I was on the fence for a while and couldn’t decide between the original Kahtoola Microspikes and the Icetrekkers Diamond Grip. I thought about getting both and I might just do that eventually, but since the Ebay seller wouldn’t combine shipping charges anyway I just didn’t see the point in jumping the gun. Also, the Diamond Grips are about ten pounds cheaper in comparison to the Microspikes. And perhaps a bit better suited to paved roads and normal conditions. One obvious downside of the Microspikes crampon system is that it feels better and lasts longer with a good deal of packed snow or ice.

I’m really looking forward to trying them out when the time comes. Hopefully they will be the solution I’ve been looking for all this time.

I will also look into long-time care. The rubber is probably fine as long as it is stored in a cool and dark place. Metal and road salt is another matter though. I guess washing it in the sink once in awhile should be fine. Or should one perhaps go straight for the lithium grease? I will be stocking up on that stuff for the snow blower anyway.

A big plus with these types of gloves is that you maintain dexterity and can of course operate capacitive touch screens (not that I have one, I still swear by resistive screens) and cameras.

Sizing was acceptable though the openings for the fingers, especially the thumb, were a bit tight. But I reckon they will stretch.

And the Ecco "Boulder" Fast Trail:

I initially got the Ultra Terrain and thought I was finally done. It seemed ok. But then I saw the user opinions on the Ecco site. While no one was really bashing the Ultra Terrain it wasn’t getting standing ovations either. Unlike the Fast Trail and Fast Trail GTX (same model with Gore-Tex instead of mesh) that were both being hailed as the best thing since sliced bread.

Now it looks like I’ll be returning the Ultra Terrain and keep the Fast Trail. The UT was a little narrow, soft and had a strange feel to it, especially under the foot. It did offer support but it felt like it was all in the wrong place. Plus the FT offers even more ventilation and has a wider, more rigid sole. And it is likelier to work with custom insoles. It also has a better unlocking system for the lacing system, which by the way uses a more widely available rubber tube / string (in case you need to replace it). And all of this at very little extra cost.

About the lacing though, I am not a fan of the system yet. First time using anything like it. Don’t know if it will hold up. But I haven’t seen any complaints either. One caveat is that there is a lot of spare string that you can’t tuck away in any quick or practical way.

I will say one thing of the Fast Trail though. They were bloody hard to get hold of. Couldn’t buy them from Ecco Online and of the four local stores that were supposed to have them in stock, there was only one pair left in size 10-10½.

At any rate I reckon they will do better than my old black leather walking shoes that lack even the most rudimentary form of ventilation.

Price was about a third of the original.

I have of course been looking for the original Kahtoola Microspikes as well, but they are amazingly hard to find. Can’t be found in Sweden at least. And ordering from the UK was surprisingly pricey. There is just one seller on Ebay that has them in black and offers free international shipping from the US (about as slow as shipping from Hong Kong I reckon plus the added risk of customs fees with a more expensive product). Needless to say, his "buy it now" listings, at least in the sizes I’m looking for, are usually sold within a day or so.

I think I will wait for these knockoffs to arrive before I make a decision on the Kahtoola. Shipping so far has been surprisingly brisk as the package is apparently already at Heathrow (and stuck in the snow I bet). That is three or four days from order to Shenzhen to Hong Kong to London.

If at all possible I would like to take customs out of the equation next time. I don’t like to take any chances. Plus I know how completely unreasonably angry I will be. Last time I got stuck in customs (importing DVDs) I forced customs to pay me back on one occasion and I spent hours on the phone with government clerks, customs and the postal service. In retrospect it was unbelievably self-centred.  It’s smart to avoid that sort of hassle if you know you can’t handle it. At some point you might position yourself in a situation where you will just snap and do something you can never take back. But I digress.

