Product 2018
Woman, Man
Gadget? Revolutionary product? Useful? Or just a waste of time?
We wanted to know – so we chucked a pair in the car for the winter to see when and where we would use them.
The Yaktrax enable you to attach an extra grip to your running shoes for running on hard snow or ice.
They are made from metal spirals that grip into the snow, which are attached to a rubber upper as for mountaineering crampons.
They are quick to put on, the rubber is supple and easy to deform, stretch and put over your shoes. They stay in place at the front and back. We found them easier to put on when wearing flexible shoes like trail running shoes and for rigid shoes to take them and off to put on the Yaktrax. There is a Velcro strap on the top of the foot to hold it all in place.
We tested the Yaktrax on a flexible sole and they didn’t come off, move at all, the rubber stayed in position.
We wondered about the life of the rubber being in contact with snow that may have races of salt and of course the cold. The brand says that they are resistant down to -40°C.
The grip is good, well better than without them. They are useful as you can also walk on tarmacked ground, for example crossing roads, without having to take them off. That said, be careful on paving stones, or tiles or steps, in case you do forget to take them off! On ice, they are definitely a bonus.
On powdered or soft snow, they are insufficient and not necessary, boots or running shoes with good lugs are grippy enough in those conditions. For trail running shoes, you need to see if they are compatible, because with many brands now providing winter models with larger lugs the Yaktrax are not really useful. But they are if you don’t want to fork out over 100 euros for winter shoes and you can upgrade your ordinary running shoes with 29.90 euros instead…
They are lightweight (135g a pair). They fold up easily and so are easy to carry and stow away. We did find another use for them (even if it isn’t advised by the manufacturer..) we put them on slippery ski boot soles to walk in the resort: very practical!
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
Receive your answers by mail. Do you have a particular question concerning the design, use, durability or other about a tested product? We will answer your question personally.
