Yaktrax Pro

yaktrax.com

Yaktrax sits under Implus in Durham, North Carolina, and the Pro is the version with the strap across the instep. Instead of spikes it uses steel coils wound around an elastomer frame, which spreads grip across the whole sole and stays quiet on concrete. The rubber is rated to roughly minus forty degrees, so it keeps its stretch on the coldest mornings, and a pair usually sells for thirty to forty dollars.

Coils shine on packed snow and slush, the everyday surface of a city sidewalk, and they do not gouge floors the way spikes do. On hard blue ice they slip more than carbide or steel points, and coils eventually fray if worn across long stretches of dry pavement. Sizing is by shoe size and the fit must be tight, otherwise the device rolls off the toe. Good first pair for a flat commute, weak choice for icy stairs.

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