Best Microspikes of 2026
Microspikes are the traction device most people actually need: short steel spikes on chains, stretched over any shoe by a rubber harness. They turn glassy trails and packed snow into ordinary walking. They are not crampons — no front points, no steep-terrain security — and knowing that line is a safety matter, so we've drawn it clearly here. These are the five worth buying.
The category has one real variable and several decorative ones. The real one is spike length: three millimetres of tungsten carbide, eight to ten millimetres of steel and seventeen millimetres of steel are three different tools, and the ground you walk decides which is right. Weight, spike count and model names follow from that choice rather than driving it.
The spike rating on each card is our overall rating for the device, carried across from its full review. The ranking is for winter hiking and general use; runners and pavement commuters should weight it differently, and both cases are covered below.
| Model | Spikes | Spike length | Weight (pair) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kahtoola MICROspikes | 12 | ~10.4 mm | ~340 g | Hiking, all-round |
| Hillsound Trail Crampon | 11 | ~17 mm | ~490 g | Steeper trails |
| Kahtoola EXOspikes | 12 tungsten tips | ~3 mm | ~210 g | Running, mixed surfaces |
| Snowline Chainsen Pro | 13 | ~8 mm | ~380 g | Hiking, value |
| Yaktrax Diamond Grip | Bead strands | — | ~280 g | Sidewalks, casual use |
1. Kahtoola MICROspikes — the default choice
The category is literally named after this product. Heat-treated steel spikes, welded chains, and an elastomer harness that survives years of stretching over boots. On icy trails, frozen mud and packed snow they simply grip, and they roll up into a pocket. If you buy one traction device, buy this.
The ~10.4 mm spike length is a deliberate middle: long enough to punch through the glazed crust on a frozen trail and catch on rippled river ice, short enough that a connecting stretch of pavement is merely unpleasant. The spikes run around the perimeter of the forefoot and heel instead of clustering centrally, which is what stops the foot rolling on an off-camber traverse. Welded stainless means a pair left damp in a pack comes out the way it went in.
Pros
- Best-in-class durability, 2-year warranty
- Secure fit on everything from runners to boots
- Fast on and off with gloves
- Perimeter spike layout resists rolling on side-slopes
Cons
- Slightly heavier than running-focused rivals
- Spikes feel harsh on long bare-pavement stretches
- No instep strap, so a loose fit can creep on steep descents
2. Hillsound Trail Crampon — more bite for steeper trails
Longer 17 mm carbon-steel spikes and an over-foot velcro strap that stops the harness migrating on descents. The extra bite matters on steep, icy hiking trails; the extra weight doesn't, at this scale. The closest thing to a crampon you can put on a flexible boot. Compared head-to-head in MICROspikes vs Hillsound.
The spikes sit on two steel plates, one under the forefoot and one under the heel, so each has a rigid base to push against instead of pivoting on a chain link. Edging across a frozen sidehill, that plate keeps the outer spikes engaged rather than letting the array roll under your arch. Carbon steel holds a point for seasons but rusts if the pair goes back into a pack wet.
Pros
- Genuinely more bite than standard microspikes on steep ice
- Velcro strap eliminates harness migration on descents
- Plate chassis keeps spikes engaged when edging
- Carbon steel holds its points for seasons
Cons
- ~150 g heavier per pair than MICROspikes
- Bulky to pack — the plates do not roll flat
- Unpleasant and wearing on long pavement sections
- Two-step fitting is slower with cold hands
3. Kahtoola EXOspikes — best for running
Short tungsten-carbide tips in a TPU matrix instead of chains and long spikes: less grip on pure ice than MICROspikes, far better feel on the mixed ice/pavement/dirt surfaces winter runners actually cover, and noticeably less weight underfoot.
Tungsten carbide is much harder than the surface it scratches into, so it bites frozen gravel, rime-glazed rock and hard-frozen mud where rubber only polishes, and it barely wears on concrete. The honest limit is thick smooth ice: a couple of millimetres of engagement cannot do what ten does, and you will feel a slight skate across a frozen puddle. Snow can pack into the sole plate near freezing, which a knock against a kerb clears.
Check price on Amazon4. Snowline Chainsen Pro
A well-made Korean alternative that often undercuts Kahtoola on price with comparable trail performance. The elastomer is a little stiffer to pull on in deep cold; grip on packed snow is excellent.
Thirteen spikes at around 8 mm is a slightly denser, slightly shorter array than the Kahtoola. That suits packed snow and moderate trail ice well and gives up a little on polished descent ice, where the extra couple of millimetres would have helped. There is no over-strap, so size it taut, and expect the first fitting of the day to be a wrestle below about minus ten.
Check price on Amazon5. Yaktrax Diamond Grip — sidewalks and errands
Hardened steel beads on aircraft cable rather than spikes: gentler on shoveled sidewalks and store floors, still effective on ice. The right tool for dog walks and commutes; not our pick for trails. More in the Yaktrax vs MICROspikes comparison.
Beads grip in every direction, including the sideways slip that puts people down on a cambered pavement, and cable does not unwind the way a coil can. Nothing protrudes far enough to catch on a cleared section, the walk is quiet, and you can cross a shop threshold without wincing. Grip on thick, hard ice is well short of a real spike, which is exactly why it ranks last for trail use and first for a walk to the station.
