Until the past two winters I spent my time 3-season hiking, so when it came to choosing traction for winter hiking, I found myself in unknown territory. Dealing with the variables snow and ice travel can bring to an average hike, you really need something that will keep as solid a grip on your boot as it does the surfaces you walk on.
Wearing Hillsound Trail Pro Crampons
When I first placed an order I opted for Hillsound’s “microspike” offering, the Trail Crampon. When they arrived however the retailer, Eastern Mountain Sports, had only put one shoe’s worth in the box. Though it sounded like a lost “out of stock” cause, they located the missing half of the pair which one of their stores had been using for display, and sent it to me. In the meantime, I had time to order and receive the Trail Crampon Pro, which is styled more like a mountaineering crampon. Having both very different products on-hand allowed me to set them to a basic, pre-adventure comparison.
Trail Crampon (“Microspikes”)
Looking very much like the vastly popular Microspikes® from Kahtoola, Hillsound’s Trail Crampon fits over your footwear with a thick Elastomer rubber harness, to which short lengths of chain attach spiked traction plates at the heel and ball of your foot. There is also a Velcro strap that runs across the top of your foot to help keep the harness from slipping. Having hiked with Kahtoola Microspikes on, that do slip their position on a boot under the right conditions, that Velcro strap seems like a nice solution.
The 1.6cm spikes aren’t large but they are certainly enough to give you good grip on an icy surface. What I don’t like about these at-a-glance, and it’s a feature of seemingly any “microspike” product, is how far the heel and toe spikes are from the striking edges of your foot.
I’d read a review at SectionHiker that mentioned they can slip off the shoe a bit on steep grades, and having them on my feet I couldn’t argue the possibility. It’s something, as mentioned above, that I proved does happen with the similarly designed Kahtoola product.
Since I’d already seen and read enough to make my decision to return these and keep the Pro model, I couldn’t test them out on a hike. Despite my personal concerns, just as Kahtoola’s Microspikes, these Hillsound cleats will likely work well for any mild-to-moderate hike where the ice you need grip on hasn’t been able to freeze too hard.
Trail Crampon Pro
Weighing about half as much more as the 460 gram Trail Crampon, Hillsound’s Trail Crampon Pro is so different it really warrants a more distinct name. Designed similar to a classic mountaineering crampon, these have 10 two-centimeter spikes, which includes two that are front pointing. Despite their similarity to ice climbing crampons, these are notably less aggressive as they were strictly designed for hiking, so don’t even think about using them on a steep, technical mountaineering ascent or climb.
They’re made from S50C Carbon Steel with an x-shaped polycarbonate harness that fits over the top of the foot to meet with the heel harness, which connects with ratchet buckles.
I’ve worn the Trail Crampon Pro’s over two winters, and first tried them on a six mile trek along a course that was almost completely iced over from trailhead to peak. The trail wound its way up the mountain with numerous steep sections, and with it being late Winter, well Spring really, there had been time for the snow to melt and freeze enough times that the trail had became more of a glacier walk, without the crevasses.
There was never a moment when I felt these slip, either on the trail or my winter boots. When I put them on I was wearing the thick, split finger insulation lining of Black Diamond’s Mercury Mitts and had absolutely no trouble threading the straps and ratcheting them tight, thanks to the cord pulls. Along the hike I easily traversed ice covered rocks providing 30+ degree angles to challenge the toe point traction on the way up, and heel spikes on the way back down. The grip was amazing. I passed a couple guys wearing Microspikes at one of the steeper, extended grades, maybe about 35 degree, and I could tell they weren’t 100% sure of their traction based on the time it took them to clear it. On the other hand, I never had to consider slowing down. My feet were sticking wherever I planted them.
Beyond how they performed, the Trail Crampon Pro sits in that sweet spot where quality and price balance out just right. I really couldn’t be happier with my purchase and decision to keep these over their smaller and lighter cousin.
There are times, during winter’s fringe weeks when ice cover on rocks can be rotten by sun exposure and easily breaks away, and for that the Trail Crampon Pro spikes are too long. I took a minor fall along the Falling Waters trail descending from Franconia Ridge in New Hampshire when my steps caused a sheet of ice I was on to break free. It is the fringe season when a “microspike” product is ideal, and in fact safer than longer spikes. On another fringe season hike of Gore Mountain in New York, I had trouble with them adjusting on my non-winter boot due to its more flexible sole. Admittedly, I didn’t tighten down the bolt that is meant to secure their length, but found on another hike that even when I did, they worked loose. Hiking with these in a more rigid soled boot is definitely recommended.
Recently, I’ve found myself hiking with both options in my pack, but in challenging terrain, when the ice has had a chance to really freeze up nicely on a steep grade, Trail Crampon Pro’s are my traction of choice.