Yaktrax Run Review

With winter just around the corner, I am always thinking about what gear I need to keep running through the harsh Utah winters with all the snow and ice and cold. This last winter I invested in the nice running pants, the long sleeve shirts and jackets, the hats, gloves and all the other things I needed to keep warm. But the deeper the snow got, the more I found myself slipping and falling on the ground and the more wet my shoes and socks would get. Lucky for me, I got my hands on a pair of YakTrax Run to try out. I was so excited to get out and see how much of a difference it would make in my winter running experience.








Likes:

I was initially so excited about these because they are very different than most winter traction devices that are available nowadays. On the Yaktrax Run's, the coils are only on the back, on your heel, while under the ball of your foot there are spikes, this makes it much more comfortable to run in than other models.

They are also extremely easy to slip on and off which I love. While running I found myself slipping them on and off as I went down the trail when I would hit patches that were not snowy. All you have to do is loosen the velcro strap and slip them on and off.

The sizing is very forgiving, I am a man of many running shoes, and I tried these out on many different pairs of shoes and they stretched to work with everything that I tried. Even bare feet! (kidding)

I put a lot of miles in on them and never had any pain, it is a comfortable fit and performs very well under packed snow.

They gave me an extra layer between the snow and my feet which helped keep my shoes more dry.

What I wasn't crazy about:

They do not perform very well in deep powder. Though they still give you a little more traction than just your shoe, they were designed to help more with ice and packed snow.

They did slip off of my toes a couple of times, but I think more often than not it was because of how I put them on. You just need to be careful about getting them on right so that they will stay. Not a real big issue at all.

To buy or not to buy?

Buy them! They are a cheap ($40) purchase that will save you a lot of grief trying to keep balance in the winter months. I am very happy with mine and would buy them again. Definitely more run-specific than the other styles of YakTrax, so use them with a running shoe.