Newbie Question Regarding Traction

[jes75]

My apologies if this has been covered, but I checked several microspikes threads and didn't find an answer.

So I hiked Quandary this past Saturday, and when we came upon the snow on the ridge I switched to my microspikes, the ICEtrekkers diamond grip. The ICEtrekkers had worked well for me on a slick October Mt. Elbert hike and on icy trails in the Flatirons, but I didn't feel they were helping me on the Quandary ascent. My hiking partners were wearing Kahtoola microspikes and they did just fine. Luckily, I was able to switch to snowshoes and got up without a problem, but I was still a little surprised the ICEtrekkers were so worthless when they had served me well in the past. Does the ICEtrekker design make it less versatile?

One more question: while the snowshoes, a pair of MSR Denali Ascents, helped me get up the mountain, they were awkward to wear while going down--I was sliding way too much. Granted, we were coming down at 10:30AM and thus we would have had more firm snow earlier in the day, but my lack of control made me think I had poor technique or that snowshoes really aren't meant for the descent. Ultimately, it was easier to switch back to microspikes and just deal with the postholing. What works best for ya'll on a descent with postholing?

Thanks.

[C-Shepguy]

Im surprised you didn't find the info you wanted, as this group is basically one big PR campaign for microspikes when questions are asked. Maybe it's mostly in the FB group. (And icetrekkers are not microspikes, that name is the property of kahtoola)

But anyway, of course they are designed better. Didn't you look at them? You literally just witnessed them working better in a side by side real world comparison and confirmed it yourself. Not sure what the confusion is about.

Short answer: yeah, kahtoola microspikes are much better designed and suited for hiking mountains.

[martinleroux]

What works best for ya'll on a descent with postholing?

Skis!

[jes75]

Thanks for the reply. No confusion about the Kahtoola being a superior product and didn't mean my query to be a side-by-side comparison of the two, but surprised the ICEtrekkers would be so ineffective.

Put it this way: of course you're going to have an easier time cutting with, say, a Wustof knife than a cheap stainless steel you bought at Target, but you'd still expect the cheap knife to allow you to slice an onion. Here, the ICEtrekkers worked like a plastic knife you'd get at a fast-food restaurant. And, yes, that surprised me. I thought they'd provide *some* traction.

[FrancesGray]

My apologies if this has been covered, but I checked several microspikes threads and didn't find an answer.

So I hiked Quandary this past Saturday, and when we came upon the snow on the ridge I switched to my microspikes, the ICEtrekkers diamond grip. The ICEtrekkers had worked well for me on a slick October Mt. Elbert hike and on icy trails in the Flatirons, but I didn't feel they were helping me on the Quandary ascent. My hiking partners were wearing Kahtoola microspikes and they did just fine. Luckily, I was able to switch to snowshoes and got up without a problem, but I was still a little surprised the ICEtrekkers were so worthless when they had served me well in the past. Does the ICEtrekker design make it less versatile?

I'll take the flack from the Microspike fan boys to answer you question.

The Icebreakers you have are good for flat ice conditions.

Get these if you want to use on snow inclines where normal crampons are too much. They have larger 'teeth then the regular Microspikes your friends have.
https://www.amazon.com/Lixada-Crampons- ... il+crampon

[FrancesGray]

One more question: while the snowshoes, a pair of MSR Denali Ascents, helped me get up the mountain, they were awkward to wear while going down--I was sliding way too much. Granted, we were coming down at 10:30AM and thus we would have had more firm snow earlier in the day, but my lack of control made me think I had poor technique or that snowshoes really aren't meant for the descent. Ultimately, it was easier to switch back to microspikes and just deal with the postholing. What works best for ya'll on a descent with postholing?

Thanks.

You technique might have been off. If you had the shoes pointed straight down the mountain - you could slide.

Point you shoes in so that the underside rails get traction. Also on really steep parts you may have to 'switch back' - like on a trail - to get traction.