Kahtoola KTS Footwear Traction Devices

Product Information

Name: Kahtoola Traction System (KTS) Footwear Traction Devices
Maker: Kahtoola Inc.
http://www.kahtoola.com
Year of manufacture: 2004
Product Type: Footwear traction system for non-technical uses
Options: None available
Ships with: Storage sack, hangtag, brochure, instruction sheet, Kahtoola sticker for your Land Rover

Size tested: Large
Size range: said to accommodate U.S. men’s 10 -15.5
Measured dimensions (approximate, collapsed for storage): 3.5x3.5x8 in (9x9x20 cm)
Stated weight: 19 oz (540 g) per pair
Measured weight: 18.8 oz (531 g) per pair
Weight of tote sack: 1.8 oz (45 g)

Tester Information

Tester: Rick Dreher
Email: redbike64(at)hotmail(dot)com
Male
Height: 6 ft (1.83 meters)
Weight: 175 lb (79 kg, 12.5 stones)
Shoe size: U.S. 11.5 (Euro 46)
Age: 50
Location: Northern California, USA
Years backpacking experience: 37
Backpacking skill level: Mid to advanced
Style of backpacking: Lightweight

Introduction

A coworker (who’s a lifelong backpacker) had a dozen stitches removed from the back of his head yesterday; they were the result of his taking an early morning walk along Lake Tahoe. As he describes it, the path was perfectly flat, he knew it was icy and he was walking very carefully while wearing Vibram-soled hiking boots. No matter, when he stepped on a patch of glare ice he fell flat on his back in a fraction of a second. Clearly, even a casual walk in cold conditions can be hazardous to anyone, even experienced people. Our footwear sometimes simply isn’t up to the task.

The Kahtoola Traction System (KTS) traction devices are strap-on aluminum spikes made to fit any shoe or boot to aid in walking on snow and ice. The KTSs are similar in appearance and function to climbers’ crampons, but have significantly shorter and less-aggressive points. As a result, KTS’s are much easier to walk in compared to crampons, making them of use to we common folk. Climbers might very well find them useful in “non-technical” conditions too. A misstep or fall while wearing a pair of KTSs poses far less threat of a personal injury or shredded gear than while sporting an aggressive set of crampons!

The KTSs are designed to fit shoes and boots ranging from low-top running shoes to full-on snow and hiking boots. They’re intended to fit even the most flexible soles, and are marketed to everyone who has to travel across, or work or play on, snow and ice.

Product Packaging

The KTSs shipped in a snug cardboard box. They came bundled inside a nylon tote sack with a Kahtoola label and an informational hangtag. The box also contained detailed user instructions and a brochure. I’m guessing that the KTSs are typically stocked on store shelves in the box, because it would be a snug fit to cram all the printed material in the tote sack along with the KTSs themselves. An alternative would be to bag-and-hang the instructions and brochure from the tote sack too. The tote sack is attractively made and the Kahtoola label would make it quite visible hanging from a wall display.

Design, Materials and Construction

The KTSs will look instantly familiar to anyone who’s seen or used crampons. Each comprises two sets of spikes--forefoot and heel--connected by a flat springy stainless-steel bar and fitted with a binding system. All spikes--ten per shoe--are about three-quarters of an inch (19 mm) long. There are six forefoot spikes, two on either side and two that jut from the toe at about a 15-degree angle. This toe plate has a built-in “rocker” i.e., it is curved in shape to facilitate a natural walking gait. The heel plate has four vertical spikes. The connecting bar (“LeafSpring Extender Bar” or E-Bar) is a sandwiched pair of long springy metal pieces spot-welded together at the heel end to form a simple leaf spring (not unlike the pair found under every pickup truck). The E-Bar is designed to flex with the foot, and the two pieces are lubed with thick oil, evidently to help them bend smoothly (and prevent rust). The E-Bar’s heel end is perforated seven times for length adjustment, an adjustment process that requires no tools. There are left and right KTSs, stamped “L” and “R”.

The rear binding has a hinged metal heel support fitted with a plastic “Heel Grip” which holds the polyester webbing ankle strap. The heel support assembly folds flat for easier storage, and a hook on the ankle strap attaches to a shoelace to allow the KTSs to be used with low-top shoes without sliding up onto the wearer’s instep. The strap has a quick release buckle and a strap end keeper to secure flapping strap ends. The front binding is a crisscrossed webbing strap with a plastic Strap Guide where they cross. A single buckle where the strap crosses the forefoot is used to adjust strap length. The strap is held to the toe plate on either side by a D-ring attached by a welded, flexible metal tab at the ball of the foot, and loops through the plate on two sides at the toe end. Silicone rubber(?) strap keepers are provided on all the main straps to control flapping strap ends. The straps are long enough that some trimming may be in order, depending on the user’s shoe size and boot bulk.

