Let's Discuss Traction Aids

[Ed'n Lauky]

Ok, before we get a whole lot further into the 'snow' season, (I did not say Winter), let's discuss traction aids.

Snowshoes - A very handy piece of equipment! Bring them at least to the trailhead these days. Consult weather forecasts, rangers, other hikers, comments in the log book, and see if they are needed for your hike. Remember the ADKs have regulations for wearing them, for better or worse.

Crampons - NOT to be worn all day on hard packed trails! They chew up the snow, and contribute to postholing. Useful for hard/steep ice. Expensive, but essential for certain situations. VERY sharp and dangerous if not used properly.

Micro spikes - NOT a substitute for Crampons! NOT recommended for hard/steep ice. Best for low angle ice and extra traction on trails with small amounts of snow.

Stabilicers - See Micro spikes. Mostly the same comments apply. Generally cheaper and heavier. Let your budget decide.

Yak Trax - Best for getting the mail at the end of your short, flat driveway!

I know there are other gadgets out there, but this is the limit of my (mostly Catskill/ADK) experience.

It's true Yax Trax don't provide the grip that you get with Hillsounds or Microspikes, but they can serve a purpose out on the trail in mixed conditions where you have a lot of bear ground, then snow then bear rocks etc. the sort of thing that will kill the points on your microspikes. Yax Trax are very light and I carry a pair for those conditions when I don't want to wear out my spikes and might otherwise be tempted to bare-boot and perhaps slip on ice hidden by a bit of snow. I have also used them when the snow was balling up on my spikes. They give a bit more traction than bare boots and as I said they weigh so little that for a day hike it's no problem to bring them along just in case.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Bump once again. What's the latest in winter footwear? Most of this thread has focused on non-snowshoes. Any new Snowshoes we should run out and buy?

 

[JCarter]

Snowiest: Mountaineering snowshows (i.e, MSR Denali, etc) w/built-in crampons

In-betweeniest: Kahtuhla Microspikes (can be worn on bare dirt/rock, but not as good on solid or steep ice, no toe-traction)
Hillsound Trail Crampons (stiffer and longer spikes than above)
Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro (slightly longer, anti-balling insert)

Note that in the above list of "light traction", a main difference is whether the spikes are attached individually to the chains, or part of a plate. For lighter use, the free-floating spikes have less of a tendency to "catch" on rock, but they also have less of a tendency to "stick" on ice.

Note the location of the farthest-forward and farthest-back spikes on all of these -- they determine how effective they are on climbs or descents.

Iceyest: Full Crampons: Ice required. You'll tear them and yourself up walking on mixed ice/rock. Usually needs a rigid boot.

Leave the Yak Trax and Stabiliciers at home.

None of these are perfect, and direction matters. More than once I've ascended a snowy trail w/MSR snowshoes, but determined that on descent of the same trail I needed TCPs so that I had better spikes under the heel.


The main thing that seems to have changed in the last 2 or 3 years is that Katuhla, Hillsounds, and the other traction makers now make versions of each other's specialties, but people still refer to them by the "original" names

 

[TomK]

The last couple of times I have been out, I have had the following problem with my Hillsound Trail Crampons - The heel plate on the right shoe will slide out and end up on the right side of my boot. Happened maybe 6 times over the last two outings. It is always the right foot. While my left foot tracks pretty much correctly, my right foot is pigeon-toed maybe 25-30 degrees, and I am thinking this may have something to do with the heel plate on that foot sliding out.

Was wondering if anyone has encountered anything similar, and if/how you fixed it.

Thanks,

TomK

 

[sierra]

The last couple of times I have been out, I have had the following problem with my Hillsound Trail Crampons - The heel plate on the right shoe will slide out and end up on the right side of my boot. Happened maybe 6 times over the last two outings. It is always the right foot. While my left foot tracks pretty much correctly, my right foot is pigeon-toed maybe 25-30 degrees, and I am thinking this may have something to do with the heel plate on that foot sliding out.

Was wondering if anyone has encountered anything similar, and if/how you fixed it.

Thanks,

TomK

I hear so many stories of those crampons failing. I never got on board with them. As a soloist, I'm not using gear that fails so often.

 

[peakbagger]

I expect the heel plate issue is related to sizing. You may just be on the cusp between sizes.

