I'm seriously thinking about buying something to put onto my walking boots as there's so much compacted ice now that its treacherous wherever I walk the dogs.  Has anyone bought Yaktrax or a similar product and has it helped?   Thanks.

Yes I bought some ice grips similar to those sold in the Bettaware catalogue. I was lucky, I went to a cheapjack shop and got the last pair in my size for £5.... half Bettaware's price.

They have been brilliant, I have walked miles in the deep snow and had no problems getting across icerink roads and along skaty pavements, even with a dog who will pull occasionally if the scent is worth it.

I've been told that they may not last, as apparently the rubber splits eventually.... BUT a friend of my mother's has Yaktrax, has also loved them as she needs to walk four miles a day every day for health reasons. She bought the last pair in our local Trespass outlet shop where they are under £12, which is half what they are sold at online. I did go into Trespass and the assistant said they will be getting in more, and would I like to leave my number, he will call me when they come in?

All the usual online stores of these devices sold out completely in November.

I have looked at Yaktrax website and they have 4 different styles but I think the pro would be better for me considering the miles I cover each day, they are £19.99, the others are £15.99.   Amazon doesn't seem to be any cheaper.

I've been looking for something like this for my mum but most types are sold out or don't have the size. The Yaktrax pro looks good but some reviews say they are hard to get on & off, not good with arthritic hands & no grip. According to reviews for other types the strap on ones come undone so I dont know what's best for an 82 year old who hates staying in!

I've got Pogo Spikes! They are ace. I can go on urban pavements with them or I can go on country walks, and I've even used them on mountains! They're a bit more than Yaktrak in money, at £35, and useability, but in my opinion well worth the investment. www.pogu.co.uk

>  www.pogu.co.uk

woo flippin heck they won't let me in Tescos wearing them!
I guess they are great for outward bound but when we had snow like we did 2 wks ago you need something that will allow you to go out shopping - I would say 'merely' go out shopping but it was lethal out there. That means coping with paths that have been cleared, and flooring in shops.

[Mind you they really do look the Bogs Dollocks, if you were wanting to hike across the tundra....)]

They look great but can't find them in stock anywhere.  Amazon are stockists too but none available.

I bought 2 sets of cheap imitation yaktraxs on ebay a few weeks ago, the next day I got confirmation that the seller had posted them - by korea post! They may just be here in time for next winter!! Anyone else buying on ebay remember to check it's a UK seller :D

asda were selling Wintertrax which I bought last year from QVC. They were brilliant in the snow, and ice which looked like skating rink. The downside = difficulty in stretching to get them over walkling boots, shoes (but not suitable for high heels) might be easier. £9.99 in asda.

>I've got Pogo Spikes!

They look very good, but I'd be terrified of accidentally treading on a dog's foot and causing some damage, they look lethal!

I can tell I'm talking to non mountain going folk here ;-)

No, Pogu spikes aren't in the slightest bit lethal, they are very much a scaled down version of a  crampon, so the points are actually pretty small. Granted you wouldn't be able to go from icy pavement straight onto a shop floor with them, however, they do an excellent job of maintaining the vertical position on icy paths - certainly in my town this winter and last, there were long periods of 2" icy ice rinks to walk along, and they are brilliant for dog walking in parks with compacted snowy paths, for country walks and of course if you want to venture into the outback in them they do the job very nicely for that too.

Sorry, didn't realise the OP was just asking for a multi tasking pavement/instore walking device :-)

I bought Yaktrax pro from Amazon. I think they are great. Good tip is to go to Yaktrax's own website and check sizes. In particular I found measuring the circumference of my walking boots a good way to decide the size. I chose the Yaktrax pro as they have a velcro strap that goes over the top of the shoe and helps keep them on after choosing a cheaper pair of ice grips and losing one the 2nd time I wore them.

I also have a pair of grivel spiders which have sharpish points on the bottom.

Ailsa

Freja - in which part of the country did you find the Wintertrax at Asda? I tried our local Asda in Aberdeen but they hadn't heard of them.

I was looking to buy some for my folks who are in their mid 70's.

Ailsa

I  got my yaktrax pro from ebay last week. Had to buy from a USA seller ( it took 3 weeks to come ) as all the UK ones were sooooo expensive and ALL UK shops were out of stock! Haven't had a chance to use them yet - thankfully! ;)

I wanted Yaktrax last winter but they were all sold out, so I made sure I ordered before the snow set in this year and I got the Yaktrax Pro. I have to say I love them! I have bad hips and knees and although I'm ok in snow, once it turns to ice I'm housebound - not much fun with Mals! This year I've been out and about with the dogs without any problems at all :-)

Christine, my parents brought me up a set  of standard yacktrax as a first first foot gift today.  Tiso's in dundee have them in stock and the normal ones were £15. HTH

Thanks Ali, it's the Pro's I want, the amount of walking I do I need the strongest possible!   

I don't know if they have the pro's but it might be worth a phonecall as they stock the range and have some in stock.

Yaktrax are marvellous things, I have a pair of the walker one and they do me fine. You're not supposed to walk on concrete or tarmac in them, so you have to do the opposite of what you normally do (avoiding the ice and dashing for the tarmac). I tried many suppliers and they were all out of stock, apparantly there were none in the country!! So I put my name down and when they came in, I got them. Its great walking the dogs sure footed.

I got some of the Yaktrax Pros from the Yaktrax website last week (all sizes were in stock when I ordered). Haven't had the chance to try them yet, and of course I don't expect it will snow for several years now :-D

ailsa,sorry for the delay. Been so busy with my bitch.  Asda in eastbourne sussex had them in stock. However, when I tried to buya pair as a present for someone, they had sold out. Customer services weren't sure if they would be getting more stock and told me to go to the asda website and order direct and they would be delivered to the store for me to collect. I haven't tried to do this as health problems with one of the dogs has taken precedence over everything else. Hope you have some luck in finding them if you haven't already done so.

I used mine for the first time today and they are fabulous but sooo noisy!  They make quite a racket on the ground and once you get used to the uneven feeling underfoot they are so good.  I was out playing with the dogs in the back garden tonight and felt very secure underfoot.

> I used mine for the first time today and they are fabulous but sooo noisy!

I was wearing my Ice Grips in shops and people were commenting on them asking me where I got them etc... Of course the run up to Christmas, all the shops were playing carols & christmas songs... yes they did clack a lot on the floor of Tescos...

So, bored & waiting in a long queue, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers came to mind... nearest I've ever got to tap dancing... :)

> yes they did clack a lot on the floor of Tescos...

I haven't worn mine in tescos!  The noise I found was loudest when walking on concrete with a thin layer of very slippy ice on it.  It is a crunchy grinding noise, like a shallow version of walking in crunchy snow IYSWIM (or not lol)

*sings* Putting on my top hat... [tappity tap] puttin on my tails....
It was easier when the christmas muzak was on, lol

Missions of mercy I'm afraid - when the sheet ice was down my mother was housebound  so i had to do all the shopping and lend a very steady arm if she ventured next door to see her neighbours.

That's when the Tesco red/pink granular cat litter came into its own.... she was too scared to cross a few yards of sheet ice as she's unsteady on her feet anyway... I chucked loads of that down, and it was no more slippery than walking on a gravel drive :)

I looked at Yaktrax last winter and very nearly bought some this winter, but got Kahtoola Microspikes instead for me and OH for xmas. They're great, feel really safe and secure in them, and easy to get on and off. I needed something as our 2 flatties could easily pull me over when it's slippy (and probably when it isn't!), and as we do a fair bit of hillwalking we thought these would be a good compromise between Yaktrax and full crampons to save buying both.