This year was the year I got sick of risking life and limb twice a day just to walk to and from work. This winter has been really really bad, weather-wise. And I live in MN, so there's already a pretty high bar! We haven't had the coldest weather ever, and there has been a lot of precipitation, so because we've been hovering around the freezing point so often that precipitation is either snow that melts and re-freezes (or gets packed down when people don't shovel), or rain that freezes, or a "wintry mix"...which sounds way more whimsical than it really is.

I started out the winter with Yaktrax Pros. These are little coils of metal wrapped around rubber-like bands that fit over the sole of one's shoe/boot, and they have a velcro strap that goes over the top. My initial impression was that they weren't bad, particularly considering the price (around $18, IIRC). They worked well on packed snow, porous melty ice, and gritty sleet, though "better than nothing" was about the best I could say about them on regular smooth well-frozen ice. The problems became more apparent the longer I had them, though. They began to hurt my feet - a lot, even through heavy work boots - and were difficult to get on and off, making walking to errands impossible. I probably would have just accepted those negatives, though, if the things hadn't worn out so quickly. Not sure how many walks to work I ended up using them for, but they're short walks and within a month the little coils had started to snap and within two months they were so destroyed that they were virtually useless.

I bring all of that up to illustrate what I'm comparing the Kahtoolas to. And except for *maybe* the price, Kahtoolas are superior in just about every way.

1. They're easier to get on and off. Probably not easy enough to do one-handed, but still easy enough to do standing up. (Though better if there's a wall or something to lean on.

2. There's no need for a strap, so I don't have to discover I put them on upside down and there's nothing to painfully constrict my feet. They're much more comfortable than the Yaktrax.

3. Just like Yaktrax, they can't be worn indoors, but the fact that it isn't terribly difficult to put them on or take them off means that walking to the store or bank or whatever is a possibility. (There's still the question of what to do with your filthy dripping Kahtoolas while inside, but still.)

4. They seem to be far more durable. Granted, I've only worn them a handful of times but there's no wear evident at all which isn't something I could say for Yaktrax. The biggest killer for the others seemed to be those stretches of dry sidewalk - it's not often that every step of a walk is going to be covered in ice - but the metal on the Kahtoolas is quite a bit thicker and looks like new. That's why I said earlier that even the price is only "maybe" a drawback; if I have to have a new pair of Yaktrax each month, then spending a bit more at the outset for a product that'll last makes a great deal of sense.

5, and perhaps most important: They work! They work really well! Better than Yaktrax, for sure. Yaktrax made me slip somewhat less. These make walking on ice feel like walking on dry ground. Two areas where they aren't perfect: on newly-fallen (read: not packed) snow on top of ice, and on dry ground. If there's enough snow, the snow can slip away from you while providing too much cushion between the spikes and the ice. But while I had to be a bit more careful walking in those conditions, it was still much easier than walking without the aid of the Kahtoolas. And on dry ground - I'm talking about sidewalks and streets, not dirt/grass - they make things a bit unsteady. But not impossible, by any stretch.

I was worried that these were going to be as iffy as Yaktrax when I was deciding whether to order them. I wish I had bought them from the very beginning. They're worth the money, for sure.