Question about Yaxtrax Run

[Eco Ellen]

I bought a pair of yaxtrax run and they are arriving today, in time for my 15 miler tomorrow.

My question is:  my entire run is not covered in packed ice and snow, though a good portion is.  There are some dry miles where I am on s cleared street.  Do I need to take them off and put them back on if I I know I will be in a dry surface for a while?  What about if I am running a mile and a quarter on dry street down to the snowy paths?  So one possible scenario is I could do a loop of about seven or eight miles, mostly in dry roads and shoulders, and then hit the paths where it's a snowy, icy, unpredictable mess.  The other is where I run a mile and a quarter on dry road down it the paths and then have miles of messy stuff.  Can you wear the trax (run model) on those in between dry stretches?

[Eco Ellen]

Nobody?

They came. They're cool. I don't think they will alter my gait- at least not any worse than running on the snow and ice without them.

I'm running my 15 on the treadmill tomorrow. It's supposed to be zero degrees at 5:30 am plus wind chill. I'll have to try these later in the week.

[radial]

Nobody?

They came. They're cool. I don't think they will alter my gait- at least not any worse than running on the snow and ice without them.

I'm running my 15 on the treadmill tomorrow. It's supposed to be zero degrees at 5:30 am plus wind chill. I'll have to try these later in the week.

Since nobody with actual experience has stepped up, that leaves the way clear for me   What I hear from my friends is that you should avoid the pavement with these things.  It wears them out pretty quickly. 

I also hear that screwing 3/8" hex head machine screws into the soles of your shoes will give you pretty good traction on the cheap.  Lots of DIY info on google.  With screws, there are no worries about running on pavement when you have to.  It seems like a great way to breathe some new life into a pair of running shoes that are past their prime.  If we had enough snow down here to make it worthwhile, I would definitely do it to my mostly worn out pair of Hokas. 

[Eco Ellen]

Since nobody with actual experience has stepped up, that leaves the way clear for me   What I hear from my friends is that you should avoid the pavement with these things.  It wears them out pretty quickly. 

I also hear that screwing 3/8" hex head machine screws into the soles of your shoes will give you pretty good traction on the cheap.  Lots of DIY info on google.  With screws, there are no worries about running on pavement when you have to.  It seems like a great way to breathe some new life into a pair of running shoes that are past their prime.  If we had enough snow down here to make it worthwhile, I would definitely do it to my mostly worn out pair of Hokas. 

MoS posted in a different thread about a product called ice spikes that sounds like the same thing.  I was skeptical because all I could see was ruining my lovely and expensive running shoes, but DUH I could just do it to one of the multitudes of old ones I have, and use those for snow running. 

Here's what she posted. Does it look any different than just a pile of screws?

http://www.icespike.com/store/index.html

[Eco Ellen]

http://running.competitor.com/2014/01/news/diy-snow-running-spikes_91843

Radial, thanks!  I may try it get to the hardware store today and make this a snowed-in project.

But if you ever told me I would be screwing sheet metal screws into my running shoes, I would not have believed you.

[Ice Cream]

I don't know what terrain exactly you plan on running, but around here many runners just run in regular running shoes or gore tex running shoes on hard packed trails.  As long as they are traffic free, it works very well and it's fun.  I have done this.  I had no idea until he who is now DH introduced me to it 15 years ago. Slower, for sure, but a good workout.
Sorry, no help on the yaktrax.  DH says they are OK in snow, but they fall off a lot.  He finds them in the woods all the time.  (I just asked, and that is his reply.)

[Eco Ellen]

My regular running shoes are not cutting it on the paths that do not ever seem to be clear.  The particular route I am thinking of is an oceanside pedestrian path.  It is constantly covered in black ice, crunchy ice, packed snow, loose snow, sandy ice, and ice mud; the adjacent parking lot that runs the length of the causeway is often just covered in black ice or visible ice.  It takes me a mile and a quarter of running on the street to get to this particular spot.  So it's pretty mixed.  Some of the spots are dry.  It's unpredictable.

I'm going to try to stud an old pair of running shoes and see how it goes.

[Eco Ellen]

PS.  Thanks for all valuable input!  I am very appreciative.    If the sheet metal screws work I will send back the yaxtrax and save myself the $35. 

