YakTrax- Any Reviews?

Anybody own a pair of these? Are they worth buying?

My mom has a pair that she uses around the house. They work good for light use but anything more than that and they will break on you.

For getting up and down the driveway they're okay, but if you're thinking of doing any kind of hiking I highly, highly, highly recommend Kahtoola MicroSpikes. They're very popular and work extremely well. I actually did the entire Franconia Ridge loop hike in early-season conditions with them, and they were awesome. They're not the thing for snow pack, but on icy crust or even glaze, they're sweet.

Disclaimer: don't actually do Franconia Ridge with just MicroSpikes except in early season conditions. Full crampons are necessary at other times.

livtoski said:

Anybody own a pair of these? Are they worth buying?

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I have a pair. Like others have said they're for light duty. I use mine for getting wood off the deck in icy conditions, getting mail etc. that's really all they're made for.

I find Yak Tracks to be useful beyond an occassional venture on an icy driveway.
They do hold quite well on ice and hard snow that you'll typically encounter on winter hikes. I actually did a winter hike using these on the Franconia ridge loop and never lacked for traction, but found it that these devices do have a serious flaw.

In mixed terrain, featuring rocks and ice, they are quite susceptible to being cut by rocks. The strechy polymer which supports the wire coils (which is now your underfoot platform) is rather soft and any sharp rock will just cut it. So, of you're in rocky terrain, take them off.
One other flaw is that they have a tendency to slip sideways on your boot, so you'll find yourself having to adjust them often - this can be annoying.

So, overall, it's a less than satisfactory device for winter hikes. I'm much happer with Stabilicers, although the MicroSpikes look promissing. But I'd guess that these devices too would be subject to moving around on your boots, since they don't seem to have any cross ties that secures them to stay on your boots.

I agree with bumpsis and disagree with michaelJ.
My girlfriend and I used yaktrax this november to climb several 4000 foot peaks in the adirondacks. We found them to be great at gripping hardpacked snow/ice frozen ground that was on the trail. They were easy to put on and light on your feet. We saw people with more expensive stalizers and other traction products but they were not having any better traction than we were and they spent way more money.
Very worth it in my opinion.

Stabilicers aren't that great. I liked them the first time I used them but since then became very discouraged. I would constantly lose the screws out of the bottom, and the whole stabilicer itself would tend to twist up around my boot. Once enough ice and snow got into the velcro they wouldn't even stay on.
I'm glad the 'trax worked for you and didn't break or get clogged with snow.

Oh they broke- but after two peaks I didn't mind throwing out the 20 dollar yaktrax.

ajl50 said:

Oh they broke- but after two peaks I didn't mind throwing out the 20 dollar yaktrax.

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What if it had broke when you really needed it?

Don't forget that there are Yak Trax and Yak Trax Pro. I don't think either are meant for all day use. If you boot up in the parking lot, Cat Tracks are a good thing to use to protect your ski boots.

bvibert said:

What if it had broke when you really needed it?

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I carried a spare - however I was not in a situation with the yacktrax where my descent was contingent on having them. They made the trip easier and more enjoyable and I would reccomend them. They however are not a replacement for crampons or snow shoes. Were I in real winter ice conditions I would not rely on them. Thefore they would not break when I really needed them.