BigLoad
Trail Wise!
Pancakes!
Posts: 12,911
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Post by BigLoad on Jan 31, 2021 21:55:38 GMT -8
I've never used the EXOs, but my original (circa 2009?) Microspikes, size XL, worn on size-15 boots, are still going strong. I've gone through three pairs of Microspikes, but even so, they're the most durable traction device I've used. I usually get 4-5 seasons out them. My main use is just shoveling the driveway, which is still one to three hours, three times a week, for five months out of the year.
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driftwoody
Trail Wise!
Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
Posts: 14,964
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Post by driftwoody on Feb 1, 2021 5:44:11 GMT -8
I recently purchased my first traction devices (Katoolah Microspikes) and used them the last two weekends on local hikes. They really came in handy on heavily used sections of trail that turned into sheets of ice, and I didn't mind wearing them at all on long stretches of hard packed snow.
I shoveled 10 inches of snow off my large driveway yesterday, but had no need of them. It only turns into ice if the temp drops after a thin coat of wet snow.
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daveg
Trail Wise!
Michigan
Posts: 565
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Post by daveg on Mar 5, 2021 20:34:17 GMT -8
Update: I've been using my EXOspikes a couple of times a week since I got them, but the trails haven't been particularly bad. I've been waiting for the thaw-freeze cycles we've had this past week so I could see how they performed on really icy trail. One of my regular hikes is a 4.2 mile loop at the local nature center and I hiked that trail this afternoon. The trail had long icy stretches (see photo) interspersed with short stretches of open, sometimes muddy ground. I walked the first half-mile without the EXOspikes so I could do a before and after comparison. The EXOspikes made a huge difference on the icy stretches. Except for a couple of steps while going down a short, gentle hill covered in glare ice, my footing always felt solid and I could walk confidently with a regular stride. Without the EXOs, I had to walk cautiously, taking baby steps, and even then my feet were sliding around. The EXOs handled the transitions between the open ground and icy trail well (couldn't feel much difference) and may have improved my traction in the mud. The harder the surface I was walking on (hard ice, board planks on a couple of short bridges) the more I could feel the EXOs on the bottom of my feet, but most of the time their presence was barely noticeable. I know some were skeptical about how well they would handle seriously icy trail, but they performed very well. The loop I hiked today is mostly flat with a few short, gentle ups and downs. There is another trail I regularly hike that has some long, steep hills. I hope to get out there this weekend to see how the EXOs do on more rugged terrain.
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rangewalker
Trail Wise!
Agitate, organize and educate.
Posts: 1,029
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Post by rangewalker on Mar 6, 2021 6:09:50 GMT -8
I have a pair of Yak Trax Diamond Grips Same here, Even have two pair as they were standard issue winter PPE when I was with Phillips 66 (ConocoPhillips) for pipline-terminals. The webbing on them is minimal so were easier to deploy over winter boots. Our standard winter footwear was Muck Artics, steel-toed. When I got mine, Yak had not acquired the company that designed them yet. Phillips safety people liked them because the originals were non-sparking aluminum. I was shipped off to a nasty winter oil spill in the Dakotas, and they were a lifesaver. The best use of mine is going along on nordic skiing now for when the tracks and trails suck in the late season and there is ice and melt flows not crossable skis or bare boots. (like now in March) For my snow-ice to frozen slick mud season hiking with leather hiking boots and winter boots is the Micro Spikes. They were really made famous by the vblogging thru-hikers in their trail runners, something that I can't do, but many did well. I carry my Micro Spikes on cross country, untrailed skiing icy exposed areas too nasty to walk bare boot or ski. I have BD crampons but have only one pair of boots stout enough or rated to take them on. And they suck at all day in sub 20-degree weather in snow.
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