MICROspikes

Bought these in the fall to bridge the gap between true crampons and bare booting when there's mixed terrain in the fall and spring. When there's harder ice Yaktrax become useless and Stabilicers tend to lose or break screws. These things are amazing. They are well built and well thought out.

These are a very good traction aid...but, let me just say, they are NOT mountainering crampons (no kidding right?).

We used them for the first time this weekend to climb Saddleback Mt. in Maine. They were GREAT for slippery trails and did work pretty well going up steep, flowing ice trails. You really have to PLANT your foot into the ice, to get them to stick so you can walk up the ice without your foot slipping out...the spikes aren't that long and aren't sharp enough to really get a good grip just with body weight.

Going down, however, takes a bit of practice; Microspikes do NOT work if you use a sideways gait doing down those steep, icy slopes. You WILL slip and, depending on where down the slope you are...you could get pretty hurt. My hubby and I ended up on our backs several times due to this. However...if you use your TOES to walk down and plant them as you step...the microspikes will let you walk down these step ice trails. Actually, once we got the hang of this, they were kind of cool. We still didn't complete use them for the most steep sections, choosing to walk off the trail where there was underfoot vegetation and trees to assist.

As for how rugged they are? Quite! We used them the whole way down (5.2 miles) of mixed trail...some very icy and steep...some just plain rocks, roots, dirt, snow, etc. They showed no wear and tear, no bending of the spikes or any other such problems.

So...these are a very good buy and we will probably be fine with them for what we are going to do this winter...

I've tried Yaktraks (fragile, not very grippy) and Stabilicers (solid but just as heavy as my crampons), and these are WAY better.

Of course they're not a true substitute for crampons, but they are perfect for icy New England hiking trails, especially in spring and fall when snow and ice are constantly alternating with rocks. They weigh next to nothing and take very little space, so I never hesitate to bring them along.

I've had these a few seasons now, and they have stood up to what I've dished out.

Update: nowadays there are some similar products on the market from other manufacturers. Some of them are not robust. I've heard good things about Hillsounds though.

They are a worthy investment and are good in spring and in many snow and ice conditions. However my microspikes keep sliding on the boots and like others have are not crampons. That being said microspikes are a far better value than Yaktrak and last much longer!!!!