Boots on ice
December 16, 2016 11:50 AM   Subscribe

"You'd think winter boots would be adapted for winter, but they're not." A team of researchers at the WinterLab of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute found that, of 98 models of boots the lab tested on ice and wet ice, only nine passed a slip test. In an audio interview with CBC Radio, researcher Geoff Fernie said, "When you actually talk to people in the industry, most boots and shoes are designed almost just solely by graphic designers, who are trying to make them look sexy, look efficient, with colours and dramatic tread looks."
posted by clawsoon (97 comments total) 32 users marked this as a favorite
 
But what kind of boots does Lt. Worf wear?
posted by Rock Steady at 11:53 AM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I have one word...Yaktrax
posted by HuronBob at 11:53 AM on December 16, 2016 [28 favorites]


Nothing short of metal is going to help you on ice. I have LL Bean field boots and they are for navigating snow. If you need to survive ice sheets on sidewalks, strap your Yaktrax on.
posted by selfnoise at 11:54 AM on December 16, 2016 [5 favorites]


Rate My Treads for the boots themselves
posted by Foci for Analysis at 11:57 AM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


the best boots only got a rating of one snowflake? three snowflake boots must be forged in mordor or some shit
posted by Foci for Analysis at 12:01 PM on December 16, 2016 [15 favorites]


I was totally surprised this week when my $15 fake Uggs handled the snow and ice better than my $100 waterproof Keens. The Keens weren't even boots, but I assumed they would be well-suited to inclement weather conditions.
posted by redsparkler at 12:03 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I feel like there's significant overlap between this and the rain boot FPP.

I mean, the kind of boot with metal cleats that provides sufficient traction for snow and ice doesn't really transfer to an office setting very well. And 99% of people who buy snow boots are pretty much going to be wearing them between their front door and their car or the closest public transit. The exceptions know who they are and can get those cleat attachments for their boots.

(Then again, I wear paratrooper boots in the winter time. Say what you will about the lowest bidder and all that, but at least I know that there was some concession to utility involved in the design process somewhere.)
posted by tobascodagama at 12:04 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


I'm on my second pair of Sorels and, while they are fantastic at keeping my feet warm, I agree that they're not much better than running shoes in terms of traction on ice or hardpack snow.

I looked at their complete list of tested boots though. It looks like they have a 0-3 rating system and NONE of the boots they have tested so far have ranked higher than 1. It definitely makes me think that they either need to lower their standards or, ideally, use a more granular scale.

Oh, and I have some Yaktrax. They are fantastic for wilderness hiking, but an absolute hazard if you live in a snowbound city like Montreal. The problem is that they give you +2 traction on ice and deep snow, but -3 traction on cleared asphalt or concrete (not to mention being potentially fatal on marble if you don't take them off before going into the mall/subway). And, walking around the city in the winter, you are constantly transitioning from one to the other.
posted by 256 at 12:05 PM on December 16, 2016 [31 favorites]


A few years ago I went curling for the first and only time, and you need one shoe that slides on the ice, and another that grips the ice. The rink provided shoe covers for the sliders and grippers for your regular shoes (like this). I've wondered if you could use the gripper shoe covers outdoors when needed on icy days.
posted by ShooBoo at 12:06 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


The highest rated work boot, Men's 'Transit' CTCP Transitional with Green Diamond, gets a meh customer score because, "all the grit in the soles came out after a week. needs to be threw out the sole."

That's typically the problem with fancy materials, they introduce possible quality issues.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 12:07 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Where i live many people, including myself, keep work loafers under their desk and just change shoes when we get here/leave.

It looks like they have a 0-3 rating system and NONE of the boots they have tested so far have ranked higher than 1. It definitely makes me think that they either need to lower their standards or, ideally, use a more granular scale.

It's just that tread pattern and material doesn't really matter when there's nothing to grip. It's like expecting AWD to help your car to stop.
posted by selfnoise at 12:08 PM on December 16, 2016


I have one word...Yaktrax

I was unsurprised to see
For all of our products we recommend avoiding use on bare pavement as much as possible, as this will more severe wear and tear.
I feel like I just need a big spool of the helical wire that's incorporated into these things, and to just wrap it around my feet and recycle it as soon as it starts to break down, which is immediately.
posted by XMLicious at 12:09 PM on December 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


Rick Mercer at WinterLab.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:11 PM on December 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


selfnoise: Nothing short of metal is going to help you on ice.