Check price on AmazonWhat microspikes are, and what they are not
A microspike is a set of short steel spikes hung from chains under an elastomer harness that stretches over a normal shoe. There is no rigid frame, no boot welt, no attachment beyond the tension of the rubber, and no forward-facing points. Everything good and everything limiting about the category follows from that.
What they do well is convert a glazed, refrozen, boot-polished trail back into ordinary walking — packed snow, frozen mud, rippled river ice, the shaded corner where a path never thaws. They fit anything with a defined heel and toe, go on in under a minute with gloves, and mostly roll into a jacket pocket. That last part is underrated: gear you carry and actually put on is gear that protects you.
What they are not is crampons. A crampon has front points and a rigid platform under a stiff boot, so it can hold a foot on ground steeper than the foot can stand on. A microspike has downward points on a bending sole, so it holds only while your weight stays over your feet. They also do nothing for flotation — deep snow is a snowshoe problem — and little in slush.
What matters in a microspike
Spike length is the terrain variable. Around 3 mm of carbide walks almost like a bare shoe and grips by scratching rather than penetrating. Around 8 to 10 mm of steel reaches through a glazed crust into the firmer layer beneath, which covers most winter trail. Around 17 mm punches through the polished descent ice that shorter spikes skate on before they set. Longer is not simply better: extra bite is bought with weight, clatter, instability on bare ground and faster wear. Match the length to the worst surface you cross regularly, not the worst one you can imagine.
Harness security, and therefore sizing. The question buyers get wrong most often, and the one that decides whether a good device behaves. Size to the shoe you will actually wear them on, using the bulkiest footwear you expect to pair them with — an insulated boot has a bigger outsole footprint than a runner of the same nominal size. Between sizes, go up for boots and down for runners. Once on, the chains should sit centred under the sole with no slack loops at the sides. Then grab the toe of the device and pull forward: if it slides by hand, it will migrate on a descent. An over-foot strap, as on the Hillsound, removes the problem outright. Full notes in the sizing guide.
Durability, and what fails first. Rarely the spikes. On stainless devices the elastomer harness is the life-limiting part — it stretches, then splits at the toe. On carbon-steel devices, rust at the chain links is what to inspect at the start of a season; surface rust on the spikes is cosmetic. Coils, in the wider category, are shortest-lived: one snag on a kerb pulls a coil from its anchor and finishes the pair. Rinse road salt off, dry at room temperature, and store flat rather than balled up wet.
Running, hiking and pavement are three different jobs. A hiker plants a foot, loads it and moves it. A runner strikes at speed and pushes off hard hundreds of times a kilometre, which tries to twist the harness off a soft-uppered shoe and makes every gram at the end of the leg expensive — short, hard tips win there. A commuter wants nothing protruding at all. Buy for the surface you spend the most minutes on, not the scariest one you meet for fifty metres.
Who should not buy anything on this page
Pure sidewalk walkers. If your winter hazard is a commute, a driveway and a dog walk on cleared pavement, most of this page is more spike than you need, and long steel on bare concrete is noisy, unstable and hard on floors. A bead or coil device is cheaper and more pleasant — the Yaktrax range covers that job properly.
Winter runners. This ranking is weighted for hiking, where grip and durability outrank weight. At running cadence a chain device is intrusive on mixed ground and gets taken off, which is the real failure mode. Start from the short-tip carbide option in third place — see the EXOspikes review.
Anyone planning steep or consequential ground. Nothing here belongs above treeline in winter, on a glacier, or on a slope where a slip would keep going. If that describes your plans, the right starting point is how to choose crampons, and the equipment list is longer than a pair of spikes.
When microspikes are the wrong tool
The line is worth stating in plain numbers. Microspikes are for ground where a slip means sitting down. Once consolidated snow or ice tilts past roughly 30 degrees, and on any slope where a fall would accelerate rather than stop, the equipment changes completely: boots stiff enough to take a real crampon, real crampons, an ice axe and practised self-arrest. If you find yourself kicking steps with your toe, or edging across a slope you would not want to slide down, you are already in the wrong kit — and the answer is to turn round, not to continue carefully.
Know the limit. Microspikes have no front points and sit under a flexible sole. On terrain steep enough that a slip would send you sliding — steep snowfields, icy scrambles, anything you'd want an ice axe for — you need real crampons and stiff boots. Start with how to choose crampons if that describes your plans.
FAQ
Do microspikes work on trail runners?
Yes — the elastomer harness fits any shoe with a defined heel and toe. That's their core advantage over crampons, which need stiff soles.
What size should I get?
Size by the chart against the shoe you'll wear them on, including winter boots' bulk. Between sizes, go up for boots and down for running shoes — a taut harness is a secure harness. Full notes in the sizing guide.
Can I walk on pavement in them?
Short stretches, yes; it dulls spikes and feels clattery. For mostly-pavement routes choose EXOspikes or Yaktrax.
Do I need the longer 17 mm spikes?
Only if your winter includes steep, hard, polished trail ice — the classic north-facing descent where the tread has been buffed to glass. On rolling trail and packed snow the extra length is weight, noise and wear for grip you never call on. If a standard microspike has ever slid out from under you on a descent, that is the signal to move up.