Best Shoes for Walking on Ice
12% on 6 pr. or more
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Ice Cleats Make Almost Any Shoes Safe for Walking on Ice
The ice cleats shown above are the best available in 2020, period. And I make that statement based upon 16+ years of selling ice cleats. However, there is no one best ice cleat for everyone because you must simultaneously consider
- where you live and plan to use your ice cleats;
- the activities you'll be doing while you're wearing them; and
- lastly, your physical limitations.
Winter Walking
Read the information on this page, or call me at 610-670-2549.
No Shoes Provide the Traction of Ice Cleats
No rubber, special compound, or leather sole shoe or boot without embedded studs, regardless of tread design, provides a fraction of the gripping power of almost any ice cleats.Ice Cleats are superior because traction on ice requires penetration. Some shoes have a special tread design and proprietary compounds that provide improved traction on ice compared to ordinary shoes and boots. However, the traction is does not compare to studded ice cleats. Furthermore, non-aggressive approached to traction on ice becomes far less effective
- in frigid temperatures when ice becomes denser;
- when ice is wet; or
- lastly, there's a thin layer of snow on top of the ice.
Footwear with Spikes Are Terrible Everyday Shoes
- Studs, screws, and spikes they damage most indoor floors. There, you have to take studded footwear off before going indoors. What do you put on now? Do you want to carry a second pair of shoes? Permanently studded footwear isn't practical.
- Studs can be slippery on smooth dry surfaces like tiled, marble, or cement indoor floors. Even if you could leave studded footwear on, spiked shoes or boots create a new slip and fall hazard. Ice cleats with wound steel coils are ridiculously dangerous on any type of dry smooth surface.
- Using shoes with any type of cleat, even the most durable studs made from tungsten carbide, will quickly wear down if you constantly walk on bare, non ice or snow covered surfaces. Studded shoes and boots are not practical to wear every day. So what do you do? Do you have to carry the studded footwear with you in case of bad weather?
Traction Sprays for Shoes and Boots
There are sprays that supposedly make shoes grip ice better. Reviews are mixed at best. But lets assume they work. This is an extremely non-aggressive approach. This would work best if the ice is perfectly smooth. That's because you need every possible point of contact to grip the ice. The cumulative traction provided by the entire surface of the sole treated with this type of spray provides a tiny fraction of the grip provided by just one aggressive, well-designed stud on an actual Ice Cleat. It's not for walking over rough ice when surface contact with the slippery surface can be very small. The effectiveness of all non aggressive traction approaches also diminishes as temperatures drop because ice becomes more dense.