Addendum: The crampons finally arrived. A month after ordering. Or about 20 days not counting the seasonal holidays. Clearly, the package left Heathrow on Xmas eve at the very latest according to 4px tracking. Where it has been after that I do not know. But my suspicion is that the Swedish postal office does this out of sheer spite.

Anyway, about the crampons. They seem quite alright actually. The one thing I can’t know for sure is how durable they are compared to the original. As suspected though, they were a little small for my 44.5 (10.5 US) hiking boots. They fit a lot better on a pair of multisport sneakers of the same size though. No matter as I’m not the only one needing crampons around here, but personally I will have to look for another alternative. You could fit them alright with some stretching but I felt that the elastic didn’t catch on properly to the heel because of it, and the chains and spikes were also kind of short. The back plate ended up too far forward, and the chains got pulled apart and left a dangerous gap right under the heel. It is something that I’ve read about regarding the Kahtoola as well and now I suspect that the people experiencing this have simply had the wrong size. On the other hand I have also heard complaints that going for a larger model might also give too much chain slack.

I’m still on the lookout for the original Kahtoola or similar. It’s a shame they have to be so dang expensive though (counting shipping and all).

Instead of looking for special boots I tried looking for slip-on ice traction systems like the Kahtoola MICROspikes, Hillsound Trail Crampon, Pogu Spikes, Yaktrax XTR, ICEtrekkers Diamond Grip plus a slew of Hong Kong knockoffs that you can find on Ebay. These all seem very nice, but I could not locate a reseller in Sweden. Could order from Ebay but I am unsure of the sizing. Also, these traction devices are quite expensive. And the knockoffs are not really an option since I know for a fact they use substandard materials and only are available as a one size fits all. Very unlikely as Hillsound and Kahtoola both use three or four sizes to cover all possible feet and boots.

I would have looked for these "trail crampons" earlier but I never knew they existed. Also, needless to say perhaps, these spikes work best with a few centimetres of ice or compacted snow. But if you can find a model that will fit your boots, you have one hell of a traction system that will never fail you and will easily come off when you don’t need it.

I also looked at the Yaktrax Pro which happened to be advertised by Addnature the other day. It seemed like an ok lightweight solution until I read some customer reviews. Turns out they break far too easily and adding insult to injury they might also get lodged in heavier soles (just like Meindl Island) and lose a great deal of traction.

There are increasingly silly solutions, like the Korkers. Wouldn’t be caught dead in those but I should mention them nevertheless.

Last but not least there are of course screw-in ice studs. It has been recommended before but I am just not comfortable doing that to my best boots. Perhaps if I got a cheaper winter boot just for the purpose of studding. It could be pretty much anything really as long as it was reasonably comfy, well insulated and spacious. The downside of course is that just like Icebug you’re stuck with the studs and you may have a real problem walking on hard surfaces not to mention walking indoors. So it’s not really super convenient. If I had some old boot in acceptable condition I could have studded the sole for a super cheap solution that didn’t have to work on all surfaces but as it stands all I have is a whole lot of junk. Nevertheless, the screw-in solution surely represents the best bang for the buck.

Addendum: Did a little recon at some of the larger sporting goods stores in Gothenburg. Entirely unproductive. They had the Yaktrax. And snowshoes. Nothing in-between. So now I’m back to buying from Ebay.

Basically I’ve been looking at the North Face Chilkats and Icebug Speed. The same  products I was looking at last year and pretty much the only two options available. The former offers a clunky and very warm pseudo hiking boot with a remarkably soft sole while the latter is an expensive and flimsy pseudo sneaker with carbide tip studs. So in a word, they are both underwhelming. Hell, the Chilkats boot makes my Meindl Island seem light and elegant.

