Best ice cleats for walking: coils, spikes or studs for shoes and boots

For most people who walk sidewalks, driveways, parking lots and flat paths, the best ice cleats are coil cleats that stretch over everyday shoes: light, quick to pull on, and grippy on flat ice and packed snow. If your walks climb icy trails or roll over hills, chain-and-spike traction (the kind most people call microspikes) bites harder and stays put on a slope. A low-cost set of slip-on spikes makes a sensible spare for the car, the dock or the porch steps.

I run trails through the winter and walk the dog in the dark for the rest of it, so I have worn traction everywhere from the front step to frozen ridgelines. The useful question is never which pair is best in the abstract. It is what kind of ice you walk on, what you wear on your feet, and how often you step indoors. Get those three right and you will stay upright far more often than not.

Coils, spikes or studs: what is the difference?

All three slip over a shoe or boot on a stretchy rubber or elastomer harness. What changes is the metal under the sole and how hard it bites.

Coils are steel wire wound into springs and strung across the sole on a rubber frame. They press into ice and packed snow along their length, so the grip is spread out and the feel stays close to an ordinary shoe. They work best on flat and gently sloped ground. On steep pitches and hard, glassy ice they have less to dig into, and long stretches of bare concrete wear them down.

Studs are short, hard metal points set into a rubber sole plate. They grip thin glaze and hard flat ice with a fairly flat, quiet feel, which makes them popular for walking around town. Their short points reach less in soft snow.

Spikes are longer, pointed teeth. On slip-on grips they sit in a rubber frame under the sole; on chain-and-spike traction they hang from short chains linked to the harness. Spikes dig into hard ice and stay engaged on slopes and side hills. The trade is clatter on pavement, more weight, and the most damage to floors.

How these two got here: I read each maker's size chart and fitting directions closely, then went through owner reviews in bulk with a few questions in mind about the second and third winter, such as whether the coils hold, whether the toe loops tear and whether the chains stay put. Neither pair has been on a slip rig or in a lab of ours, so this is a reading of the evidence, not a measurement. The coil pair is what I would hand most readers for town and yard; the chain-and-spike pair is for walks that head uphill into the woods.

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Which traction suits your walk?

Think about the worst ten minutes of your usual route, not the average. That is where the traction has to work.

Sidewalks, driveways and parking lots

Coils are the natural fit. The ground is mostly flat, the ice comes in patches between cleared stretches, and you are in and out of doors all day. Coils go on and off in seconds and feel steady on the mix of glaze, slush and packed snow that town walking throws at you. If your route is mostly bare and salted, carry them in a pocket and pull them on for the icy blocks, since dry concrete grinds the coils down. A steep driveway that glazes over every night is the exception; that slope deserves spikes.

Trails, hills and woods roads

Out here, ice lingers in shaded hollows and on north slopes for weeks, roots and rocks hide under a skin of glaze, and every step lands at a different angle. Chain-and-spike traction holds through that side-hill twisting and keeps biting on climbs and descents. Flat old railroad grades are the gentle exception: on the packed snow of a rail-trail like the ones in our piece on rail-trails and trail towns, coils are often enough. If you are in the woods in November, add blaze orange to the kit; our checklist for hiking during hunting season covers the rest.

Docks, boat ramps and steps

Docks are sneaky. Spray and frost glaze the boards, ramps tilt toward the water, and wet wood freezes slicker than the ground beside it. Slip-on spike grips suit this kind of short, sharp job: they bite into frozen boards, and they come off fast when you head back inside. Two cautions. A cleat does nothing to make pond or lake ice safe to walk on, which is a question of ice thickness, not grip. And a slip off a winter dock means cold water, so go slowly, keep a hand free and do not work out there alone.

This one is on the list on paper: the stainless spikes and rubber harness named in its listing, the maker's size table, and a pass through owner reviews for two things, whether the rubber cracks in hard cold and whether the frame stays centered underfoot. I have no grip measurements to offer for it. It is the pair to toss in the car door or hang by the back steps, not the one for a long hilly hike.

How should ice cleats fit over boots?

Size the traction to the footwear you will wear it over, not to your street shoe size. A harness sized for running shoes strains and slips over a bulky winter boot, and one sized for a big boot rolls off a sneaker. Check the maker's chart against the boots you actually walk in. If you sit between two sizes, read the maker's note on it rather than guessing; bulky winter boots usually want the roomier fit.

