Home made traction devices:
Like many Coloradoans who enjoy the winter more than the summer, the repetitive thawing and then freezing of this springs trails has proven to be a nuisance. Cheap yak tracks break on rocks and ice, and I am not willing to spend $40 on something more sturdy. So I attached some chains to my boots:
Now, I am not going to write instructions on how I did this for two reasons.
1) It was really easy.
2) I did not do the greatest job.
Instead, I will tell you how it worked and some things I learned while using them to scale the 14ers around here.
How they worked: Good, after working out some kinks of fit, they provide greater traction than bare boots and are comparably invincible to scrambling on rocks. They do not have as great of tractions as commercial yaktraks, and do require you to unlace your boot to leave on. For me however, the durability was worth it.
Cost: Less than $10
-Chain (cheap, stainless, small)
-Rope (whatever was lying around)
-Clip (cheapest I could find
How I built:
Basically, I encircled the top of the sole of the boot in rope, and stretched lengths of chain across the bottom, then connected the chain to the rope by tying knots at those junctions. When I got to the inner part of the boot, I then attached a clasp. To tighten the fit, I strung the laces around each side of the rope.
Considerations:
-Bend the chain with pliers to fit the boot best
-add a front chain that goes over the toe, this keeps both the rope and traction in place
-Connect links of chain carefully, you do not want to weaken the links
-When using, foresee their use before you step on the ice, these are no fun to put on in terrible conditions.
I expect others can do better than this design, however mine stopped progressing because the ice has now melted. Also look up screw-shoes for another good idea (I just like my boots too much to do that to them).
That is the point of this post. I wish I could wrap my arm in bank line and duct tape to get through a normal day. If you have something that you do not intend to throw in a fire and you keep with you on a regular basis, wrap it in strong tape and strong cordage. Here are my personal examples.