One of the passing soles had a "felty kind of Arctic grip stuff which is lots of fibres, I suppose a bit like some animal paws." So maybe not just metal?

I borrowed a friend's boots once which had soles that I can only describe as the inverse of thousands of tiny bumps. (That's not a very good description.) I didn't try them on ice, but on hard snow they had better grip than any other boot I've ever worn. I haven't seen anything like them since. The soles were soft and flexible, rather than hard. It was like they were trying to be gecko feet instead of clawing in.
posted by clawsoon at 12:12 PM on December 16, 2016 [5 favorites]


256: I looked at their complete list of tested boots though. It looks like they have a 0-3 rating system and NONE of the boots they have tested so far have ranked higher than 1. It definitely makes me think that they either need to lower their standards or, ideally, use a more granular scale.

Or we need companies to make better boots. :-)
posted by clawsoon at 12:12 PM on December 16, 2016 [11 favorites]


Once I forgot I was wearing Yaktrax when I walked into a grocery story. They have absolutely no grip on the hard commercial linoleum, and I fell flat on my face. Real winter boots with built-in Yaktrax would need to make them retractable or something.
posted by miyabo at 12:13 PM on December 16, 2016 [9 favorites]


...most boots and shoes are designed almost just solely by graphic designers...

Why am I not surprised?...
posted by Mental Wimp at 12:16 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Some boots/shoes are particularly bad in very cold weather. In my experience Vibram soles tend to be among the worst. They seem to freeze hard and then you're wearing skates without any edge.

Nike only this year decided that their ACG (All Conditions Gear) should include ice handling by releasing one horrifically ugly boot/runner hybrid design (as opposed to their normal just moderately ugly ACG boots). In general their ACG hiking boots/brown shoes are broken hips waiting to happen.

Probably the best grip I have ever experienced on winter boots was Cougar Boots when I was a young kid. Kind of a super thick rubber crepe like soul with deep grooves. They were a light speed leap forward on the unibody molded plastic things kids wore before then. For a brief moment in time I had a huge tactical advantage in street hockey until other kids caught on.
posted by srboisvert at 12:17 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


Huh. I find the sensation of walking on bare sidewalks with Yaktrax unpleasant, but it's never caused me to fall over.

Typically I only wear them ten or so times a winter but thank goodness for them then.
posted by selfnoise at 12:19 PM on December 16, 2016


Yeah, definitely take them off there. I'd imagine they'd even damage those floors.
posted by selfnoise at 12:27 PM on December 16, 2016


In an emergency, socks pulled over your boots will help a lot on ice.
posted by JanetLand at 12:29 PM on December 16, 2016 [12 favorites]


Real winter boots with built-in Yaktrax would need to make them retractable or something.

wolverinetrax
posted by poffin boffin at 12:36 PM on December 16, 2016 [36 favorites]


I walk to work in boots and then change to my work shoes once I arrive. But yeah, Yaktrax wouldn't work for me, because I'm walking on mostly-bare sidewalks with occasional icy patches. I'm not doing a lot of wilderness exploration here.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:37 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I have a pair of yaktrax that I never, ever used even when living in a very snowy and icy place. They were just too much of a hassle.

The best winter boot is your best penguin shuffle.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 12:40 PM on December 16, 2016 [7 favorites]


Yeah, I'm not sure what the shoe designers could use. You can't use metal because people will forget to take them off and ruin people's floors, and metal is horrible on hard, wet surfaces. You can't use fabric because it'll wear like crazy.
posted by Mitrovarr at 12:40 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


...most boots and shoes are designed almost just solely by graphic designers, who are trying to make them look sexy, look efficient, with colours and dramatic tread looks.

Yes, we get kickbacks from the fashion industry, for all the beautiful lounge wear you're forced to buy as you're laid up in bed!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:44 PM on December 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


KNEW IT
posted by Foci for Analysis at 12:46 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


One of the most annoying things about moving to Canada was actually having to buy proper footwear for the eternal-seeming winters. I bought a new pair a couple of winters ago; they do all right on ice, but ice is gonna ice and penguin shuffle it is!
posted by Kitteh at 12:46 PM on December 16, 2016


Mitrovarr: You can't use fabric because it'll wear like crazy.

It'd be interesting if replaceable soles end up being The Answer.