I had a chance to try them both on briefly and both felt iffy in their own way. The Chilkats had the narrow toe experience like my Meindl, only difference being that the boot is mostly rubber so you can forget about it changing shape any time soon. It also had an inlay sole half a centimetre thick to provide insulation. I have no idea how that shapes up. Perhaps it will give your toes more wiggle room in time. The Speed on the other hand was very spacious, almost too much so at the same size, but it also had very little support, had flashy design elements like it was made for kids and felt poorly insulated. I also have serious quality concerns. The height indicates it would probably have to be combined with gaiters to keep the snow out. Though realistically, gaiters are probably always a good idea, and if I ever come across a good model I will definitely pick it up. Perhaps a low, super light boot and gaiters is the ideal solution. But it sure as hell isn’t cheap and it’s a highly specialized solution that will make you unwelcome in civilization.

The first thing I did was to check out orthopedic footbeds that are moulded after your foot by a professional. A perfect match with reasonable cushioning but unfortunately made out of some icky black rubbery material that will turn your boot into a swimming pool. Also, prices are hilarious. 1100 SEK for the first pair (and the mould), 600 SEK for subsequent footbeds on the same mould. Given that insoles have to be replaced every other year or so, and that you might need at least two different insoles with different height, price is definitely a deciding factor.

Moving on to commercial insoles, I found a number of manufacturers like Sof Sole, Sole, Superfeet and AFS. Sof Sole seems to be the most affordable, and at least a limited assortment is sold by a local Swedish chain of sporting goods stores. I did try one of their footbeds, probably "Athlete", with the old Meindl Island Pro briefly and it felt … less awkward. Found this video review of the Sof Sole "Custom" which seems somewhat promising.

Addendum: I ordered a pair of AFS Orange Medium since AFS insoles were 30% off at Addnature this week and with free shipping. That made them as "affordable" as Sof Sole so lets give it a whirl.

So far so good. The final total including shipping came to €204 (Outdoortrekking2010). Or about €100 less than the typical price here in Sweden.

As this is more or less a brand new boot it feels a bit like uncharted territory. Even if you have used the Meindl Island Pro MFS I would certainly recommend trying the Island Active on for size before taking the plunge. I certainly did but was nevertheless surprised by what seems to be a new narrower fit. Possibly aggravated by a slightly larger right foot or a smaller right boot. Or some form of slight swelling / beginning bunion.

But I think it’s safe to say that this is not really radically different from the usual break-in period that comes with a pair of boots at this level. And speaking of break-in, I have to note that this was no walk in the park. Not that it’s supposed to be. I’m not that naive. But some people have been making the case that Meindl boots have virtually no break-in period. I’m just saying, expect the usual break-in torture walks. Hopefully the pinching across the right foot will go away. I’m trying the Meindl prescribed wet grass method in the meantime.

One thing though that is still a bit sketchy is the issue of shock absorption. And the usefulness of the air-active sole. It’s kind of hard to make out when your entire feet and lower legs are aching. The inlay sole doesn’t look like much in terms of cushioning but is allegedly also vital for moisture transfer. So if it isn’t sufficient and needs to replaced I’d have to find a sole that does both of those things, has better arch support and is mouldable. Correct me if I’m wrong but this insole feels completely flat.

It would be great to come to some sort of conclusion here. I’m looking into importing the Meindl Island Active. I’ve seen the boot as low as €189 (+ €15 s&h) compared to over €300 in Sweden.

Sandals are another matter entirely. The ones I bought last year (at a sale) turned out to be complete rubbish despite an impressive Vibram sole. They hurt my back and my feet to no end. I’ve been looking at the Keen Newport H2 and Teva Terra Fi 3. The latter was recommended by several "experts" because of better foot support and besides I didn’t really care for the strap system on the Keen. In fact the entire design seemed stupid. But there seems to be serious quality concerns. The forming consensus seems to be that Teva used to be a hell of a lot more durable. In just about every way. It’s like that funny review over at Amazon where someone talks about their husband or whatever having gone through THREE Terra Fi 2 as if they’re so great you’d buy them three times in a row. Yeah that would be great if the Terra Fi 2 was introduced in 1950 but as it stands this seems like a testament to the complete crap quality of Teva (at least nowadays).

