EXOspikes Footwear Traction for Winter Hiking & Running in Snow

EXOspikes fill a real gap. On mixed winter trail - hardpack, patchy ice, stretches of bare rock and dirt - full MICROspikes are clumsy and chew themselves up on stone, while bare shoes are a fall waiting to happen. Twelve tungsten-carbide-tipped studs in a low TPU frame handle that ground well, and carbide keeps biting after miles of rock and pavement that would round off steel. What they are not is a spike. On steep, refrozen ice or an exposed traverse the studs skate, and that is where you want real chains or crampons; the difference is genuine and people learn it the hard way. They also do little in soft or deep snow, where there is nothing to bite into. They cost close to MICROspikes, so if your winter is mostly ice rather than mixed ground, buy those instead. Size carefully - the elastomer harness stretches with age and can roll off a toe.