Traction
Traction and gaiters
Microspikes for icy trail. Gaiters for snow and scree. Neither one is a mountaineering crampon.
Microspikes add confidence on packed snow and garden-variety ice. They skate on hard water ice and they are the wrong tool on steep alpine snow. If the route needs an ice axe, you are past this category.
Gaiters keep rocks and slush out of the cuff. They are not waterproofing for a soaked shoe. A short gaiter is enough for dust. A tall gaiter is for snow that is deeper than your ankle.
How to choose
- Buy spikes that match your shoe size and practice putting them on with cold hands.
- Do not run Yaktrax-style coils on rocky trail. They shred and they slip.
- Take spikes off on dry pavement so you do not ruin the chain or the floor.
Roundups
Gear in this category