As for importing sandals, there doesn’t seem to be that much of a bargain to be made here. Plus the Terra Fi 3 I tried was completely untrue to size which combined with the purported quality issues makes me a bit skittish about importing them.

Addendum: I’ve now had the opportunity to try the Meindl Island Active and they seem to fit about as well as their predecessor. A little narrower perhaps but no matter. I should be fine with a size 10 (UK). On a separate note I’m considering moving permanently to a double sock an inner liner. The reason for this being not only comfort but also to combat wear and tear on the heel of boots and shoes. In other words increase friction between socks instead of wearing a hole in the socks and shortly after that the boots themselves. Must have really bony feet or something. Of course, these boots have a much more snug fit across the heel and might not even allow the foot to move much up and down in the first place.

Addendum 2: Ended up buying the Terra Fi 3 locally. I’m gonna try them on for awhile and see how it goes. I was getting desperate, but this is as good a guess as any and far better than any sandal I’ve previously had. Can’t go completely wrong. A word of warning though, these are the first sandals I’ve ever had that require a break-in period. And straps / loops are as flimsy as ever. Quite easy to step into though, only one strap that you’ll have to undo.

I also placed an order with the company linked above for a pair of Meindl Island Active. Despite some negative reviews, all regarding returns, refunds and lengthy shipping times, I figured they at least were legit and that €200 was better than anything else I could come up with later. Better now when I don’t need the boots right away and have time to get used to them. Fingers crossed.

So I figured I’d go for a new pair of boots, towards the high end of the spectrum. And so after much internet research, griping, and hesitation I proceeded to look around and try the models that are in fact available. For practical purposes, these include the entire line-up of Haglöfs and Meindl. Plus to some extent Hanwag and Viking. By method of elimination I got down to a pair of Meindl Island MFS Pro. The entire Haglöfs line just felt iffy. And even the Meindl boot needed moldable footbed insoles, from what I believe to be SofSole, to really excel.

I’m gonna have to think this through. Not just because it’s an incredibly expensive solution but because it most likely fails miserably on wet slippery or icy surfaces. One of the few solid criteria I had put up. But then again so do most high end boots because of their incredibly hardy soles. I don’t know if Meindl’s soles are particularly bad but it’s bad enough for them to deal with it on their website. And some customer reviews have phrased this boot’s performance on ice as plain death wish suicidal. That is also why I initially wanted Viking or Haglöfs, because they both offer a softer, more all-round sole that possibly offers better grip on slippery surfaces. It is also quite possible that it doesn’t make much of a difference and that these softer soles just wear down much quicker.

Also I’d be a little wary using such hoity-toity boots on a daily basis. People can brag a about boots that they’ve had all their lives, but most likely those boots spent most of their time on a shelf. Worn on a daily basis for 6-7 months a year I can ruin pretty much any product. It doesn’t matter if it’s built like a tank. So the question is if a pair of Meindl is in fact just opening up for a new mid-range second boot in the long run. One with better grip and less of a price tag that I can wear on a more daily basis. Highly specialized winter boots, like IceBugs or whatever are out of the question though. And while on the topic of even more specialized boots, I suppose that Lundhags or other rubber bottom boots are also out of the question.

Addendum: I also just realized that there are some noteworthy line-up changes for the next season. Two of these changes even made the Outdoor Industry Award 09 list. One being the weird synthetic Haglöfs Grym (coolest name ever?) and the other being an upgrade to the Meindl Island. The upgrade is already evident on Meindl’s website and should appear in stores early next year. From my point of view the upgrades are significant, thus buying a deprecated Meindl Island MFS Pro now when the Meindl Island MFS Active is right around the corner is just lunacy. Especially since Meindl only upgrades their boots once every decade or so. Word on the street is that Island Active will be available in late March. In other words right on time for the sandal season.