Gear Check: Snow-Trax

(Source: Amazon.com)

The product I'm reviewing is called the Snow-Trax (Amazon link here), made by Implus Footcare, LLC.

I actually bought these a couple years ago at Costco, but never had an opportunity to really try them out until yesterday. We had an ice storm that left a nice layer of ice on everything, including my inclined driveway. While I didn't try to clear all of the ice off, I did go out to break up the ice on the sidewalk and pathway to our door. And I figured this was as good a time as any to try the Snow-Trax out.

As the photograph above shows, they are traction devices designed to slip on over a pair of shoes or boots. The heel has metal cleats to really dig into the ice. The front have crisscrossed metal coils to provide traction.  Obviously, your best traction is if you walk heel-to-toe.

My feet size are probably at the upper range of what the Snow-Trax was designed for. I had difficulty fitting them over a pair of hiking boots, but they fit fine over a pair of shoes. However, I think with practice it would become easier to fit them over the boots. Although you can't see it on the photo, there is a cross-wise velcro strap that tightens up the sides and keeps them in place.

These are not items that you can slip on standing up--you will, at the least, need to be sitting down. I found it was easier to pull them over my shoes first, before putting my shoes on, than to try and pull them on later.

One thing to watch for is that you place the cleats on the heels. When I first was trying to fit them on my boots, I hadn't bothered to read the directions, and put them on backwards (the cleats on the ball of my feet). I kept having problems with the device sliding up and over the toe of the boot. When I put them on my shoes, I realized my error, and did not have any issues with them slipping off my shoes. In fact, I didn't have any problems at all on the second go-around with slipping or any other issues with fit. I noticed that some of the negative reviews at Amazon indicated that the Snow-Trax kept slipping off, and I suspect that it probably had to do with putting them on backwards as I had done initially.

Of course, the key issue is whether they improve traction, I have to say that I had very good traction on the sheet ice. I could feel the cleats dig into the ice. I didn't experience any issues with the balls of my feet slipping either. While I was out working on chipping away and clearing ice, a neighbor that came out to visit was slipping quite a bit, and nearly fell a couple times. So, I think the devices saved me from having a nasty spill.

Given the limited use, I can't really speak to their durability. However, I had bought them for emergency use, and they are small enough to keep a pair in an emergency kit in your car or home. At $20 for two pairs (i.e., $10 per pair), they are a useful piece of gear to keep in your car with other winter emergency items.

Here's another review from About.com.