Kahootla microspikes

What are your experineces with them?.... please share .

I'm hearing some great things about these Kahootla microspikes.
Light, easier on the knees than crampons, fit nicely, super in variable conditions in hard snow. easy to put on and take off.

AND

Not good : They ball up in new, wetter snow

pks4000 said:

What are your experineces with them?.... please share .

I'm hearing some great things about these Kahootla microspikes.
Light, easier on the knees than crampons, fit nicely, super in variable conditions in hard snow. easy to put on and take off.

AND

Not good : They ball up in new, wetter snow

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In the right conditions, they're just the ticket. They don't replace crampons, but do fill a big niche depending upon the grade and amount of snow vs. ice. I have 2 pairs - different sizes - depending upon which boot I'm wearing.

I've seen them in wide use on both the East and West coasts. As for balling up - they all do, so personally I don't see that as a Con, but YMMV.

Exactly, what Kevin said. They have been standard gear this winter. Not good on hard ice, you must be careful even when walking on the level.

Treat them gently: I walked across the road to my car and sheared the metal loop off a small chain that connects from the rubber to an inside cleat. It is still useable but I always carry a spare in my pack now.

They are great for packed snow, and, as long as you're careful, ice on terrain that is either flat or has a gentle grade. I wear them a lot when walking across frozen lakes- they keep my feet from sliding around as much, which wastes a lot less energy.

As Kevin said, though, they aren't a replacement for crampons. Microspikes don't work very well on ice flows on steeper terrain.

I love my microspikes and can't imagine that I ever lived without them!!! Seriously!! You don't even know you have them on, but when you hit a bit of ice............you barely even notice it! Easy to put on/take off. A piece of gear I will definately replace once they wear out. And like others have said, not a replacement for crampons............more like a replacement for stabilicers/yaktraks (which I never had). Find them on sale, worth every penny.

Personally, don't waste your money on the Kahtoolas. I have had three pairs over the last 4 years and they have worked okay. I agree with everything that has been said about them. Unfortunately I have encountered too many conditions where crampons are over kill and actually dangerous because of not enough cover etc and Kahtoolas are not sufficient enough to safely negotiate the conditions. I purchased the Hillsound equivalent to the Kahtoola microspikes this past fall and have used them a lot this winter. Far superior product. Handles all those conditions that were grey before. I have switched at least 10 of my hiking friends over to Hillsounds and they do nothing but rave about them. Today we climbed hundreds of yards of hard solid ice flows on a few trails, using only Hillsounds and not one slip or complaint. For the same price as the Kahtoola, they are just a much better product in my opinion. I am sure there will be some balling in certain conditions, the Kahtoolas certainly did, but I have generally found that when balling is a real issue the snow if soft enough to just glissade.

I have been using Microspikes for trail running on pretty hilly/icy terrain and been really happy with them. No slipping even on glare ice. Significant steepness plus glare ice is an issue for them though. But that's when you'd want to wear crampons anyway.

kerry13 said:

Personally, don't waste your money on the Kahtoolas. I have had three pairs over the last 4 years and they have worked okay. I agree with everything that has been said about them. Unfortunately I have encountered too many conditions where crampons are over kill and actually dangerous because of not enough cover etc and Kahtoolas are not sufficient enough to safely negotiate the conditions. I purchased the Hillsound equivalent to the Kahtoola microspikes this past fall and have used them a lot this winter. Far superior product. Handles all those conditions that were grey before. I have switched at least 10 of my hiking friends over to Hillsounds and they do nothing but rave about them. Today we climbed hundreds of yards of hard solid ice flows on a few trails, using only Hillsounds and not one slip or complaint. For the same price as the Kahtoola, they are just a much better product in my opinion. I am sure there will be some balling in certain conditions, the Kahtoolas certainly did, but I have generally found that when balling is a real issue the snow if soft enough to just glissade.

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I have owned both and agree. The longer spikes on the Hillsounds give much better traction and having 4 spikes instead of 2 on the heal give much better confidence when going down hill.

There have many threads on Katohlas and some on Hillsounds Trail Crampons. I have both and the Hillsounds have superior traction plus the velcro straps to keep them snug and keep them from pulling off . They sell for about the same retail cost and both seem to be as durable. The kahtohlas have slightly less "balling" potential but when I am with a group with a mix of one or the other, the Hillsounds start balling slightly quicker than the Kahtolas but its a generally a matter of minutes before the Kahtohlas have the same issue.

Fro my observation, the most typical faliure for either is the rubber eyelets ripping out. It can happen anytime but it seems to be more prevalent with loose or too tight microspikes. If they are fit properly, the rubber should sit above the edge of the soe of the boots you are wearing. the cuts down on the getting the rubber caught between a rock and the sole of the boot. If they are too loose they can slide around and end up in the same situation where the rubber gets caught between the edge of the sole and a rock. The Hillsounds have velcro straps (that would be easy to make up for a pair of Katohlas) that keeps the crampons tight and the rubber up above the edge of the heel. Both have the same limitation that there is minimal traction on the heels so when you are going down hill and hit a patch of ice covered with a bit of snow there is not a lot of traction and you may end up sitting down.

