# Anybody ever use Yaktrax ? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 18, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480 "2004-11-18T16:04:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/1 "2004-11-18T16:04:36Z")
I saw Yaktrax in a catalog. They’re a rubber dealie with steel springs (that go horizontally) that go on the bottom of your shoes in an effort to improve grip in the snow. Anybody ever use them, or a similar product? If so, thoughts? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/2 "2004-11-18T16:52:08Z")
They’re basically snow tires for your shoes. For my mother, they’ve been a godsend. She broke her ankle, badly, slipping on an icy street 15 years ago. It gives her minor trouble still on a daily basis; stiffness mostly, nothing that limits her mobility, but she is very wary and unsteady on snowy or icy surfaces and has fallen a couple of times (without injury, thankfully.) She got a pair of Yaktraks last winter and loves them. It’s great for her, because she loves taking the dog for long morning walks, and can keep doing so in winter without worrying that a tug on the leash (it’s a big dog) will cause her to lose her footing. She has complete confidence in them, and while in her case that’s probably partly psychological, I’ve tried them myself and they make a remarkable difference. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/3 "2004-11-19T00:17:38Z")
i have yaktrax. they are fantastic. just be prepared to take them off as soon as you walk in a door. i carry a sandwich bag for this. you will slide around a bit on a smooth floor. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/4 "2004-11-19T12:42:05Z")
I have used them and they are fantastic! I used yaktax last winter in Vail and it was like I was a mountain goat. The pair I used were borrowed but I plan to buy my own. I too walk a big dog (actually 2) and those icy sidewalks are dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/5 "2004-11-19T18:01:53Z")
I bought Mrs. Nott a pair after she fell on ice, breaking her hand. She likes them. The give better traction on ice and snow. They don’t feel lumpy to the feet. ---
**Author:** ![moon\_lit\_night](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@moon\_lit\_night](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moon_lit_night)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/6 "2004-11-19T21:19:12Z")
especially if you have an ice / snow combo. they slip on and off rather easily so even if you are walking across an icy parking lot to get to a store, you can take them off before going inside. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/7 "2004-11-20T16:23:50Z")
Cool. Thanks, everybody! ---
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/8 "2004-11-21T00:56:29Z")
I have a question - I just bought a pair of these for my Grandma in Winnipeg. She relies on public transportation though - would these be too slippery if she got onto a bus while she was wearing them, or would she have to take them off beforehand? Thanks, S. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/9 "2004-11-21T01:51:08Z")
The boots these Perfect Couple in the ad are wearing are Sorrels. Or something very similar. Those boots, of which I have worn for ten years, are fantastic for warmth (good to -50 in barefeet, by my scientific testing) and keeping feet dry, but have ZERO traction. Couple years ago we were Gunnison, Colorado and I took a break from skiing to peruse the local town. I wore my sorrels. Fresh snow covered ice. I must have fallen at least, and I am not making this up and I am not a klutz by any standard, six times that day because of the lack of traction on my boots. It amazed me that I didn’t break anything. Damn boots. Still, I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Yaktracks look pretty cool to me. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/10 "2004-11-21T01:56:48Z")
FWIW, in a pinch ( or you are a tightwad like me) you can use rubber bands across your boots to help with traction for short duration. They do snap from the cold for anything longer than a jaunt to and fro somewhere. But it is a quick alternative for a little better traction. ---
**Author:** ![whistlepig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/73ab20/32.png) [@whistlepig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whistlepig)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/11 "2004-11-21T23:09:39Z")
Depending on where you are going, buy two pair. I find 2-3 of them on the trails in my town every spring. Whistlepig ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-ever-use-yaktrax/275480/12 "2004-11-21T23:33:32Z")
i have been in winnipeg, but not on a bus there. if the bus has the usual ribbed rubber mat flooring yaktrax are okay. it is vinyl, polish stone, poly wood flooring, and the ilk that give you yak trouble.