Winter Safety: The Best Shoes For Walking on Ice

The missus always thinks it’s funny when I fall down, and this usually occurs in the wintertime. Of course, when it happens to her, she doesn’t seem to laugh at this, but the cause for both of us is usually the ice. What a pain in the neck! Ice! Ice is everywhere over here…ice on the car, on the ground. Ice on the road. What to do? Surely you’ve encountered the same thing. We’re going to cover some field expedient techniques that will take the slippage away from you. The Best Shoes For Walking on Ice

Naturally, if you’re in an urban environment and wearing typical clothing of employment, you may not be able to modify your footgear to help you with the ice. In this case, just spend the extra $40 to $50 dollars and order the Yaktrax. If you don’t want to fool around, you can order them or their ilk off of Amazon for anywhere from $10 up to $100.

Those STABILicers (Amazon link) are really good if you wear either boots or hikers, and here’s what they look like on Amazon’s site:

Those guys will run you up to a hundred bucks. There’s a reason that I wanted you to see the photo, however. If you take notice of the bottom, the sole is replete with a whole bunch of little “studs.” Those studs are actually screws with a hex head and a notch…I’m counting 17 of them right there. Guess what? They also sell those screws (and with longer shafts) in your hardware stores and in outdoor stores, the latter as replacement screws for these types of soles.

So you can see my next idea…that works because I’ve tried it. Take about a half a dozen of these screws. They look like this:

Do you get the idea? If you’re wearing something with thicker soles than “patent leathers,” or such…with a good sturdy rubber sole and heel…you can throw a half dozen of these beauties into your sole in no time at all. If you’re going to be walking to and fro to your job in downtown Manhattan, that’s a different story. Get the Yaktrax or the other one. I have them because I never know when a day will arise that I’ll need to walk in them for a good amount of time. For a “field expedient” job, however, these screws may be what you need to make the difference…give you some extra traction. Suppose you have to cross a body of water or a river, or an icy highway, and you’re in a situation. Five minutes to throw these screws in can make the difference.

Another idea for you: Golf shoes. They have the little spikes implanted on the soles. You can pick up a used pair in your thrift store or a used sporting goods store for just a couple of bucks. Throw these shoes in the trunk of your car. When you have to cross over ice? Take your other footgear off and put on the golf shoes until you are across the obstacle.  You could probably do it with baseball and football cleats, but only if those cleats are made of metal. The plastic ones will slip all over the place.

You can also make ‘em. A chain that would be used either for a dog leash or one of those oval-linked chains with some galvanized loops…that might be used for starters. Simply start up on the tongue/instep of your shoe or boot. Wind it clockwise around the footgear, front to back and then to the front in a “figure 8” pattern, and make sure the chain is affixed (either tie it off with wire or twine). There you have it: something that will enable you to cross the ice-covered area in front of you.

So, these are some basic ideas. Let’s hear some of yours…I’m all ears. I’m sure that some of you guys and gals are real “Day After Tomorrow” survivor-types that have some outstanding methods. Stay safe, stay stable, and don’t laugh at one another if you fall down!  JJ out!

This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition

Source: http://readynutrition.com/resources/winter-safety-the-best-shoes-for-walking-on-ice_13122018/