IceShanty Main > General Ice Fishing Chit Chat
Easy on/off Boot traction
CoachWalleye74:
The deals thread with yacktrax got me thinking about ice cleats. I have Katoolas and they are great. My ice boots are Clam Sub Zero X. I found a few times this winter I didn't put the katoolas on because they made a lot of noise which spooked fish, I was fishing from the truck and didn't want to rip up my floor mats or make it hard to drive, and they aren't the easiest to get on and off. Anybody try some of those velcro crampons to stick on a boot or shoe, or something else that is easy on/off and gives a little traction?
zcm_82:
https://www.fishusa.com/Frabill-Ice-Creepers/
Super cheap, and they do the job. They run really small though, so if you have big feet like me, they will not work on heavy winter boots.
They work great for slipping on my work boots for shorter after work outings and general slick conditions. I keep a pair in my car all winter just in case.
CoachWalleye74:
These two are interesting...
K1 Mid sole ice cleats
Job Site Ice claws
thomasthepikehunter:
I don't think there's a lot you can do about the sound. If they don't dig in, they don't work very well. Yaktrax makes a few models, but the basic wound wire ones are probably the quietest, but they aren't super grabby. They are acceptable for most people. Your Katoolas are quite aggressive. They aren't to the level of some military surplus spikes, but you certainly aren't slipping with them. My favorites are Stabilicers. They are kind of in the middle, they grip pretty good, but it isn't obnoxious. Plus they are the only cleats I'm aware of made in the usa. They seem to last a good long time.
Whatever you buy, stay away from the ones that only have spikes at the front, and not at the heel. I'm surprised no company has been sued yet for selling such deathtraps. I'm looking at you HT.
slipperybob:
The quietest ones have a lot of the silicone rubber on the bottom. They tend to be the least aggressive too.
If one thing I've learned is that the easiest to put on and off are often the easiest to come off when you most need them to stay on. I used the HT style ones with the velcrow straps for a few seasons. Did the job, but I never cared for the added weight and the snow balls underneath from slush. Artic spurs mid sole spikes were great but still unreliable slippery if you aint walking flat feet shuffle. They never came off but the silicon rubber don't stretch and retract so well in the frigid temps. Most of the time you're in frigid temps.
If you are not wearing pack boots style, then most of the mountaineering crampons are great. The Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro is built in likeness and a bit easier to put on and take off. I wear a size 10 winter boot Irish Setter Snow Claws and the straps just barely snaps on. I will say that occasionally I trip the snap release and off the crampons come.
When compared to my older Grivel G10 ice crampons. The Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro is much faster to put on and way too easy to take off. I will say the the Grivel, once on, stays on and you can run with the and never have to worry about them falling off. Then again I have no need to run.
I wish they make a boot combo like those of ski or snowboard boots that can just snap onto the skis or snowboard ===>For ice fishing. I would luv to have my K2 snowboarding boots binding and see it converted into ice traction spikes. If I remember correctly there was a company that made a boot where it had hidden spikes built in. You just had to flip them open. I remember it was super expensive too. Very cool concept but you still had to remove the boot to make the spike conversion.
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