Microspikes at a glance
- Spike length
- 10 to 15 mm
- Good for
- Packed snow and ice
- Not for
- Steep alpine ice
- Weight
- Roughly 10 to 14 oz per pair
Where they work
Packed snow, frozen trail, icy boardwalk and the hard refrozen surface that a popular winter trail turns into. On that ground they transform a slithering, nervous walk into a normal one, and they take about fifteen seconds to put on. For a huge amount of shoulder season and winter day hiking they are the single most useful thing in the pack.
They are also fine on moderate slopes where a slip means sitting down rather than sliding somewhere. The spikes are short and the harness is elastic, so what they give you is grip on a surface, not the ability to stand on a steep face.
Where you need something else
On steep, hard alpine ice, on any slope where a slide would not stop, or anywhere you would want to swing an axe, microspikes are the wrong tool and the short points will not hold. That is crampon terrain, with a rigid or semi-rigid boot to mount them on and an ice axe to go with them.
The gap between the two is where people get hurt, because a trail that starts as packed snow can steepen into a genuine slide risk without any obvious transition. The honest question is what happens if your feet go, and if the answer is that you do not stop, microspikes are not the answer.
Fit and care
Sizing is by shoe size and the elastomer needs to be under real tension, so a harness that goes on easily is probably too big and will roll off in deep snow. Rinse and dry them after use because the chains rust, and carry them in their own bag unless you want the spikes finding your sleeping pad.
What this means when you're choosing
- Stainless chain and spikes, since these live wet and rust otherwise
- A snug fit under real tension, because a loose harness rolls off in deep snow
- A carry bag, unless you enjoy finding holes in things
- Whether your route actually stays moderate, or steepens into crampon ground
Microspikes vs Crampons
| Microspikes | Crampons | |
|---|---|---|
| Point length | 10 to 15 mm | Much longer, designed to bite hard ice |
| Mounting | Elastic harness over any shoe | Rigid binding to a stiff, compatible boot |
| Terrain | Packed snow, frozen trail, moderate slopes | Steep alpine ice, where a slip would not stop |
| Putting them on | Fifteen seconds, no fitting | Fitted to the boot, checked before use |
Which to pick: Microspikes for winter and shoulder-season trail. Crampons and an axe the moment a fall would keep going, which is a decision to make before you are standing on it.
The common mistake
Taking them somewhere that needs crampons
Short spikes on an elastic harness grip a surface. They do not let you stand on steep hard ice, and they will not hold a slip on a slope that keeps going. If a fall would not stop on its own, that is crampon and ice axe terrain regardless of how well the microspikes worked lower down.
Common questions
What is the difference between microspikes and crampons?
Spike length and how they mount. Microspikes are 10 to 15 mm points on an elastic harness that pulls over any shoe, for packed snow and ice. Crampons have much longer points and bind rigidly to a stiff boot, for steep alpine ice.
Can I wear microspikes on trail running shoes?
Yes, and plenty of people do for winter running. Check the size range covers your shoe, and accept that a soft shoe gives you less to push against than a boot does.
Do microspikes help in deep snow?
Not much. They grip a hard surface, and deep unconsolidated snow has none. That is snowshoe territory, and postholing is what happens without them.
Where this is defined
- Hiking safety, National Park Service