Glacier Chains GSC-L Shoe Chains (Large)

I splurged on a pair of Kahtoola Microspikes, which I'm very happy with, but since the Glacier Chains seemed to be a clone and were a quarter of the price, I bought them too, for comparison and to have a spare pair.The Glacier Chains reek. They smell like an old time garage/tire shop. They were not too bad after they aired out for a while (days) but if you're really sensitive about smells they still might bother you, like you may get a faint bit of the smell on your hands when you put them on.They work quite well. The biggest difference between these and the Kahtoolas is the rubber part. The Glacier Chains don't come up as high on my boots/shoes whereas the Kahtoolas have almost a wraparound grip. The rubber in the Kahtoolas is softer and grippier, reminds me a little of those weird sticky stretchy rubber creatures kids play with (no idea what they're called, little creatures you can stretch out without breaking and they go right back to their normal shape). I think there is a lot more chance one of the Glaciers could pop off while walking.Cannot speak to longterm quality at this point.I think these are a much better choice than the coiled kind that are more easily found in stores. I wear ladies size 7.5 and the medium is a good fit. I just noticed they included a few extra metal connectors in the bag (not the chains or spikes).

Excellent traction aids. I have used on hardpack and ice - holding up great. However, there are few things to beware of (but not really flaws in the product, mind you.)First, about sizing. I wear an 11.5 - 12 shoe. The XL says they fit shoe size 11-13. They do. I tried them on several hiking shoes, tennis shoes, and dress shoes - all NO PROBLEM. Boots, however are bigger. I didn't think about it when I bought them and maybe you haven't either... BUT, they were no problem to get on and off my large, heavy Vasque boots which are size 11.5. I have a pair of big insulated hunting boots, however, that I would not want to try to put these onto, especially with gloves on.Second, these things are like mini-crampons on the bottom (okay, not really for you hardcore guys. I have "real" crampons too ... but go with me here...). You should NOT walk on rocks or hard surfaces with crampons. DON'T do that with these. First, you might actually slip - I did a little, once, when I unknowingly stepped on a large, flat rock just under the snow on a steep slope. Second hard surfaces might screw up/bend/break a tip. The cleats themselves are pretty gnarly, so I'd be more worried about slipping than breaking a tip, but, for the third point, there is a longer link section that attaches the tough-looking metal cleat piece to the chain. That piece looks like it might be the proverbial "weak link" if they have one (mine came with a little baggie with extras ... making me think I'm right in that assertion). If you walk on hard surfaces, like cement, rocks, etc, that piece will likely take the brunt of the force and could break if twisted or torqued hard. The construction seems VERY adequate to handle walking on snow and ice and probably mud, if there are not rocks in it and you don't get that link twisted when putting them on. I don't want to abrade the links too much with all the grime, so I take them off when the ice/snow stops and my heavy lugged boots will suffice.Third, when you put them on, you need to be careful you don't get that connector link mentioned above twisted. That will put a LOT of torque on it, and I image would cause it to snap. If you are careful to make sure they are on straight, it should be plenty durable... provided you don't stomp around on rocks or concrete like I mentioned earlier. My last trip out with them, I took them on and off a dozen times as trail conditions changed over the day, hanging them on a 'biner I clipped to a loop on my pack's hip belt for easy access. They are not hard to take on and off (again, over size 11.5 serious backpacking boots and with a pack on) - you just have to take a second to look and make sure each is not twisted when putting it on, and take a second when you are done to make sure there are no kinks.Fourth, they smell stinky. Yeah? HECK YEAH!!! AND, I'm gonna add to that - the rubber is UGLY too! wa-HOO!! These things fill the void between my full-on Petzl crampons and my coil traction aids, and they do it AWESOMELY (is that a word??). My spouse thinks I'm part mountain goat in good weather, and guys let me get places I could not otherwise go in winter now too, up and down icy terrain and trails - no problem. My experience is, the seriously hardcore places to get to ... no one cares if your microspikes smell ... likely YOU smell too. HA! All you folks who want pretty smelling outdoor gear that makes you look fashionably bee-oootiful, go buy some overpriced mass-market N___face crap, brush with your ultra-whitening toothpaste ... better yet, just look at nature from the tinted windows of your luxury SUV, keeping your yoga-toned tushi in those lovely heated seats. Or watch discovery channel. These things are serious traction for ice and snow. If you just want traction for walking across the parkinglot or on slick sidewalks, these may be overkill (and might get you hurt - see point 1 about slipping on hard surfaces). If that's you, I'd suggest you'd be better with **COIL** traction aids, or maybe nano spikes. I would even probably go with my coils for shovelling my drive, again, because theses guys are very aggressive and once I shovel, I would worry they'd chew up asphalt, or I would eventually slip (again, crampons not for walking on hard non-ice surfaces!!) or tear them up.If you want serious traction and value hardcore function over being easy on the eyes or nose, based on my experience, I would strongly recommend these. I love mine!! Yeah, I know the rubber on the K---- brand is better looking, and the chains on those are shinier. But for the price of one pair of those, I could buy 3 pair of these and have some money left over. So far, these appear to be on track to hold up a really long time.

I was looking for a pair of micro-spikes to carry in case I needed then on a climb up Mt. St. Helens in April (2500ft elevation gain in snow). Turned out these were very helpful walking up the snow pack to provide extra traction versus just boots - the difference was immediately noticeable. I bought the XL set and they fit over my size 11 Salomon Comet boots very well with a bit to spare. These spikes don't have a strap that goes over the front of the boot like more expensive pairs, but I improvised with a long piece of Velcro. My wife has the same pair of spikes (size L) and didn't have the added Velcro strap and hers fit well and stayed on just fine (Columbia Bugaboot Plus II size 9.5). They even stayed in place glissading down the mountain.The downside is that even after rinsing them off, the next day some of the links on the bottom were rusting as others had mentioned. On the plus side, there are a few extra connectors included in the package. Overall a very good value for general use.