[radial]

MoS posted in a different thread about a product called ice spikes that sounds like the same thing.  I was skeptical because all I could see was ruining my lovely and expensive running shoes, but DUH I could just do it to one of the multitudes of old ones I have, and use those for snow running. 

Here's what she posted. Does it look any different than just a pile of screws?

http://www.icespike.com/store/index.html

The icespikes are probably made of harder metal so they would last a bit longer.  And the head design looks like it would have a more aggressive bite.  But they are charging $25 for enough spikes to do a a single pair of shoes.  That's about 5x more expensive than regular machine screws.  Not worth it to me. 

[Eco Ellen]

The icespikes are probably made of harder metal so they would last a bit longer.  And the head design looks like it would have a more aggressive bite.  But they are charging $25 for enough spikes to do a a single pair of shoes.  That's about 5x more expensive than regular machine screws.  Not worth it to me. 

Me neither.    And apparently we have some sheet metal screws in the basement.  That works for me.  Conversation went something like this:

ee: do you have any sheet metal screws?
eedh:  what?
ee: do you have any sheet metal screws in the basement?
eedh:  i have thousands of sheet metal screws in the basement.
ee:  thousands?
eedh:  thousands.
ee:  how do you install them?
eedh: what?
ee:  how do you put them in something? with a screwdriver?
eedh:  yes, a screwdriver.
ee, brightly:  thanks!

[radial]

One last tip for you.  Things will go a lot easier if you make a starter hole with something sharp.  Ice pick would be perfect, but a thumb tack would probably work fine.  Also, ask eedh if he has an electric driver (or wants one for a V-day present!).  If so, you'll be done in just a couple of minutes.  The 1/4" socket matches up perfectly with the hex head on the screws.  Happy screwing

[Eco Ellen]

So, there are about 3.000,000 screws down there, and only four in the size and shape I need. . On the other hand, I have now watched more videos on this and read about the difference between sheet metal screws and wood screws and hex cap screws, and got one screw installed on the bottom of an old pair of shoes.  I will go out later and pick up a fresh pack of the exact size I need.

My one little screw:

[Belgian Lace]

Keep the Yaktrax, even if the screws work. A huge advantage to them is that you can remove them if conditions change on your route.

[Eco Ellen]

Ok, i did it!  Let's not talk about the blood stains on my sweatpants for now. I learned by the second shoe that pre-drilling holes with my Dremel was a better idea than digging holes in the rubber with a Swiss Army knife, which might be apt to snap closed on your finger.

ANYWAY. Voila!  I will try them out tomorrow:

[RioG]

why that instead of the yaks?   i meant to post before but they're great.   you should take them off on bare patches so the rubber doesn't wear.  but for the amount of snow you have i imagine that wouldn't be an issue.

[Eco Ellen]

why that instead of the yaks?   i meant to post before but they're great.   you should take them off on bare patches so the rubber doesn't wear.  but for the amount of snow you have i imagine that wouldn't be an issue.

Once the plows are through, there are lots of bare areas in the street.  I am not always on the snowy ice.  If it were a matter of driving to a wooded path and running snowy trails, I would probably feel differently. But the fact that I have the mixed terrain is why I posted the question in the first place.

[RioG]

ah, i was thinking mostly sidewalk running, not on the actual street.   the sidewalks never get down to bare pavement around here.
anyway, I'm sure your new shoes will provide a lot more traction!

[radial]

Those things look serious!  Hope they work as well as they look. 

[Ice Cream]

don't walk into the house with those on!

[Eco Ellen]

Wind chills are in the negatives this morning.  I'll have to wait until we back in single digit territory to try these out. 

[ctjim]

I have a pair of yaxtrax.
I only have a few runs in them, but I think they work great.
Wearing them sure beats falling on my arse on the ice. 
I still have good traction on the bare spots.
I do find myself actively seeking out icy patches to run on because, why not !

Good luck with the screws. I've never tried that method.

[Mom of Scooby]

I am just seeing this... I love my screw shoes.. Down here everyone uses yak trak but I hate them.. You will fall on your face on dry pavement.. Screw shoes work great on dry pavement and also on mud..
When I lived in Maine everyone used screw shoes... Screw shoes are bad ass!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Eco Ellen]

Thanks for all the feedback! And MoS, I admit to liking the Badass component. 