I personally have had no issues with my Hillsounds and definitely prefer them over Kahtoolas

 

[egilbe]

No issues like that with my Hillsounds

 

[jfb]

I've only used my Hillsounds a couple of times, but have had no significant problems. You could check that your left and right are the same size.

 

[DayTrip]

The last couple of times I have been out, I have had the following problem with my Hillsound Trail Crampons - The heel plate on the right shoe will slide out and end up on the right side of my boot. Happened maybe 6 times over the last two outings. It is always the right foot. While my left foot tracks pretty much correctly, my right foot is pigeon-toed maybe 25-30 degrees, and I am thinking this may have something to do with the heel plate on that foot sliding out.

Was wondering if anyone has encountered anything similar, and if/how you fixed it.

Thanks,

TomK

You may be on to something with the pigeon toed reference. Do you mean your right foot is naturally pigeon toed or the resulting sliding of the plate makes you walk pigeon toed?

I have the opposite problem with my right foot. It points outward naturally by a similar amount (i.e. bow legged or open). I find in snowshoes that this causes my heel to collapse inward somewhat so the binding is angled, especially when using the televators where my right heel is practically falling off the inside edge of it. And this is with my toes firmly forward in the binding and the heel strap snug. I can't say I've had that problem in my spikes or crampons though because they should fit snugly to the shoe regardless of foot angle. They are not competing against the frame the way the binding of a snowshoe does floating in the center.

In the past whenever I was having an issue with the alignment of spikes it was generally because I didn't have the plastic stretch "frame" high enough on the boot to have everything snug to the sole of the boot. There is a fair amount of play in those chains so if you leave slack in them from having them too low, too far off the toes and/or heels, etc I could see where those frames would float around on you an get off center as you walk. Never owned Hillshounds though so I can't really speak to their design first hand.

 

[TomK]

I am on the cusp between sizes. The Hillsounds are XXL and my boot size is 12. Should also have mentioned that this has happened with two different boots.

The left and right Hillsounds are the same size.

My right foot has always been pigeoned-toed - it isn't a reaction to the sliding of the plate. Snowshoes are a different problem. The right shoe is always angled, so the tail of that snowshoe has a tendency to get stepped on by the left shoe. As for the Hillsounds, I always think I have everything snug, but maybe I need to pay more attention to this.

I appreciate folks thoughts about this.

TomK

 

[kerry13]

I wear a size 12 boot and take a large Hillsound. Have worn them for years and never had a problem and I hike several times a week during the winter. Looking at the User's Manual that just came with my most recent purchase of Hillsounds, they don't even list an XXL. The largest size listed is the XL and that is for a boot size 12-15. Try the large size and make sure the plates are centered under the ball of the foot and heel and all the chains to the plates are taunt. Also make sure that the chains do not get wrapped around the spikes as this can lead to chain failure. I've had one pair of Hillsounds at least 6 years and still use them for transition seasons. Have busted a few links but have fabricated new links which worked fine and have removed a broken link on one side and its mirror link on the other side and that worked well too. They are easy to sharpen and hold their sharpness for a long time. I too prefer Hillsounds to microspikes.

 

[peakbagger]

The Hillsound sizes has varied. I had a pair of XLs fail on some insulated winter boots (size 14 columbias). I called them up and they sent me set of XXLs. They fit much better but when I switched to my size 13 new balances they were too large. I have noticed they have stopped listing XXLs so wonder if they just dropped them or changed the sizing on all of them.

I also have a set of Kahtoolas that I retrofitted with the Velcro straps from the original failed set of Hillsounds (that they didn't want back). It definitely helps with keeping them tight up against the boot. I have observed that hikers with loose fitting microspikes that hang below the boot tend to have far more rubber eyelet failures and also think it encourages "snow balling". They also tend to fall off a lot more often without the straps. The straps don't cure just plain having the wrong size but they definitely help adjust them.

 

[egilbe]

11.5 boot and large hillsounds for me. It does sound like your's are too large.

 

[jfb]

The Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro looks like it has a more secure heel.

Not much good for front-pointing: http://www.backcountry.com/hillsoun...pbmUgQ3JhbXBvbnM6MToxOTpiY3NDYXQ4MTExMDAxMzA=