Yaktrax Ice Grippers for Traction Shoes

Yaktrax are amazing. If you get snow and ice regularly you should have a pair of these! I know this is a strong claim and I plan to back it up. These things turn your shoes into ice grippers or traction shoes.

I bought my Yaktrax at the end of last winter after having suffered an injury during very snowy and icy weather. When we found our Yaktrax the ice had melted and we had to wait all year to try them out! Right now we have snow and ice again, weather warnings and advice to stay in due to treacherous conditions. I had to go out tho and decided it was high time to test out my Yaktrax.

I am the sort of person who has fallen at least once every winter where I have lived with icy conditions. I decided to take a walking pole just in case they didn't work well enough, could have left the walking pole at home. I was doing the twist on an black ice patch at one point! I did not slip by even a millimeter.

The way that Yaktrax are designed mean that they work in a very similar way to chains on car tires. They are made of a thick heavy duty rubber that fits around your shoes or boots snugly. The soles of your shoes are webbed with this heavy duty rubber that has coiled metal wrapping the rubber.

The coiled metal in the Yaktrax dig into and grip the ice and snow as you walk on it and leave behind a very cool patterned foot print. The materials are sturdy and work very  well on ice and packed snow. It does feel a bit weird walking on a clear surface, such as a road that has been gritted and is now clear. I could feel the coils through my hiking shoes (my favorite winter shoes) and I found that very strange, I actually preferred walking on the thickest patches of ice. It was nice as no one else wanted to walk there!

Ok, so what are the down sides I hear you say? Well the biggest that I found was in walking on clear surfaces as it felt odd. I do think that if I wore these when the walk ways did not have ice they would possibly wear out faster then being kept on snow and ice surfaces. I would not walk around the house in them either, not sure I want them digging into my floors or carpets.

The other thing to note is in putting them on, when I put my first one on for the first time I lost my grip and it catapulted into the drive way! The second one went over my shoe fine and I just had to go get the first one and try again. I cannot imaging that this is really a problem, just something to think about when you are using these for the first time.

The grip my Yaktrax gave my shoes was like I was wearing a pair of ice cleats and turned my shoes into traction shoes comfortable and warmly. The way that this winter is looking, with very early snow and ice, I suspect that we are going to have a real cold one!

I am really glad to add the Yaktrax to my collection of gear that is keeping me comfortable this year. I appreciate know that so long as the shops are open and have food I will be able to do what it takes to keep food in the house and stay mobile. I was even able to take the neighbors dog for a walk for her as she was not feeling very well. The worst thing I can think of in winter is getting snowed in for long enough that supplies run out before you can safely resupply food and drink for myself.