don't last too long on icy rocky trails!

They worked wonderfully...... until they broke.

I was using them on a steep rocky trail that was ice covered by about 3-6" of powder. I must have stepped on a sharp rock which cut one of the little rubber bottom straps that hold the traction "springs" in place.

The broken Yak-Track stayed on my boot and I didn't notice that it broke until I took it off.

Well, back to the drawing board!

quote:

Originally posted by DaveC:
Kahtoola micro spikes work well, from Iowa ice storms to trails and ski resorts.
I would not take them hunting though. Too heavy and if I knew I would be on an ice field or glacier, I would take real crampons.

Dave, I'm considering the Kahtoola micro spikes. Though I have some reservations about them.

You mentioned the weight...... WOW they ARE pretty heavy! But that's not a major factor since I would be using them for conditioning-training.

The chains on the bottom look like they could take much more abuse from sharp rocks than the Yak-Tracks.

But the rubber upper straps appear to hold the devices on pretty much like Yak-Traxs (and deep snow sucks the Yak-Traxs off pretty fast).

Crampons are OVERKILL and clumsy for what I use them for. Yak-Trax would be about perfect, IF they didn't self-destruct so fast!

Conditions now are muddy slippery rocky at lower elevations with icey snowy rocky at higher elevations.

I've got a set of the Kahtoola micros ordered. Will give them a try.