Tall rubber boots are the classic trap. If your mornings start in waterproof chore boots, like the ones from Muck Boot, fit the traction to them, since their wide toes and thick soles run much bigger than a shoe of the same size. A fair fit check takes a minute:

1. Sit down at the door, on a step or a bench, with the boots already laced.
2. Hook the toe loop over the front of the boot first.
3. Stretch the harness back and roll it over the heel, the way you pull on a rubber overshoe.
4. Center the coils, studs or spikes under the ball of the foot and the heel, with the harness even on both sides.
5. Fasten the strap over the instep if your pair has one.
6. Walk a few steps on snow, then look again. A harness that has drifted to one side will roll your ankle.

Cold rubber is stiff and hard to stretch, so keep your traction in the house or an inside pocket rather than a frozen trunk. If you have to wrestle a pair on every time, it is too small.

When should you take ice cleats off?

Take them off before you walk indoors. Metal that grips ice skates on tile, polished concrete, linoleum and wet store floors, and it scratches wood. Take them off for long stretches of dry pavement too, and on metal grates and steel stair treads, where metal on metal gives you very little to stand on. Never drive in them; a cleated sole can slide off a pedal.

My routine: sit at the door, peel them off, knock the snow loose against the step and stuff them in a coat pocket. They are on hand for the walk back out, and nobody skates across the kitchen.

How do you make a pair last?

Traction takes a beating from salt, grit and pavement. A little care buys extra winters:

• Rinse road salt and grit off with fresh water after salted sidewalks
• Let them air-dry at room temperature, never on a woodstove, radiator or heater vent
• Store them loose in a bag, not crushed under heavy gear
• Keep them out of sun and heat over the summer, since rubber ages fastest there
• Before the first hard freeze, check for broken coils, loose links, worn spikes and cracks at the toe and heel, where the rubber stretches most
• Retire a pair when the rubber tears or the metal is worn smooth

Common mistakes with walking traction

• Putting them on halfway across the ice. Pull them on at the door, before the first glazed step.
• Buying by shoe size alone. Fit to the boot.
• Taking coils up a steep icy trail. That is spike country.
• Walking faster because you feel invincible. Traction helps; it does not make ice safe. Keep your steps short and your hands out of your pockets.
• Leaving them on indoors or in the car.
• Ignoring the forecast. The National Weather Service posts freezing rain advisories; on those mornings, delay the walk if you can.

When do you need crampons instead?

Walking traction has a ceiling. Crampons are rigid frames with long points, including front points, built for steep snow and ice on mountain routes and frozen gullies. They strap onto stiff boots made to take them, they go with an ice axe, and they call for skills best learned on a course. That is different gear, and this guide does not cover it.

The signs you have reached that ceiling: the slope is steep enough that you want your hands, a slip would send you sliding a long way, or you are looking at hard ice above a drop. On terrain like that, microspikes are not enough, and the right move is to turn around.

Short days: can you see the ice?

By early November the light goes early, and a lot of winter walking happens in the dark: the dog's last lap, the trip to the mailbox, the walk home from the bus. Black ice is hard enough to spot at noon. At dusk it vanishes. A headlamp pointed slightly down picks out the glossy sheen of glaze a few steps ahead, frees both hands for a railing or a leash, and makes you easier for drivers to see. Cold drains batteries, so keep it in an inside pocket and carry spares. Our month-by-month field almanac is a good way to watch the hard freezes coming.

The headlamp was picked from the maker's feature list and manual, especially the red night mode that spares your night vision, and from a read of owner reviews for how the buttons work in gloves and how it sits under a hat. I have not put it in front of a light meter. Any lamp with a beam you can tilt down and a red mode will do the job.

Questions

Can you run in ice cleats?

Walking coils are made for walking pace. Runners on icy trails usually want chain-and-spike traction, which stays put when the foot lands hard and pushes off.

Do ice cleats work in deep snow?

Not much. They shine on ice and packed snow, but in deep, soft snow there is nothing firm for the metal to bite, and snowshoes are the better tool. In wet snow, knock the clumps off the chains or coils every so often.

Are ice cleats safe on outdoor stairs?

On icy outdoor steps, yes, with a hand on the railing and one step at a time. On bare stone, metal treads or any indoor stair, take them off first. The edge of a step is exactly where metal on a hard surface lets go.

Do I need cleats if my boots have deep lugs?

Deep rubber lugs grip snow and slush well, but on glare ice rubber alone slides. Cleats add metal that bites into the ice itself. Good boots and good traction work best together.