Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Ran 0.6 mile to test my "cleats"
I purchased a set of "cleats" for running in snow and ice. They slip over my shoes, and each foot has four 1/4 inch long spikes. The cleats are flat on the end rather than being pointed. There was an inch of new, wet snow on the ground but no ice under the snow, and I ran once around the block. The spikes seemed to work fine, and I didn't slip on the snow. While stopped, I moved my foot through the snow a few times to see if the spikes would slip -- they didn't. I still need to try them on "black ice".
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Hi Allen,
ReplyDeleteMy cleats work like a charm on everything except fresh, loose powder. The snow gets wedged up into the holes of the rubber coverings and render the spikes useless. On packed snow or ice, however, they're great! And they don't cause a problem at all when I'm able to manuever onto concrete or asphalt temporarily.
Hope yours work as well for you too!
Thanks, Angie, for your comment about fresh, loose powder. I wonder if we have the same cleats? The clerk asked me where I would be using them, and I replied on an inch or two of snow and/or on black ice. He sounded like there were different ones for deeper snow.
ReplyDeleteMine have six metal "spikes", four in the front and two in the rear. The spikes extend about 1/8 inch out from the sole, and they are about 1/16 inch in diameter (mayby a little thinner than that), like a thin nail. Each spike is in a blue plastic plug that fits in the black rubber frame that goes around my shoe. They are flat on the end. The cleat is called "Get-a-Grip Ultra".
The one time I've used them, the snow was about 2 inches of wet snow. Mine worked fine in that snow and didn't present a problem on dry concrete, although the click, clack of the metal cleats against the concrete made me sound like I was a slow tap dancer.
Here is a picture of the ones I have.
ReplyDeleteYep, they're the same ones! Except mine are black rubber (as opposed to blue in the picture). I got them at Wasatch Running for $12... one of the best running gear investments I've made!
ReplyDeleteThose things are the greatest. I live in Iowa, and have gotten a lot of use out of them. I've never slipped when wearing them, and during the last five years one of them has come off my shoe only once -- and that was while making a detour through 8" of old snow with a crust of ice on the top (which pulled the thing off as I lifted my leg back up). They're not too bad on the clear surfaces, either, and although I bought a spare set of cleats I haven't needed to replace them even though I've probably put 300 or 400 miles on them, often on runs that have some ice but some clear concrete, too.
ReplyDeleteHope you get some good use out of them!
Thanks, Gary! I was especially glad to know that the spikes don't wear down really fast.
ReplyDelete