I'd like to see ShooBoo's suggestion of curling grips tested in the lab, since they're designed to maintain grip on ice that has been engineered to be as slippery as possible. (Pebbling is an art!)
posted by clawsoon at 12:49 PM on December 16, 2016


really instead of improving boot treads, manufacturers should focus on making those ridiculous inflatable bubble suits into fashionable safety wear for icy days.
posted by poffin boffin at 12:51 PM on December 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


I remember when I was a kid there was a brief fad of shoes that contained tiny roller skate wheels that popped out at the push of a button. We need winter boots like that, only with metal spikes. The technology exists!
posted by elizilla at 12:53 PM on December 16, 2016 [10 favorites]


The kind of boot with metal cleats that provides sufficient traction for snow and ice doesn't really transfer to an office setting very well.

Do not fuck with Janice in accounting.
posted by rokusan at 12:57 PM on December 16, 2016 [10 favorites]


really instead of improving boot treads, manufacturers should focus on making those ridiculous inflatable bubble suits into fashionable safety wear for icy days.

Totally. There are also air bag vests.
posted by XMLicious at 12:57 PM on December 16, 2016


I still see kids wearing those in shopping malls, elizilla. And I'm still so jealous they don't come in grown-up sizes.
posted by rokusan at 1:03 PM on December 16, 2016


Wow, I've never bought winter boots as an adult. My sneakers (which I wear year round) currently have worn out treads and a large hole in the right shoe, which I compensate for by wearing thick thermal socks. I don't even know where you'd buy the boots mentioned in this article.

Incidentally, I used to have one major fall each winter, almost enviably after a few freeze-thaw cycles at the very beginning or at the end of winter - but after going to a gym for a couple of years I seem to be fall free. (Crosses fingers!)
posted by Kevin Street at 1:04 PM on December 16, 2016


I remember when I was a kid there was a brief fad of shoes that contained tiny roller skate wheels that popped out at the push of a button.

They were called Heelys, and they did no such thing. It was just a shoe with a slightly curved rocker-bottom sole and a wheel in the heel. To "engage" them, you leaned back onto the wheel and lifted your toe.
posted by Xyanthilous P. Harrierstick at 1:05 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


Wow, I've never bought winter boots as an adult. My sneakers (which I wear year round) currently have worn out treads and a large hole in the right shoe, which I compensate for by wearing thick thermal socks. I don't even know where you'd buy the boots mentioned in this article.

New Phone. Dat u McSweeney?
posted by srboisvert at 1:11 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I don't even know where you'd buy the boots mentioned in this article.

Marks in the Eaton Centre.
posted by Damienmce at 1:15 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Well, I'm glad they're looking through and eating all of these. If there's any city I'd trust to find a boot, it's Toronto.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:16 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Before Heelys, there were also roller skate shoes that had two retractable wheels on each shoe. They were kind of a pain, because you had to get at the bottom of the shoes to deploy/retract the wheels, and they were cruddy rollerskates with two not very good wheels, but still awesome.
posted by zachlipton at 1:17 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


Totally. There are also air bag vests.

it would have to somehow be linked to the sensation of falling in your vestibular system so it could inflate before you hit the ground. also you wear it on your butt.
posted by poffin boffin at 1:17 PM on December 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


We need smart soles -- a thousand points (not of light) on each sole, all controlled by a computer in the heel of each shoe to apply the right pressure in the right spots on the surface to maximize grip. Of course, it would suck if someone hacked your shoes just to watch you go sliding down the pavement because rogue shoes. Aiiiieee!
posted by pracowity at 1:18 PM on December 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


Some boots/shoes are particularly bad in very cold weather.

Having been a teenager in Edmonton in the mid-nineties, I can tell you with complete certainty that Doc Martens are the absolute slippiest on ice. You know what doesn't grip ice? Flat, smooth, cold rubber. That's why they make hockey pucks out of it.

Really, though, all that matters is how you step. As long as you're in the mindet of a person walking on a slippery surface, you'll usually do fine. Careful steps, controlled slides, conscious awareness, no problem. If you're all like, "Doot-de-doo, nothing unusual, walking normally, not paying attention, doot-de-doot-de-doo," you will definitely Bambi the fuck out.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:19 PM on December 16, 2016 [7 favorites]


"Marks in the Eaton Centre."

