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Traction

The best traction, reviewed and curated by the Trailspace community. The latest review was added on March 5, 2023. Stores' prices and availability are updated daily.

user rating: 5 of 5 (14)
Hillsound Trail Crampon Traction Device
$60 - $79
user rating: 5 of 5 (4)
Petzl Vasak Crampon
$127 - $189
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (38)
Kahtoola MICROspikes Traction Device
$70 - $75
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (15)
Hillsound Trail Crampon Ultra Traction Device
$64 - $79
user rating: 5 of 5 (2)
Snowline Chainsen Pro Traction Device
$33 - $64
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (4)
Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro Crampon
$71 - $89
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (3)
Black Diamond Sabretooth Crampons Crampon
$190 - $199
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (3)
CAMP Stalker Universal Crampon
$90 - $139
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (3)
Grivel G12 Crampon
$162 - $199
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (2)
Black Diamond Cyborg Crampons Crampon
$220
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Petzl Leopard FL Crampon
$136 - $169
user rating: 4 of 5 (4)
Kahtoola NANOspikes Traction Device
$35 - $49
user rating: 4 of 5 (3)
Black Diamond Contact Strap Crampon
$140 - $159
user rating: 4 of 5 (3)
ICEtrekkers Diamond Grip Traction Device
$45 - $54
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1)
Petzl Lynx Crampon
$250
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1)
Black Diamond Snaggletooth Crampons Crampon
$230
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1)
Black Diamond Serac Crampons Crampon
$148 - $199
user rating: 4 of 5 (2)
Grivel G10 Crampon
$126 - $159
user rating: 3.5 of 5 (3)
Black Diamond Neve Strap Crampon
$150
user rating: 3 of 5 (3)
Vargo V3 Pocket Cleats Titanium Traction Device
$60
STABIL icers Hike XP Traction Device
$56 - $64
user rating: 1.5 of 5 (1)
Kahtoola KTS Hiking Crampons Crampon
$170
user rating: 2 of 5 (16)
Yaktrax Pro Traction Device
$13 - $34
user rating: 5 of 5 (2)
DIY: Sheet Metal Screws Traction Device
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (3)
STABIL icers Original Traction Device
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (2)
Hillsound Cypress6 Traction Device
$59 MSRP
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Icespike Shoe Spikes Package Traction Device
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Stubai Tirol Crampon
user rating: 4 of 5 (2)
ICEtrekkers Chains Traction Device
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Kahtoola KTS Aluminum Hiking Crampons Crampon
discontinued
user rating: 5 of 5 (1)
Trango Ice Walker 6-Point Crampon Traction Device
discontinued
user rating: 4.5 of 5 (1)
CAMP Ice Rider Crampon
discontinued
user rating: 4 of 5 (1)
SMC Superblue Hinged Crampons Crampon
discontinued
user rating: 3.5 of 5 (1)
CAMP Vector Nanotech Crampon
$280 MSRP
discontinued
user rating: 3 of 5 (7)
Yaktrax XTR Extreme Traction Device
discontinued

In order to show you the most useful information, we have omitted some products.

Recent Traction Reviews

rated 5 of 5 stars
Kahtoola MICROspikes

Excellent, well-made, stainless-steel spikes. On securely. Rubber stays flexible. Sure-footed everywhere. Do not pop off. On the boot Well, winter’s not done yet and you’re not the type to hide in your cabin. Even spring on the mountain trails is icy.  Top and bottom—Excellent design Buy the right thing—Kahtoola Micro Spikes. Fit back in the bag easily I tried others that seemed good, but they popped off and down I went. Never had a problem with these. A couple of weeks ago I hiked on a… Full review

rated 0.5 of 5 stars
Yaktrax Pro

Had worn them three times, and the rubber frame broke, coils came apart (broke). Not happy for $30. Easy to put on. Need to beef up rubber and coils. These would last one day on an icy construction site. That would be a huge market to go after. You should get more than three uses blowing snow on a small driveway. Full review

rated 5 of 5 stars
Black Diamond Sabretooth Crampons

Great versatile steel crampon for hard snow and icy conditions, in flat terrain, mountain uphill, and vertical faces. I had initially chosen the Black Diamond Serac Clip for my first pair of crampons, but they had been unavailable for quite some time up until a few days before my outing, and amongst available options I chose the Sabretooth Clip (Hybrid). I am glad I did, as I got a lot more versatility for the same price and weight. Bindings, compatible boot types and suitability for flat, uphill… Full review

rated 5 of 5 stars
Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro

Excellent performance on ice, packed snow, or greasy logs. Easy on and off boots. Solid connection to boots for great control on flats or slopes. We bought these after trying snowshoeing on the mountain trails on the North Shore of Vancouver. The trails get packed down pretty hard very quickly and only the crampons of the snowshoes really do any work. So we decided to drop the snowshoes and go with spikes. We looked at many different varieties including the rubber mounted carbide pegs, chain and… Full review

rated 4 of 5 stars
Grivel G12

The benchmark mountaineering crampon that most people need. This will get you up any mountain in the world. This is the crampon 90% of people need. I have climbed vertical ice, steep snow, and even dry tooling. Sure, there are better crampons for really steep stuff, but if you only want one crampon, this is a good one. Steve House climbed Nanga Parbat Royal Face in this. Stevie Haston climbed Scotch on the rocks in this. I find it fits my boots well (La Sportiva and Hanwags models) and the Newmatic… Full review

rated 1 of 5 stars
Black Diamond Neve Strap

These do not work at all with Altra trail shoes. The crampons slide off the toe box. My foot slid out multiple times while traversing a very sketchy icy slope. Full review

rated 1 of 5 stars
Yaktrax Pro

Piece of junk. Don’t waste your money.  Broke after less than two weeks of moderate use. Contacted the company twice with no response . Full review

rated 1 of 5 stars
Yaktrax Pro

Came highly recommended. Worn three times and they started coming apart. Rubber broke on both shoes. Grippers broke off from both shoes. Really disappointed as they came highly recommended. Not fit for purpose if they broke up on Day 3. Full review

rated 1 of 5 stars
Vargo V3 Pocket Cleats Titanium

Difficult to maintain position of cleats even after extensive adjustments. Extremely tough to adjust in freezing conditions. Work well when descending steep trails. Running on level ground or ascending pulls cleats too far forward. I bought these at the recommendation of a friend. Desired use was for trail running in late autumn/early winter along a trail starting at around 2000 feet, cresting at 10,000. Looking for a product that could be added to shoes above the snowline and removed when lower… Full review