To confuse the issue, in a questionable marketing move, Hillsound calls their microspikes "Trail Crampons" they also sell "Trail Crampons Pros" which are a completely different piece of equipment. They are a stripped down standard crampon design optimized for trail use. The Pros have the same pluses and minus of a standard crampon. They have superior traction on ice, but much moe likely to ball up in the right conditions. They also stick in the ground on occasion so doing a fast gait is difficult. They also should not be used for controlled sliding (glissading)down slopes as they can catch into the snow and flip you.

Love microspikes. Alex and I have used them on almost every winter hike over the past four winter seasons. I have yet to replace the ones I originally bought.

As everyone else has already said, they are not a substitute for crampons. For steep snowfields, I'm now more comfortable in Hillsound Trail Crampon Pros. Bought the Hillsounds last year before Alex broke her leg (saw them in Lahouts), and just used them for the first time on Madison and Adams last Thursday. Great product!

Not sure I'd be comfortable on exposed peaks in icy conditions with microspikes, but for everything else, they're fantastic.

i like kahtoolas but one of them fell off because they dont have a strap to hold them on over the top of your foot(could be made, but lost 1 before i made one). The hillshounds come with a strap already, and are a superior product. longer better traction. they sell the hillshounds at monadnock state park at a loss, thats where i got mine. so my opinion is kahtoolas are nice, hillshounds are better

I decided on the Hillsounds as my in-between solution. You can get them this weekend on Kittery Trading Post's website for $39.99 with free shipping ... What a deal! Now I just need to make time to get out there!!! Research paper and Earth science unit planning come first, sadly ....

Another feature of the Hillsounds that I find advantagous is the forefoot and heel have a plate that connects the spikes in those regions together. Hence, the Hillsounds do not rotate around my foot as often as the Katoola's did. Both are a vast improvement over the screwboots, Yaktraks and Stable-icers.

Ye Olde Screwboots Live On as The Fads Come and Go

Just to make the distinction - "Kahtoola" is a brand, not a product - Kahtoola makes Microspikes, the KTS crampon, and snowshoes.

I'm still using screwboots and Kahtoola KTS steel crampons as my two levels of traction. Screws are light, cheap, and can be replaced individually to insure you have sharp points. They don't squirm ( and the MF44 Eliminators DON"T back out) or shift, and rarely ball up. And they are always on. Not being removable is one of the weak points, but I have found this to not really be an issue. But, hardly anyone wants to put screws in their boots these days, so who really cares? ( I have to do this at least once a year, so here it is)

Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.

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Kahoolta invented the mousetrap category, but Hillsound has recently made a better mousetrap

I am not sure that Hillsounds are sufficiently better to justify switching, but when I found my Kahooltas too blunt (too much walking on rocks and roads) I bought Hillsounds, same list price.

Great on Mansfield

I used my Katoola micro spikes on Mt Mansfield last weekend. They worked extremely well - including on ice covered rockface (as long as it wasn't too steep).

Great and sturdy.

Love The Spikes

Microspikes - one of the best traction devices to come along. Been using them for years now. They are a great alternative, if conditions warrant them, instead of heavy crampons. Not a big fan of crampons. I will agree that they can ball up underneath when the snow is wet but so can crampons and snowshoes. Wouldn't go on a hike without them.

Donna

This thread has gotten me to remembering the ways in which traction has changed for me over the years:

1. tiny cleats on rubbers that wore down after the first climb with them on Monadnock, so...
2. four-point insteps that killed my arches on the way from Pico to Killington.
3. Stabilicers that seemed like magic carpets, until..
4. Microspikes that have worked superbly for me but are now dull after three years. They've never come off, don't slide around, and will suit purposes that my next upgrade won't.
5. Hillsound Pros, which are wonderful except that my first pair failed too soon. Despite that, I'm not letting one bad pair (or was it my fault for tightening them up too much?) change my thinking that they are worthy of having, and happily received a replacement pair.

In between # 3 and #4 above, Grivel 10 pt. crampons which have their own special place.

Another vote for the Microspikes--although, in fairness, I haven't tried the Hillsounds. My crampons are complete overkill (M-10s), so I only carry them when I'm going to be doing significant above-treeline hiking. The 'spikes have been fine for everything else. When I come to a patch of hard ice, even steep, I just stamp them in a bit harder and walk carefully. I haven't had any problems doing that. They're also much better than crampons for controlling a butt-slide!

Mad Townie said:

They're also much better than crampons for controlling a butt-slide!

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Is that a snap judgment? (Pun intended, as in snap, crack, break, hurt.)