traction devices

[richard]

I`ve been hearing lately,complaints about traction devices rusting up between uses. I found out somewhere that if once you get home,you can wipe them down, then spray them with a light amount of "WD40",it will prevent rust from happening. It even removes much of the corrosion that`s already there. I do this and it works.

 

[peakbagger]

Yup my Hillsounds do rust but I find that if I dry them out before stowing them back in the bag the rust is very light. I think a lot of damage may occur when folks walk out into the parking lot where there is inevitably salt carried in from the road.

A nice alternative to WD -40 may be Boeshield http://boeshield.com/. It acts like WD40 but leaves a light wax residue that may help a bit with balling.

 

[JoeCedar]

The main cause of rusting of footwear (traction and snowshoes) is walking in road salt. Take them off earlier and you won't have a problem.

 

[DayTrip]

I have never had Kahtoola microspikes rust at all. I have a pair of IceTrekkers that I wear in Spring/Fall for thin, glazed ice conditions and they rust big time and have never seen road salt. Obviously a crappier grade of steel. For as infrequently as I use them I don't bother doing much to maintain. I'm not a big fan of WD'ing stuff. Don't like the idea of chemicals getting trampled all over the trails, plants, etc.

 

[jfb]

I was familiar with that "tip" after reading "The First Deadly Sin" about 40 years ago. The killer would clean his ice axe, then oil it to prevent rusting. http://www.openroadmedia.com/ebook/the-first-deadly-sin/

 

[egilbe]

Wasn't it a rock hammer he was usung? Or a rock pick? From the description in the book, it sounds like an ice axe. That was a long time ago...

 

[jfb]

There was someone who studied the wounds and determined the shape was like a rock hammer, but additional evidence showed that the weapon had teeth on the lower surface.

 

[peakbagger]

Okay if you want to be obsessive about it, Pam cooking spray works pretty well for rust prevention