Kahtoola MICROspikes

New for review on the site are Kahtoola MICROspikes an interesting quick-fitting solution to staying in one piece on icy terrain without crampons.

MICROspikes are a bit like car snow chains for your shoes, but with added points. The chains are made from stainless steel and anchor five sets of double hardened stainless steel spikes in both the heel and forefoot areas. The points are set at differing angles, so should give grip in all directions.

The whole thing is held in place with a tough-feeling stretchy elastomer harness that simply pulls on over the shoes or boots and sits securely over the upper - no adjustment needed.

They're easy to fold and stow and at 360 grammes for a medium pair, they're not exactly heavy either. All of which is good.

We also found them incredibly easy to fit - the cradles have a 'front' mark so you know which way to point them and they fitted equally well to a running shoe and a lightweight boot. There are five sizes to choose from, so you should be able to get a good, secure fit.

What Are They For?

First, the MICROspikes aren't intended as an alternative to technical crampons - there are no front points for starters - rather as an option for walkers on less aggressive terrain and runners, who need grip on icy ground.

Because they're so light and compact and so quick to fit and remove we reckon they'll make a great option on days when you may or may not encounter patches of hard ice on the trails as well as an all-day choice on the sort of terrain where you won't need front points.

We can think of a good few days on our local Peak District hills, when these would have been ideal and crampons would have felt like overkill.

And while we wouldn't suggest you take them up to the North Face of the Ben, if you think about it, ice is ice regardless of whether it's at 3,000 feet or on the pavement outside your front door, so there's no reason why they shouldn't cope fine with general walking duties, though the longer, sharper points of crampons should give better grip albeit less stability on hard ice.

That's the theory anyway, as soon as it turns icy, we'll put them to the test and let you know how we get on for both walking and running.

We'll be interested to see how they compare to the excellent, but hard to find, Icebug running shoes we've been using this winter. One obvious difference is that the MICROspikes will fit a variety of different boots and shoes.