How to walk safely on ice

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Grizzleyette___Adams

Grizzleyette___Adams

Hermit on the mountain
Neighbor
Joined
Feb 1, 2018
Messages
1,369
For all of you who may be slipping and sliding on ice soon...

Be like a penguin!

The Penguin walk helps remind us how to walk on ice:

* Keep your weight forward and on your front foot

* Keep your arms out by your side to help you balance

* Walk flat footed and take short shuffling steps

* Wear footwear that provides traction

* Step down, not out from curbs

* Keep your knees slightly bent

18034152_G.jpg



I found this gem in my Twitter feed a few weeks ago. Here is the source:

https://www.klkntv.com/story/398300...eTQsclYkXpDIFwIzlD-D9OIFB7uNAFEacMFfM8jEzf0C0
 
Great Post Griz.
2 items I recommend to help establish secure footing.

https://yaktrax.implus.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Spikes-855333000-Kahtoola-MICROspikes/dp/B0030I3Y48

We have the YaxTrax that we take when winter hiking. Lots of folks swear by the MicroSpikes. We've used them on multiple hikes on Mt. LeConte. At different points on the trail there is water crossing or running down the trail for a stretch. Ice can build up to a few feet thick in a given year and in places and has no texture to it. Smooth as glass. That can be scary trying to come down when one side of the trail has drops of 500-1000 feet in spots.
 
Bacpacker said:
Great Post Griz.
2 items I recommend to help establish secure footing.

https://yaktrax.implus.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Spikes-855333000-Kahtoola-MICROspikes/dp/B0030I3Y48

We have the YaxTrax that we take when winter hiking. Lots of folks swear by the MicroSpikes. We've used them on multiple hikes on Mt. LeConte. At different points on the trail there is water crossing or running down the trail for a stretch. Ice can build up to a few feet thick in a given year and in places and has no texture to it. Smooth as glass. That can be scary trying to come down when one side of the trail has drops of 500-1000 feet in spots.
Click to expand...

Thanks!!!! I will be ordering a yaktrax soon. One for me, and two for friends!
 
Was it here recently that someone said they use golf shoes on ice?

We cannot de-ice the whole world, but I de-ice all the areas that I walk on frequently, especially my property. I shovel outside of my property if I am going to walk there, and then see others walk that cleared path as well.

I once worked in a place where someone thought that just a narrow path was all that was needed to walk children out for dismissal, leaving snow pile up on the sides of the steps and walkway. Do you know where most of the children walked? On the remaining snow! After dismissal, I got the shovel and began shoveling it off, because it takes no time, and the packed down snow is ice that will stay for too long. And if there is a clear sidewalk with a 1 foot by 1 foot patch of ice, all the children will walk on that patch of ice, even if it is out of the way to walk on it.
 
hiwall said:
Have not taken mine out of the box yet. Looks like backpacker answered your question though.
Click to expand...

I'm taking notes, here...

I am especially interested if they run "true to size."

I am pretty sure a size "small" would fit me, but not sure about my two friends, one of which could probably fit between the company's "medium" and "large." But IF the YaxTrax is true to size, I would probably get the medium size for him.

Let me know if your YaxTrax is true to your size.
 
Grizzleyette___Adams said:
I'm taking notes, here...

I am especially interested if they run "true to size."

I am pretty sure a size "small" would fit me, but not sure about my two friends, one of which could probably fit between the company's "medium" and "large." But IF the YaxTrax is true to size, I would probably get the medium size for him.

Let me know if your YaxTrax is true to your size.
Click to expand...
Okay the set I have is size L/XL. Just tried them on a pair of size 8 cowboy boots. Very snug fit and I had to stretch them on. The rubber really stretches. Says it fits up to size 12 but I wonder if they would stretch enough for a size 12 snow boot?
 
I looked up yaxtrax and I would not reccomend them.

The wire coils catch on anything stuck in the ice like a root or long blade of grass. All of a sudden your foot is anchored to the ground while your momentum carrys you forward. Makes for some nasty ankle sprains. Our bus company got rid of them because they were causing more injuries than they were preventing. Around the farm they were incredibly dangerous although they did have good grip.

I wouldn't use the ones shown above in Sentry's post for the same reason unless I was traipsing about on a glacier or something.

Before purchasing ice grippers, and they are useful, make a careful evaluation of where you might be using them.

Also, I found the style with the little metal studs that just slip on over your boot, a bust as well. They worked great but the rubber holding the studs stretched and the studs popped out and they had a tendency to come off the boot. All of a sudden you have no grip on one foot and find out the hard way.