Is that in Toronto? I know there are places you can buy boots, it's just that I've never looked for them and have no idea where they are.

I've found that my worst falls are always when I'm running after something. (Usually a bus, but sometimes the recycling truck.) And they often happen when I'm unbalanced because of a heavy load in my backpack. Going slow (even if it means staying cold for much longer), with mimimal added weight, and keeping a loose, bandy-legged gate on icy surfaces is a good way to prevent falls.
posted by Kevin Street at 1:20 PM on December 16, 2016


I am also nth-ing the curling gripper. They definitely work, people use them to literally run down an ice sheet (while sweeping, not me though, I use my slider when I sweep, like a cool person). My mom has old school rubber over-shoes for when it's muddy out and she doesn't want to mess up her shoes, that apparently used to be a thing, maybe we could bring it back for winter?

As for Sorels, when I was a kid I lived at the top of a hill, all of us neighbourhood kids would slid down the hill, in the middle of the street, on our Sorels. You would jog along for a bit until you got to the icy patch then drop down into a squat and skid down the hill. They were better than a sled.
posted by selenized at 1:20 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


I was just shopping for winter boots today, so timely!
posted by Fig at 1:21 PM on December 16, 2016


I wonder what would happen if we took a Blizzak WS80, cut the tread from it and used it as a sole of a shoe.
posted by Talez at 1:25 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


You can find a Mark's near you!
posted by Kitteh at 1:28 PM on December 16, 2016


You can find a Mark's near you!

Mark's is even using this as a marketing opportunity to sell you boots
posted by selenized at 1:31 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


I am also nth-ing the curling gripper.

First shoes (or galoshes or whatever they are) I've ever seen sold singly. You buy a left or you buy a right, because I guess you'd look silly trying to sweep with two grippy feet.
posted by pracowity at 1:33 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Marks means "Marks Work Wearhouse". They're now owned by CT, and so I wouldn't be surprised if you can find many of these there too (at least the non green triangle ones). So most Canadians should be able to find these pretty easily.
posted by bonehead at 1:44 PM on December 16, 2016


It's true that if you walk carefully / properly that you can navigate most ice in normal tennis shoes. Though you may feel those inner thigh muscles the next day! But there are situations that are just impossible without proper footwear - icy slopes being one. But the primary danger most city folks face is unexpected patches of ice on otherwise cleared surfaces, which means walking carefully will not always save you. And that situation also rules out yaktrax.

Me, I just get up to a careful jog and then slide.
posted by Nothing at 1:45 PM on December 16, 2016


I remember when I was a kid there was a brief fad of shoes that contained tiny roller skate wheels that popped out at the push of a button.

They were called Heelys, and they did no such thing. It was just a shoe with a slightly curved rocker-bottom sole and a wheel in the heel. To "engage" them, you leaned back onto the wheel and lifted your toe.


Someone hasn't seen LA Story...

These are still a thing, different from Heelys...
posted by Huck500 at 1:45 PM on December 16, 2016


it would have to somehow be linked to the sensation of falling in your vestibular system so it could inflate before you hit the ground. also you wear it on your butt.

Unfortunately yet hilariously, there might be accidental deployments when people fart too hard. Or twerk too hard.
posted by XMLicious at 1:46 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Probably the best grip I have ever experienced on winter boots was Cougar Boots when I was a young kid.

I don't know if the quality of Cougar has decreased in recent years or what, but the boots I have from them, which they claimed were rated -10º to -30º C were too cold even with wool socks at around -10°c. I bought them at the beginning of last winter and can rarely even wear them. I don't remember much about the grip because I mostly biked in them.

My Sorels aren't so good on ice. I wear a pair of Isle Jacobsen rain boots now for winter cycle commuting and they are better (and excellent at blocking out the cold air!) but still slip-y. My city is really bad at keeping their sidewalks ice-free, too (and likes undulating sidewalks/mountable curbs where there are driveways), so grip is important because the surface level changes multiple times every block. Grrr.
posted by urbanlenny at 1:53 PM on December 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


It's right underneath Bestbuy, beside the entrance to Canadian Tire. Eaton Centre complex is probably a more accurate wording. All the construction worker stuff is at the back.
posted by Damienmce at 1:54 PM on December 16, 2016


So here at $COMPANY, we're required to take an official Slip Training course.