Tomorrow I have a 5 mile recovery run scheduled - which should be perfect for testing them out.  Today and yesterday I had 8 milers with some 5k pace business thrown in, so did those on the mill, plus, -20 wind chill.  Tomorrow at 6 a.m. it's scheduled to be ~17F degrees, which is doable.

[Handsome Jack]

ordered a pair of Yaktrax last night. We live across the street from a lake, been wanting to run on that for some time now, just because.

I am a bit hyper vigilant about ice on the road, took a nasty fall last Winter. Been meaning to do the Yaktrax or screw thing - the lazy path won out.

[Eco Ellen]

I ran in the screws today.  THEY WERE AWESOME.  I kept seeking out the icy stuff, so I was running kind of zig zag. 

This terrain usually slows me down by a minute per mile at least.  Today's run was very close to normal.  I was slowed down by about 15-20 seconds per mile on the stuff that was like sand.

[Mom of Scooby]

I ran in the screws today.  THEY WERE AWESOME.  I kept seeking out the icy stuff, so I was running kind of zig zag. 

This terrain usually slows me down by a minute per mile at least.  Today's run was very close to normal.  I was slowed down by about 15-20 seconds per mile on the stuff that was like sand.

yay!  so much better than yak trak and you don't kill yourself if you hit dry pavement.

[Mom of Scooby]

ordered a pair of Yaktrax last night. We live across the street from a lake, been wanting to run on that for some time now, just because.

I am a bit hyper vigilant about ice on the road, took a nasty fall last Winter. Been meaning to do the Yaktrax or screw thing - the lazy path won out.

I really did not find Yak trak helpful on ice... I though they were better for snow traction but could not dig into the ice

[radial]

I ran in the screws today.  THEY WERE AWESOME.  I kept seeking out the icy stuff, so I was running kind of zig zag. 

This terrain usually slows me down by a minute per mile at least.  Today's run was very close to normal.  I was slowed down by about 15-20 seconds per mile on the stuff that was like sand.

Cool!  The machine screw hack has been around for years.  I remember hearing about it first from a guy who ran up mountains for fun.  No real mountains around here, and the winters are not all that bad so I never had a chance to try it out.  I'm glad it worked out.  New life for old shoes and safer running for you!

[Eco Ellen]

[radial]

Well, I just had to give this a try myself.  We don't get enough snow most years for this to be worth the trouble.  But I had a pair of worn out shoes just begging to be repurposed, and the screws were cluttering up the tool drawer, so why not?  We've actually got some snow and ice on the ground, so I'll give them a try tomorrow.

[Eco Ellen]

Nice!  Let us know how they work.

When I left for work in my regular high heeled boots, I was shocked at how hard it was to walk on the ice. I had wondered if the screws were really doing anything or if it was just my imagination, and then I put regular shoes on and remembered. 

I might put a few more in the forefoot area.

[Ice Cream]

Well, I just had to give this a try myself.  We don't get enough snow most years for this to be worth the trouble.  But I had a pair of worn out shoes just begging to be repurposed, and the screws were cluttering up the tool drawer, so why not?  We've actually got some snow and ice on the ground, so I'll give them a try tomorrow.

Nice work, but, OMG, worn out.

[radial]

Nice!  Let us know how they work.

I tried them out this evening on the way home from work.  They worked really well.  Conditions turned out to be much poorer than I was expecting.  I was running on ice and refrozen snow practically the whole way.  More angles than my ankles were expecting.  But the screws really bit into all that mess and I felt completely in control of my footing.  Fun!

[Eco Ellen]

Nice!! glad I could be your guinea pig.

[Mom of Scooby]

Well, I just had to give this a try myself.  We don't get enough snow most years for this to be worth the trouble.  But I had a pair of worn out shoes just begging to be repurposed, and the screws were cluttering up the tool drawer, so why not?  We've actually got some snow and ice on the ground, so I'll give them a try tomorrow.

They actually are much better on ice then snow..

So basically.. you all have me to thank for this invention!!!!!