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 Well I've spent the best part of today looking round for snow socks and for snow tyres. The two web-sites I did go into for snow socks don't have any in stock until the 5/12/10 and the 12/12/10 respectively.
i got some from eurocarparts in carlisle - i went in on friday, they ordered them (from london), and i picked them up on Monday morning. they're excellent, and on discount at £42. try giving them a ring and see what they've got?
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 Interesting article. I miss the point of why anyone would even consider telling their insurance company about their tyres? Mad old world.
The european situation with winter tyres doesn't seem to be much better. They all run out pretty quickly. Probably a ploy.
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 Crazy insurance companies, make your car safer and get penalised for it. Safer than leaving it at home, which I'm guessing is what they're assuming you would otherwise do..?
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Hi Posh Totty. Last night I ordered some snow socks from www.roofbox.co.uk. and asked them to be delivered by courier. If they're in stock, which the web-site couldn't tell me, they'll be delivered on Thursday. Have you driven in your snow socks yet? If so how were they? Thanks.
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 Snow socks are excellent MC - I've had some (Weiss Socks) for about 3 years and they came into their own last winter. They got my Honda Jazz up the Tomintoul road on last years' winter skills course when the snowploughs hadn't got it properly open yet. I'm not claiming they'll get you through everything, but they do make a hell of a difference! I've had chains in the past. The socks are far easier to fit and remove, and two folk on WS had their new chains break! We're awaiting delivery of a pair for MoS's car too.
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| Edited: 01/12/10 11:07 |
Thanks Matt C. That's good news. I think our weekend's postponed though as we got this from our landlady....  Dear Jeff, The snow situation has become very much worse up here - the lanes are totally impassable. I can't get up to Brushfield to clean as Moor Grange Farm has 4 ft drifts - so even in landrover this is impossible. Do you think it might be wise to arrange an alternative weekend? Let me know, Thanks, LizAnd that's in Derbyshire. The main roads might be o.k. but the cottage we're renting is in a small gated hamlet called Brushfield, which is just off the A6 between Bakewell and Buxton. 
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 Well this is Matlock this morning. Got around 18ins in the garden. Next door neighboors a copper just come of duty in Buxton, come through massive drifts on the way home qtl { position: absolute; border: 1px solid #cccccc; -moz-border-radius: 5px; opacity: 0.2; line-height: 100%; z-index: 999; direction: ltr; } qtl:hover,qtl.open { opacity: 1; } qtl,qtlbar { height: 22px; } qtlbar { display: block; width: 100%; background-color: #cccccc; cursor: move; } qtlbar img { border: 0; padding: 3px; height: 16px; width: 16px; cursor: pointer; } qtlbar img:hover { background-color: #aaaaff; } qtl>iframe { border: 0; height: 0; width: 0; } qtl.open { height: auto; } qtl.open>iframe { height: 200px; width: 300px; } <img title="Copy Selction" src="http://www.qtl.co.il/img/copy.png" /><a href="http://int.ask.com/web?siteid=10000861&webqsrc=999&l=dis&q=4ft" title="Search With Ask" target="_blank"> </a><img title="Translate With Google" src="http://translate.google.com/favicon.ico" />
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That's a shame Major. The A6 and surroundings can be a bit dodgy though. I know the Buxton end of things very well. The postman's just been and the new snowsocks have arrived. We ordered them online on Sunday from Brindley Chains if anyone else is looking. Just had a thought - I want to dash outside and try one on to check it fits... but the moment I do that I'd probably be a bit buggered if I needed to send them back! Catch-22? 
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haven't used them yet, MC - my rubbish little peugeot 206 appears to be having no trouble with hills, ice, snow and steep bends  i am only doing about 20mph though  last winter i almost burnt the clutch out trying to get moving having parked on a snowy slope. these socks are in case that ever happens again. i have used chains many times before, and my abiding impression of them is that your hands will freeze to ice before you've even got one adjusted properly; heavy, cold, and difficult to fit all the bits in the right place at the right time. i may just be incompetent with them though 
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 Not at all PT you are correct as they are a right faff on trying to get them adjusted 
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 That is another advantage of snow socks..........after you place them on, just drive, they self adjust themselves! 
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as do chains. Put them on, drive 100 yards, tighten again and you're away. If you get cold hands, knees etc. you're doing it wrong. Knee mat, gloves, shovel, brush and a torch should all be in the car. The scouts have the right idea - be prepared  .
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| Edited: 01/12/10 20:26 |
Forgot to mention too, that chains are best avoided if you have alloy wheels but snow sock do not cause any damage!
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 If I can put snow socks on a car, anyone can! Having been in Matt's Jazz wearing snow socks and seen 2 other vehicles with broken snow chains on their first trip out, following the difficult fiddliness of putting them on, I'm putting in an order for socks!
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.JPG) seen 2 other vehicles with broken snow chains on their first trip out, operator error. yes cold metal can be a faff to handle, but practice and tightening after 100 yds will make all the difference.
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 I missed this thread through being on holiday, but see my latest blog post - winter tyres - the editorial Mk2 Golf GTi now has a set of winter tyres fitted to a spare set of steel wheels with the posh alloys and summer tyres now warming themselves under the stairs. I have to say the level of grip from the Conti Winter Contacts is astonishing both in cold, wet conditions and in the current snowy and icy stuff - it really does just feel like driving on normal, dry roads, which is slightly disconcerting. Obviously you have to drive with some level of common sense, but the feel of security is quite uncanny. Equally obviously, you can still get caught behind people struggling for grip with normal tyres, really deep drifts are going to physically stop you regardless of the level of grip from your tyres and you need to be aware that the driver behind you may well not be able to stop as effectively as you can, but on balance, I reckon I'd far rather be with winter tyres than without. I used snow socks a few times last winter and they got me out of a couple of sticky situations and I'd use them again, but the tyre option is a lot less hassle on a day to day basis and of course works quite normally on non snowed-up roads. Also, a friend of mine has a Panda 4x4, her husband has a Discovery - the Panda kicks its butt when it comes to slippy situations. With snow tyres on, it would be awesome.
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Also, noticed that Michelin does an intereting looking sort of snow chain / sock hybrid that goes on like a sock, but uses steel clips attached to a composite mesh. These things. Look like a user-friendly solution, though I've no personal experience of them.
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 Jon, when I had my landrover 10 + years ago one of the magazines were comparing chains and they had something similar to what you have above, it was a bit like a "Hair Net" in design and worked well, being easy to put on, it was a lot quieter than chains. It was a halfway house between chains and chunky tyres.
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