Kahtoola KTS Footwear Traction Devices

Long-Term Report

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)
Report date: September 19, 2004

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  (bio at end of report)

Introduction

Sometimes, shoes and boots alone aren’t enough. Snowy, icy conditions can defy navigation in our normal walking and hiking footwear. Soles fail to grip glare ice and refrozen snow; lugs don’t bite on slopes. This might be a plus if you’re seeking a research grant from the Ministry of Silly Walks, but can be brutal if you’re trying to get from point A to point B. Our footwear sometimes simply isn’t up to the task.

As one solution, the Kahtoola Traction System (KTS) traction devices are strap-on aluminum spikes made (in three length ranges) to fit any shoe or boot as an aid to 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, KTSs are much easier to walk in compared to crampons, making them of use to us 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 self-inflicted 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.

Long-Term Report

A short winter and early spring chased the Sierran snow away with zeal this year. Still, since filing the Field Report I was able to get in some more summertime walking on the KTSs. In early summer, snow remains packed into shaded bowls and clings to north-facing slopes. It’s dense, often sun-cupped and strewn with debris, and can be icy and slippery, especially in the morning.

Perfect!

Coupled with trail sneakers (New Balance 806s), low gaiters and trekking poles, the KTSs worked great in these conditions. Up and downhill travel and side-hilling were all considerably easier—and safer—with the KTSs than when wearing shoes alone, especially shoes with modestly lugged soles. Trekking poles, for me at least, are a necessity in these conditions (or an ice axe on longer, more technical slopes) to keep proper balance, especially  when wearing a backpack. I can always have three points of contact when the going gets difficult.

I stored the KTSs in their bag, strapped outside my pack to keep them handy. I find that keeping them in easy reach is the key to coaxing me to use them for brief icy stretches; if I had to dig them from inside my pack every time, I’d eventually skip using them, perhaps to my personal peril. It takes a two- or three-minute stop to remove my pack, fit the Kahtoolas and get going. Doffing and stowing them takes a little less time.

Note that on certain packs the carry bag can strap to the waist belt, meaning even quicker on and off (with the pack still on).

Wear and tear has been cosmetic, with the spikes and E-bar now rather gouged and scratched up. This isn’t surprising, as summertime use means walking stretches of trail and even rock travel between snowfields. I still haven’t felt the need to file and reshape any of the points; a testimonial to the 7000-series aluminum’s strength. I may give them a light dressing with a file next season.

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 between them, evidently to help them bend smoothly (and prevent rust). The E-Bar’s heel end is perforated with a line of seven holes 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. 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 foot 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 in use. 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 atop the other, the KTSs slip into the tote sack. The sack is made of tough coated Cordura-style nylon, has a drawstring-and-toggle closure and a webbing belt loop.

Specific Observations

* I fitted the KTSs to several pairs of boots and shoes at home, but have only hiked with them wearing Nike Air Tallacs and New Balance 806s. In these, the KTS binding straps don’t pinch my feet or cause discomfort. The combined weight of shoe and Kahtoolas is pleasantly light, especially compared to snowshoes.
* The KTSs are easy both to put on and take off. I’ve never had to do so with really cold hands, but with gloved hands in snowy conditions it proved to not be difficult. With bare hands it’s even easier. Generally speaking, the forefoot binding is the more challenging of the two to adjust, but once adjusted, the Kahtoolas hold their fit for extended periods.
* The KTSs allow a natural gait while walking on the flats, and shed snow pretty well, although I sometimes have to dig out a ball of icy snow from the bottoms.
* The KTSs handle slopes as steep as fifty degrees (in reasonably soft snow). They support up, down and side-hill maneuvering with confidence-inspiring ease. They “front-point” pretty well on steep ascents in “non-technical” conditions.
* They are easy to carry outside a backpack and, therefore, easy to access and stow as needed.
* They wear well. There has been no damage to the test pair severe enough to require repair.

Conclusions

The Kahtoola KTSs fill an important gap between plain, unadorned shoes and boots and crampon-clad climbing boots. They add a wealth of traction and security for walkers and hikers in snowy and icy conditions. In mid-spring, when snow conditions range from powder to ice to dense slush, they pair well with snowshoes, allowing travel across well-consolidated snow that doesn’t require a snowshoe’s float but is too slippery for plain boots. Then, in early summer, they make a great addition to my trail sneakers in tackling the remaining snowfields.

Kahtoola might consider making a wider KTS for folks with truly large feet or who wear very wide footwear (such as insulated winter boots and overboots). While the KTS binding attaches using bendable strap anchors, they are somewhat lost on very wide soles. Note that this hasn’t proven to be a shortcoming during my testing, but I didn’t wear them in the field on my (very bulky) cold weather boots either.

In sum, the KTSs are easy to put on and use, are effective in difficult terrain, are relatively light, wear well and (I have to say it) look cool. It’s that red anodized aluminum and the stainless steel bar.

While it’s tempting to extrapolate how many seasons of abuse the KTSs might endure, I feel that’s very much keyed to the wearer and the conditions he or she encounters along the way, as well as their habits in using them. The fact remains that aluminum is more easily damaged than the steel used in crampons, so one shouldn’t expect any aluminum traction device to take the same type of punishment meted out to technical crampons.

If the KTSs have competition, it's probably the six-point forefoot "crampons" sold for similar non-technical backcountry use. They're even lighter and more compact than the KTSs, but wouldn't provide as much utility either (especially going downhill). The shopper needs to select the right tool for the job.

Snow Travel Experience and Brief Backpacking Bio

Living daily with snow is something I’ve not faced since my distant Iowan past. When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, the occasional sloppy Seattle snowfall was a time for sledding and snowball fights, but not for skating over a veneer of ice on the way to the supermarket or school. Because not even a trace of snow has ever graced my California lawn, it’s into the Sierra Nevada now for my snow and ice fixes. Most Sierran snow is long gone by mid-July, making the experience a seasonal one. But my earliest hiking was Washington’s Cascade and Olympic ranges, which offer season-long snow-covered routes. As summer progresses, these can be dicey, especially when leading up and over cols or down steep, shaded creek crossings. My old-style Vibram-soled boots used to deal with these conditions tolerably well; I sometimes also carried instep crampons to help with traction, although it was still possible to slip and fall great distances. On a more technical side, I’ve occasionally rented climber’s crampons for use on glaciated mountains like Baker and Adams, but have never owned a pair of my own.

My snow country daypack 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. My fair weather pack weight is about 25 pounds (11.5 kg).

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

RTD 9.19.2004