The KTSs appear carefully crafted. The aluminum spike plates are cleanly stamped and cut (probably using a CNC milling machine) from thick 7000-series aluminum and anodized a rich red. All points are clean and even, and there’s a small flat cut across each tip so that they aren’t dangerously sharp and won’t dull as quickly. The E-Bar is made of stainless steel, as are the side strap guides and heel support rod. The webbing is polyester to minimize stretch, water absorption and freezing solid. Buckles appear robust and the snap buckles operate smoothly.

The KTSs collapse into a tidy bundle. The heel supports fold flat against the heel plate and the toe plate, in turn, slides forward on the E-Bar until it touches the heel plate. Stacked one on the other, the KTSs slip into the tote sack. The sack is made of tough coated cordura nylon and has a drawstring closure and a belt loop.

Fitting to Boots and Shoes

Initial fitting requires extra steps that are not repeated when simply putting on the KTSs. Loosen the forefoot straps and approximately center the Strap Guides by pulling them back from the toe, towards the instep. Raise the heel support assembly from its stowed position, and unbuckle and loosen the rear straps. Pull the toe and heel plates apart by sliding them outward along the E-Bars. Adjust the KTSs to match your shoe length by pulling the adjuster pin outward and sliding the heel plate until you select one of the other six adjustment holes. The spring-mounted pin snaps into place to lock the length. After sliding the shoe toe into the toe binding, center the Strap Guide by sliding it along the straps. Once centered, tighten the straps and the tuck away and secure the strap ends.

Adjust the ankle strap length and center the lace hook, should you need to use it.

It seems to take me two or three adjustments per pair of shoes or boots to get the straps and Strap Guides adjusted just right and the length correct. No further tweaking seems necessary unless there’s a change of footwear. Once the basic adjustment is done, it’s easy to slide into the KTSs, tighten the forefoot straps and buckle the ankle straps. Taking them off is as simple as loosening the front strap, unbuckling the rear and either stepping out or pulling them off.

I’ve successfully fitted my Nike Air Tallacs and my leather Danner hiking boots into the KTSs. The Danners are wider than the Nikes and have stout Vibram soles, requiring me to bend the strap tabs at my insteps. Kahtoola notes that these are designed to take this sort of abuse, because the KTS’s basic size adjustment is for length, not width.

Note that E-Bars are easily changed (with no tools needed), and Kahtoola sells all three sizes (small, medium and large) separately, meaning that one pair of KTSs can be fitted to practically anybody.

The Mitten Test

It’s not a trivial task to adequately tighten the KTS straps while wearing mittens, even indoors. I’ll be interested to see how I fare in the cold.

Transporting

Pointy metal gear like the KTSs warrant some attention to ensure they don’t damage either our gear or us. The Kahtoola tote sack is probably thick enough to prevent most potential damage or injury, plus the KTSs can be stowed point side to point side (although they aren’t easy to fit into the tote sack this way). It makes little sense to carry them inside a backpack on a day where snow is expected but on approach or return hikes there’s no reason to, so long as there’s room in the pack and they’re not jammed against anything they might damage. I’ll experiment with strapping them to the outside of a pack without the sack to see whether I can safely leave it at home. Weight, you know.

Initial Conclusions

The KTSs stand out from many of the supplementary traction gizmos sold for snow and ice travel. Compared to cleated slip-on overboots, they’re a good deal lighter and easier to carry but don’t provide any weather or water protection. Compared to instep crampons and forefoot crampons, they’re heavier but would seem to offer significantly more complete traction, especially traveling up and down slopes. Compared to elastic, stretch-on traction systems, they provide more stability and grip but weigh more and are more difficult to put on and remove. Of note to me, the KTSs are beautifully made and seem thoroughly thought out. While they do take some effort to initially fit to a pair of boots or shoes, once adjusted they seem to go on and off easily and to fit snugly.

A Thru-Hiker’s Dream?

Early-season PCT thru-hikers are tortured with the conflicting philosophies of carrying the least gear and weight possible and carrying adequate protection for difficult and even dangerous conditions. This dilemma is especially acute with snow gear: an ice axe and some kind of footwear traction. In the minds of the early folks looms 13,180-foot (4,320 m) Forester Pass along with its lesser brethren and several reportedly very hairy snowy descents to stream crossings. Trail sneakers offer no hope of step-kicking and heel-jamming one’s way up and down dense, icy snow that fends off even stout boots. Do you risk skittering up and down the hard snow in your trail tennies, do you wait until afternoon when the snow is soft (except in permanently shaded northern bowls) or do you carry some assistance?