You get put into a full body harness which is suspended by a sliding tether hooked to a large steel i-beam, while wearing crampons lined with ez-move furniture gliders, and then you're required to walk across untextured linoleum coated liberally in orange oil and festooned with chairs, railroad ties, benches, and small stuffed animals meant to simulate jackrabbits, all the while your coworkers and managers pelt you with tennis balls.

The videos are great for laughs.
posted by endotoxin at 1:54 PM on December 16, 2016 [11 favorites]


Wasn't a Grey Cup long ago decided because one team switched to broomball shoes at half time, and acquired grip?
posted by Rumple at 2:01 PM on December 16, 2016


I desperately need good winter boots that I can slip my feet into, because otherwise someday I'm going to die walking my dog at 5am with the ice sheets on my stairs.

This study confirms what I already believe about my shit options.
posted by corb at 2:01 PM on December 16, 2016


I'm on my second pair of Sorels

You might be on your second pair because Sorel went bankrupt in 2000, the trademark was bought by Colombia Sportswear, and now most so-called “Sorels” are made in Asia with lower-quality construction. (The difference in quality has been talked about many places online.)

I just retired my old Sorels made in 1989 a few years ago, but they still serve as boots that i slip on to take the trash out in winter. (They were never particularly good on bare ice with meltwater, though.)
posted by D.C. at 2:06 PM on December 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


Yeah, suede boots. Seriously. The look great, but salt ruins them promptly.

I have pretty leather boots that are decent for keeping snow off my feet - non-trivial even for the walk across a parking lot to work. And boots that are mildly insulated and great for a short walk with the dog, or for bringing in wood. I should have a pair of well-insulated boots for spending time outdoors. For curling up on the couch in front of the woodstove, I have a small dog who will allow me to put him next to my feet.
posted by theora55 at 2:11 PM on December 16, 2016


Wonder how little suction cups would work.
posted by jamjam at 2:12 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Wonder how little suction cups would work.

Maybe not that great, but I imagine they'd at least sound awesome.
posted by brennen at 2:14 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


I have really bad biomechanics in my feet/ankles/knees, and slippery surfaces are a special kind of torture to me. Few thing elicit the cold sweep of adrenaline-fueled fear for me like having to walk across slick ice.

Endotoxin, what you just described may be the exact scenario of my own personal Hell.

I live in Boston (I know, I know) and I have like four pairs of Yaktrax. One lives at work, one lives at home, one lives in the car, one lives in my bag. Never without.
posted by Sublimity at 2:25 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


As I understand it, the thing that makes ice really slippery is a layer of water on top -- either from melt that's already taken place, or because the extra pressure of your foot melts it (because ice expands on freezing, extra pressure can melt it) -- so maybe we could have shoes with rechargeable batteries and one of those materials in the sole which get hot on one side and cold on the other when a voltage is applied across them, with the hot side next to your feet and the cold side down to freeze the melt layer.
posted by jamjam at 2:26 PM on December 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


from article: “Did you do as much research buying your winter boots as you did when you last bought snow tires?”

Well... yeah, now that you mention it, I guess I did.
posted by koeselitz at 2:40 PM on December 16, 2016 [5 favorites]


I used to hike dogs all year round, in all weather as a job. A good high boot with ankle support and a pair of micro-spikes was what worked for me. Not the full on crampons, but a more light-weight version was amazing on ice, and on steep inclines. I also remember having a very precarious hike on a goat trail above a river with three friends, one with yak tracks, me with my micro spikes and one with just boots. I was the only one who didn't slip at all, so I think that the slightly larger expense for micro spikes is worth it for more intense winter walking.
I do think if you need to wear waders you might as well go with snowshoes. I hate the glorified uggs that most retailers offer as women's winter boots. They might be warm, but that is about it.
posted by branravenraven at 2:43 PM on December 16, 2016


It's not cold outside, you just don't know how to dress, from AFABulous, may also be of interest.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:50 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I left this comment in another thread, but it's maybe more appropriate here:
Best and longest-wearing ice traction for urban conditions [edit: by urban I mean pavement] that I've found is Due North Industrial traction aids. I wore out multiple Katoolas (probably really good if used off-road only) and Yaktrax Pro pairs (flipping useless and breakable) on the regular. Not linking only because Amazon apparently just doubled the price on Due Norths; you can usually get them for under $20. Also, the spikes are replaceable.

