They look like a bit of a halfway-house between the Kahtoola Microspikes and the Hillsound Trail Crampon - a plate underneath but the spikes look a bit shorter.
In the end I suspect the snugness of fit on your footwear and associated scope for stretch or side-slippage is probably more crucial than any particular version of the chains and spikes underfoot.
Having used Microspikes for a couple of years now, one of the benefits of the chains and very minor spikes is that you can keep them on and walk pretty normally over stretches of marginal ground, whereas longer spikes are more uncomfortable and awkward in those conditions. Once you need longer spikes for grip then imo it's probably worth looking towards a more standard crampon design, even if it's something as light as the Kahtoola Steel or Alloys, and getting away from the rubberised bindings*
* that's speculation, mind, since I've not tried the Hillsounds or Pogus
Yep, as above, they use a plate arrangement. They also seem to have an additional Velcro security strap on the harness section, not that I've ever had issues with the security of Microspikes. I'll lback to back them once the test ones arrive. Snow permitting etc.
If anyone's wondering about these things vis a vis crampons, as in the preview of the Pogu Spikes, not quite as much outright grip, no front points, but very convenient and versatile in use, quick to put on and off and fit pretty much any sort of footwear. Also shorter points make them more stable on rock and don't have the same slowing effect as crampons. You're also less likely to snag a point in your overtrousers or gaiter and go head over heels...
It's a good point about fit. Looking at the hillsound pair I noticed that like a lot of socks my size is at the boundary between two sizes. Size 8.5 to 9 is supposed to be one of the most common foot sizes in UK yet a lot of hiking socks have one size up to 8.5 and the other size at 9 or 9.5 upwards. Just a minor niggle but if the most common foot size is at the boundary between two sizes then where is the sense in that?? I mean if I'm size 9 in one foot but nearer 8.5 in the other (a lot of people have a size difference between feet so a half size is not unusual) am I a large or a medium in socks? Same thing for the hillsound mini crampons.
The pogu spikes might be better for me as the size goes 7 to 10. I think they seem good piece of kit. I was looking at the link that attaches the chains to the plastic cradle on the hillsound ones and there appeared to be some gaps in the link. That could feasibly fail. The pogu ones looked like they were actually joined at the link gap. Might be minor concerns and not a problem but it's those little extras that sometimes can make a difference.
Anyway, What would people reckon? Pogu spike, Hillsound trail crampon, kahtoola microspikes or yaktrax pro?? Which ones would you go for if you needed a pair of this sort of thing? And hadn't got one already of course.
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