At more than a pound (half kilo), the KHSs are going to be noticeable in any gram-weenie’s pack, but they could also save a life. (I’m not being overly dramatic here; at least one PCT hiker has slipped to his death on a Sierra snowfield, several have been injured and close-call stories are common.) I’ve taken enough icy pratfalls to know that Kahtoolas would be infinitely better than plain trail runners and some degree better than instep or forefoot crampons. Picking up a pair at Kennedy Meadows might be a prudent thing to do.

Test Plan

I’ll be traveling to the mountains to test the KTSs. I’ll try them on whatever array of snow and terrain the northern Sierra Nevada might throw at me from now through early summer. Test area description: The northern Sierra Nevada, flat trails to steep mountainous cross-country terrain, 6k-10k ft. (1.9k-3.05k m) elevation, heavy forest to open alpine. I’m expecting late winter through late-spring/early summer weather and snow conditions, with temperatures ranging from perhaps +20 deg. F (-7 deg. C) to +65 deg. F. (18 deg. C). Sun, snow and rain are all expected. This winter they’ll be backup to snowshoes—something I can switch to when the snow is compact enough to make the snowshoes unnecessary. For springtime hikes, they’ll come into use when the trail changes from dirt or rock to snow and ice. I’ll also try them on consolidated snow slopes of varying angles to see how well they grip and increase my range/mobility/confidence over shoes and boots. I hope to answer the following questions:

* How well do they fit a variety of shoes and boots?

* How easy are they to put on and take off, especially with cold hands while wearing bulky gloves/mittens? Are they easy enough that I’ll put them on for short stretches of snow/ice and take them off for short stretches of rock, or will I “bag it” and slog through without making the switch?

* Will they stay in position on the feet but not pinch my feet or create pressure points? Do the straps hold their settings, or will they need adjustment during wear?

* How are they to walk in? Will the rocker angle provide for a natural walking gait? Will snow and ice stick to them and ball up? Will I notice the extra 9 oz (265 g) they add to each shoe?

* How well do they handle varying degrees of slope traveling up, down and side-hilling? Will they “front-point” short, steep stretches? Do they control foot and ankle movement well? Do they stay in place on the shoe or will the shoes slip inside them?

* Do they grip well, especially in varied conditions, from wet, compacted spring snow to glare ice?

* How do they handle brief stints of off-snow travel (stream crossings, bare spots, rock, etc.)?

* How easily do they stow when not being worn? What’s the best way to carry them, inside the backpack or strapped to the outside?

* What will they look like at test’s end? Will I need to resharpen or unbend any points?

Snow Travel Experience and Brief Backpacking Bio

Living daily with snow is something I’ve not faced since my distant Iowan past. The occasional sloppy Seattle snowfall was a time for sledding and snowball fights, not skating on a veneer of ice on the way to the supermarket or school. And not even a trace of snow has ever graced my California lawn. So it’s into the mountains for snow and ice for us. In my Cascade and Olympic backpacking days, snow-covered routes were frequently encountered season long. They’d get dicey too, especially when leading into cols or down to creek crossings. Sometimes I’d carry instep-crampons to help keep from sliding, but these only helped in certain conditions. Because heavy Vibram-soled boots were de rigueur at the time, it was often possible to toe-kick and heel-kick when climbing and descending, so long as the snow wasn’t too icy. It was also possible to slip and fall great distances. I’ve also used climber’s crampons on mountains like Baker and Adams. My snow country day-trip pack generally weighs about 15 lb (6.9 kg) with food and water. Overnight snow trips require packing at least twice that amount of bulk and weight.

I learned camping and hiking in Boy Scouts, tramping the Washington Cascade foothills (lugging canvas pup tents, Trapper Nelson and BSA aluminum-canvas backpacks, kapok sleeping bags and always an axe). From these beginnings I eventually learned backpacking as a singular pursuit and found a home away from home in the Cascades and Olympics. Now living in northern California, most of my hiking is in the Sierra Nevada with trips ranging from overnight to weeklong excursions. I occasionally hike in the coastal ranges as well. I’ve been fairly successful shedding pounds and ounces from my pack the last three or four years. I’ve been doing this for several reasons: traveling easier and farther, freeing myself from as many trappings as I’m comfortable discarding, and extending the duration of my backpacking career. My total pack weight for three-day summer excursions, including food and water, is now roughly 25 pounds (12.5 kg), and a recent eight-day trip starting weight was a bit over 30 (14 kg).

My thanks to Kahtoola and BackPackGearTest for the opportunity to participate in the KTS field test.

RTD 03.03.04