Also, has anyone here had the chance to try the new Vibram Artic Grip "winter sole technology" that's now available? Here's a Gear Junkie review., but I'd love to hear personal experiences with them before investing in a new pair of Merrells or trusting the traction when I shouldn't. Please let me know, here or MeMail, if you have advice on these soles?

Gah, I HATE walking on ice and really don't need even one more concussion.
posted by vers at 3:23 PM on December 16, 2016


Anyone who wants shoes with built in spikes, retractable or otherwise should Google Icebugs, Meindl, Icetrac or Olang. Probably more but that's off the top of my head. If you want removeable or retractable look at the icebug bugweb, icetrac system etc. Meindl makes retractable spikes and so do some others. And yes they are for more comfortable than yaxtrax and their ilk.

There are also tons of running shoes now that come with traction, either carbide studs or gritty stuff built into the sole. Asics, ice bugs, saucony, Salomon etc all have models.

For slip on spikes that do well on pavement you want petzl spiky plus or kathoola nano-spikes. Most overboots come with spikes and are specifically designed to go over dress shoes.

It's like the testers aren't even trying. Tons of options out there.
posted by fshgrl at 3:40 PM on December 16, 2016 [6 favorites]


You might be on your second pair because Sorel went bankrupt in 2000, the trademark was bought by Colombia Sportswear, and now most so-called “Sorels” are made in Asia with lower-quality construction.

Noooooooooo

Anyway, I really really like my Steger Mukluks.

Seriously.

Keep you warm at -40, but you don't die of the heat in the office. And comfy. Their soles are some sort of grippy squishy rubber, and they're flexible. We do not usually get crazy ice here though.
posted by leahwrenn at 3:40 PM on December 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


I wonder what would happen if we took a Blizzak WS80, cut the tread from it and used it as a sole of a shoe.

One complicating factor there would be that pneumatic tire treads deform as they roll past the contact patch. You would have to design the shoe sole so it deformed in a similar way while walking.
posted by indubitable at 3:43 PM on December 16, 2016


Whoa, I was not expecting to see Geoff Fernie on the Blue! He co-chaired an accessibility conference I was working on a few years ago and is the coolest guy; he's been doing cutting-edge research in accessibility for the disabled and aging for 40 years and has something like 120 patents for things like the first nestable transport chair for hospitals, a fully accessible bathtub, and a portable patient lift. Plus his lab is awesome. Who doesn't want to be strapped into a harness and go flying on fake ice?

Sorry to fangirl, but the guy is seriously a treasure. Plus, how can you not love someone who patents an accessible toilet called the "Toilevator"?
posted by ilana at 3:47 PM on December 16, 2016 [12 favorites]


Two things about Icebugs from my experience. You cannot wear them into a building with any sort of hard floors, since you'll 1) possibly damage the floors and 2) definitely fall on your face. Also, the arrangement of the nubs (they are blunt nubs, not spikes) on the heels especially are really sub-par and directly responsible for one of my concussions. I do not recommend. If anyone wants to try them, I have a pair worn just 2-3 times available. I'm still very angry at them.
posted by vers at 3:47 PM on December 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


I remember when I was a kid there was a brief fad of shoes that contained tiny roller skate wheels that popped out at the push of a button. We need winter boots like that, only with metal spikes. The technology exists!

The technology has been getting fine-tuned for decades, if not centuries!
posted by FatherDagon at 3:56 PM on December 16, 2016


I was just shopping for winter boots today, so timely!

And I just gave up after looking at what seemed like every boot in my budget on Zappos and Campmor and finding none that seemed to hit the trifecta of warm, comfortable, and good traction. I am completely willing to abandon fashion. I am so enternally disappointed in Keen for making what have been my warmest-ever winter boots, boots that kept my feet toasty through all of the Polar Vortex action... with the world's shittiest traction.

I have yak-trax, but they're too much bother for the short, treacherous paths between buildings that make up the bulk of my winter commuting needs. I do the penguin shuffle and console myself with fantasies about suing my employer for their icy sidewalk if I fall.
posted by TwoStride at 4:17 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Wonder how little suction cups would work.

Get off my lawn window.
posted by rokusan at 4:32 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


> Well, I'm glad they're looking through and eating all of these.