Buy something with a harness/velcro straps like the ones shown by Sentry. They can be adjusted to fit your boot style and can be cinched up. The more nylon strap instead of rubber the better. Take a good look at the outside dimensions of your boot and guess your size from that. Don't rely on your actual shoe size. Go big with a good adjustable harness and you won't regret it. Make sure the toe strap is adjustable as well, so more than one person can use them or they are still good if you change your boot style.

You should spend around $30 to get a quality pair that is going to work and last. On line is the best place to get good ones at a reasonable price.

This is just based on personal experience but maybe it will help some one.
 
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I am well-practiced ... I waddle like a penguin even on a concrete sidewalk.

One thing that I always do, when climbing into our out of our truck, is make sure I have a firm grip on the assist handles and/or steering wheel as I move in or out of the truck. The arm rests built into the doors are not good enough - you can't grab on to them and support your weight very effectively. The goal being to support my weight with the hands and only use the feet/legs as balance points, until I have established a firm footing and fully upright. You see a lot of people get out of their car, put their foot out at an angle, and weight it right away. And they usually go down to the ground immediately following such a maneuver. The same things goes for taking your weight off of one foot as you step into the truck - have those handholds grabbed securely before you off-weight one leg.

Also, when walking the dog, I always use one of my hiking poles. Both of them if the conditions are particularly bad. They have hard, toothed titanium spikes on the bottom. Those spikes will dig into rock and not slip, so ice is an easy adversary for them. The pole(s) aren't used to support your weight, they are used for additional balance points. Falls on ice are caused by slipping, which results in you to get off-balance and crash. If the pole(s) manage to keep you on-balance even when faced with a slip, you're so much better off.
 
Sentry18 said:
YaxTrax? That's amateur hour. ;)

View attachment 32790
Click to expand...

Those are climbing crampons. Useful like has been mentioned for walking on Glaciers. For day to day use around the house/work pretty useless, unless your job is climbing glaciers of course.

I have the Xl size YaxTrax and wear a size 14 boot. They fit it well and so far haven't strecthed out.
 
Unless you live out in the wilderness, you're going to be having to deal with ice, snow, melted/cleared concrete sidewalks, rocks, stairs, gas and brake pedals and other things in the interior of your car, wooden/tile/carpeted floors when you come inside, etc. You're going to be needing to take any of those strap-on things on and off quite frequently. Unless you have chairs to sit on everywhere, or very good one-footed balance (even when standing on ice), then you're going to be hopping around trying to get the things on and off. Sounds like quite the nuisance (and danger) to me. I think I will stick with normal shoes with aggressive (hiking style) soles and my hiking poles, and a dose of extra caution and common sense when walking on ice.
 
ClemKadiddlehopper said:
I looked up yaxtrax and I would not reccomend them.

The wire coils catch on anything stuck in the ice like a root or long blade of grass. All of a sudden your foot is anchored to the ground while your momentum carrys you forward. Makes for some nasty ankle sprains. Our bus company got rid of them because they were causing more injuries than they were preventing. Around the farm they were incredibly dangerous although they did have good grip.

I wouldn't use the ones shown above in Sentry's post for the same reason unless I was traipsing about on a glacier or something.

Before purchasing ice grippers, and they are useful, make a careful evaluation of where you might be using them.

Also, I found the style with the little metal studs that just slip on over your boot, a bust as well. They worked great but the rubber holding the studs stretched and the studs popped out and they had a tendency to come off the boot. All of a sudden you have no grip on one foot and find out the hard way.

Buy something with a harness/velcro straps like the ones shown by Sentry. They can be adjusted to fit your boot style and can be cinched up. The more nylon strap instead of rubber the better. Take a good look at the outside dimensions of your boot and guess your size from that. Don't rely on your actual shoe size. Go big with a good adjustable harness and you won't regret it. Make sure the toe strap is adjustable as well, so more than one person can use them or they are still good if you change your boot style.

You should spend around $30 to get a quality pair that is going to work and last. On line is the best place to get good ones at a reasonable price.

This is just based on personal experience but maybe it will help some one.
Click to expand...

Good to know, thanks.

What brand did you get that you like?
 
Fortunately, we do not have to deal with ice very often. When we do we walk very slowly, and really shuffle more than walk. It's been a long time since I laced 'em up and played right wing, but I am still pretty comfortable on the ice.

All good advice. You can't be to careful.
 
Grizzleyette___Adams said:
Good to know, thanks.

What brand did you get that you like?
Click to expand...

I dug out the ones we keep in the car, and wouldn't you know, they don't have any identifiers on the carry bag or the grippers. I have tried to look them up online as that is where we found them, but so far no luck. I'll keep looking
 
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