I'm not! That sounds terrible.
posted by Old Kentucky Shark at 5:15 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


Are they all Werner Herzog maybe?
posted by en forme de poire at 5:33 PM on December 16, 2016


I have a pair of leather knee boots that I bought years ago at Winners for $35 and that originally had smooth soles. I had a few terrifying experiences of trying to walk around in them in winter, and then I had new grippy soles put on them. Since then I've walked around on a literal ice rink in them without any trouble. It cost $45, but given that those new soles might easily save me from winding up in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, it seemed cheap at the price. So, if you've got a pair of boots that don't have good traction, I recommend that you and they take a trip to the cobbler's.
posted by orange swan at 6:02 PM on December 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


256 wrote on Yaktrax "(not to mention being potentially fatal on marble if you don't take them off before going into the mall/subway). "

THIS! I bought mine several years ago, and dang it if I didn't kill myself on a tiled floor. Yaktrax you are evil beyond treachery. You promise safety and you deliver what? DEATH. Your plastic package has no red hazard warning on the outside. Only inside the plastic package on the reverse of the cardboard insert in eight point font, will you find a tiny sentence that says "do not use on marble floors". It doesn't say why. It doesn't say that I will flail my arms like a clown, grab at pedestrians passing by and bring them all crashing to the hard hard ground, snapping bones and vertebrae. No it does not. YAKTRAX if you were a person, I would slap your face with my large mitten and challenge you to a duel, and I would wait until your back was turned and then I would stab you with a pointy icicle and you wouldn't know it because I wrote about my icicle in 5 point font on the back of the label inside my winter parka.
posted by storybored at 6:35 PM on December 16, 2016 [12 favorites]


When there's freezing rain my wife and I use the trekking poles with the handy carbide tips.

I'm a fan of yaktrax but they're either too stiff for my wife's hands or she needs to go up a size. She's concerned that I'm making her sound like a wimp but she's willing to brave -20C when I wimp out and bus everywhere.

Me: pretends to pour out a frozen 40oz of maple syrup for the OCTranspo buses that can definitely always be counted on 80% of the time.
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:41 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I have a pair of 1908s Swiss Army M1945-style boots, you know, the US infantry boot with the leather shinguard at the top of the boot. I resoled them once like twenty years ago with what I think are Vibram but which does not act like Vibram. It's more like wearing velcro that sticks to *anything*. I once was on a hike and crossed a river by hopping from stone to lichen covered stone with no trouble at all and then turned to watch every single other person hop onto the first rock and slip upended into the river like they'd hit a banana peel in a Chuck Jones cartoon.

I don't know what my cobbler did, but he did it RIGHT.
posted by mwhybark at 7:08 PM on December 16, 2016 [7 favorites]


(er, 1980s)
posted by mwhybark at 7:17 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I have a pair of 1908s Swiss Army M1945-style boots, you know, the US infantry boot with the leather shinguard at the top of the boot.

I've got those, too, but mine are a 1980s French repro instead of Swiss. I guess 1980s European armies had a thing for the M1945s? They're stiff as hell, I think my shin would break before the reinforced heel strap did. Solid-ass boots, though.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:37 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


My totally sweet Steger Mukluks have this weird, soft, gummy sole that grips everything well -- and in an odd silence.

God, I love those boots. IT'S GONNA SNOW THIS WEEKEND AND I AM SO EXCITED.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:05 PM on December 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


When I did winter (and it's very much past tense because of this) with a mile, later a two mile, walk to work, unshoveled sidewalks or perfunctory shoveled sidewalks (worse) forced me to walk blocks out of my way to avoid ice and packed snow turned to ice. Businesses had a better grasp of liability and could be counted on to clear down to bare sidewalk more than residential neighborhoods. Yaktrax were not effective, I ended up with some no name metal sawtooth slip ons and basically changing my gait. No heel-toe striding, I had to put my foot down evenly with each step. And if it isn't ice, it's five inches of slush at the corners. Never. Again.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:46 PM on December 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


I've got those, too, but mine are a 1980s French repro instead of Swiss. I guess 1980s European armies had a thing for the M1945s? They're stiff as hell, I think my shin would break before the reinforced heel strap did. Solid-ass boots, though.

It was a pop culture thing too, I remember punk rock cartoons and stuff from the francophone world emphasizing m1945s over Docs bigtime. More cool straps, maybe? My Swiss ones have these horrible stamped tin buckles for the shin guard that broke when the boots were practically new, creating these razor-sharp pointy bits that time has not dulled nor memory retained.

They also have the unusual feature of hook lacing instead of eyelets all the way up the shin, and maybe on the uppers too - hafta check. Whatever. BEST BOOTS.
posted by mwhybark at 12:55 AM on December 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


I just stay indoor all winter and whimper piteously.
posted by briank at 6:28 AM on December 17, 2016 [6 favorites]


I cork/caulk a pair of insulated rain boots with quarter inch #8 hex head screws and never give one thought about slipping on the ice.
posted by Foam Pants at 9:51 AM on December 17, 2016


This is an excellent example of design considerations, exactly like winter tires. Anything soft/high-surface-area that performs well on ice (carbide studs and fibers, by being harder than their matrix, will work themselves out quickly) is fundamentally going to wear extremely fast under non-ice conditions.

Like orange swan mentioned, cobblers are increasingly hard to find, but for dressier shoes/boots with real leather bottoms it's pretty cheap to get a 'winter' sole added on top temporarily and resoled if you want to keep using them once winter's over.

Makes a world of difference.

For disposable footwear, this is less of an option. I love Merrells, and I wish they'd do something with a leather upper that's resole-able, but they're disposable footwear.
posted by porpoise at 3:04 PM on December 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


The best winter boot is your best penguin shuffle.

That is OK but I prefer pussyfooting. With thin soles. It really reconnects you with each of your ten toes which can move as independently as fingers with enough practice. I haven't had that much practice yet and hope I never do.
posted by bukvich at 7:22 PM on December 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


I have all sorts of winter boots, more or less stylish uggs for going down with the garbage when it's really freezing, sorels for sitting for hours in icy cold sports arenas and cheap copy products bought in desperate situations, but ironically my favorite winter boots were bought for going on a safari in South Africa: my Meindls are just amazing. They go through all climates and they have a crazy long guarantee.
Warm feet are essential for survival during cold winters, more than hats.
posted by mumimor at 4:38 AM on December 18, 2016


Duluth MN reporting in from the Frozen Lands.

More than twenty years of living here have taught me that YakTrax kind of suck--if you use them a lot, they fall apart and you get these stabby pointy pieces that fan out and snag the rug in your boot room. Eventually they unravel. And yeah, you don't want to wear them inside, not only for safety reasons but because the clerks will give you the stinkeye about damaging their floors.

The last three winters, I've been experimenting with all kinds of ice cleats. Foxnovo slip on spikes suck--too fragile, and simply not made for serious use. If you only use them a few times a year, they'll probably do better than YakTrax. They slip off fairly easily, too, which is one reason I hated them (they kept coming off on the trail).

I'm currently using STABILicers, which are much more heavy duty, and seem okay so far, but I got them last Feb, so we haven't made it through a full winter yet.

I miss the old Sorels. But warm boots are about thick insides, waterproofing and decent woolen hiking socks. If you keep moving, your feet shouldn't get too cold. I'm currently pretty happy with my Columbia Omni-grips. I went to the dog park yesterday in the below-zeroes, wearing them and a simple pair of wool hiking socks, and was there for 40 minutes without any issues at all.
posted by RedEmma at 8:40 AM on December 18, 2016 [5 favorites]


I've mostly given up on finding any genuine solution for walking on ice other than hypervigilance about exactly what texture of ice is immediately in front of me and stepping as carefully as necessary.

But, on a happier note, I found a store that foolishly sold me their fanciest heaviest-duty winter socks with a "lifetime guarantee". They didn't know who they were dealing with. Even though for the most part I only wear them while I'm exercising, I should shortly be getting my fourth free pair of them this year.

(It also helps that I normally exercise at night, so I can comfortably wear them year-round.)
posted by XMLicious at 10:01 AM on December 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


I was thinking my work boots did pretty well, but then I saw at the bottom of the list Wolverines, which is what they are. I love my Doc Martins for daily wear, but when it snows, out comes the Wolverines.
posted by Blackanvil at 1:30 PM on December 19, 2016 [1 favorite]


(somewhat distracted during "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" due to Newt's 1926 boots featuring the M1945 - some sources say M1943 - dual-buckle shinguard. Magic cobblers disrespect the niceties of time's arrow, it seems)
posted by mwhybark at 12:02 AM on December 29, 2016 [1 favorite]


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