Yaktrax Review: Diamond Grip, Pro and Walk
Yaktrax are the traction devices most people meet first, usually in a hardware store bin. They are also the most misunderstood. None of the three models here uses spikes: the Walk and Pro wrap steel coils around the outsole, and the Diamond Grip runs hardened steel beads on aircraft-grade cable. That design choice defines everything they are good at and everything they are not.
Judged as sidewalk and commute gear, Yaktrax are sensible, cheap and genuinely useful — light enough to keep in a coat pocket, grippy enough on the packed snow and glazed concrete of a normal winter, and civil enough to wear into a shop without wrecking the floor. Judged as trail gear, they are the wrong tool, and the gap is not small.
| Model | Traction element | Retention | Weight (pair) | Built for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond Grip | Hardened steel beads on steel cable | Elastomer harness | ~280 g | Ice, mixed urban surfaces |
| Pro | 1.4 mm steel coils | Elastomer + velcro over-strap | ~200 g | Active use, packed snow |
| Walk | 1.4 mm steel coils | Elastomer harness | ~150 g | Sidewalks, errands, commuting |
How coils and beads work — and why it matters
A spike penetrates ice. A coil does not. What a coil does is present a hard, angled steel edge across the direction of slide, so the surface has to shear the ice locally before your foot moves. On packed snow, slush over concrete and lightly glazed pavement that works well. On smooth, hard, blue-black ice it works far less well, because there is nothing for the coil to bite into — it skates.
The Diamond Grip changes the picture. Its beads are harder and sit proud on cable strands, so they scuff into ice more like a very short stud and grip in every direction rather than mainly fore-aft. It is the only Yaktrax we would take onto a genuinely icy stretch without qualification, and it is also the most durable of the three: cable does not unwind the way a coil can.
Coil failure is the well-known weakness of the Walk and Pro. A coil that catches on a kerb, a root or a stair nosing can pull loose from its anchor, and once one section unwinds the device is finished. That happens far more on rough ground than on pavement, which tells you where these belong.
Yaktrax Diamond Grip
The one to buy if you only buy one. Multi-directional grip on ice, no coils to unwind, and a comfortable, quiet walk on mixed surfaces — icy patches, cleared concrete, store floors, packed snow. It is the model that makes sense for someone whose winter hazard is a walk to the station rather than a mountain. Grip on hard ice is still well short of a real microspike, but it is real.
Pros
- Best ice grip in the Yaktrax line
- Beads and cable outlast coils by a wide margin
- Grips in all directions, including lateral slips
- Comfortable on hard indoor and outdoor surfaces
Cons
- Heaviest of the three
- Still no penetration on steep hard ice
- Harness can migrate on smooth-uppered boots
Yaktrax Pro
The Walk with a velcro over-strap and a slightly beefier harness, aimed at people who move quickly — winter runners on packed roads, dog walkers being pulled, workers on their feet. The strap is the reason to pay the difference: it stops the harness rolling off under a hard push-off, which is the standard way a Walk ends up in a snowbank behind you. Grip is identical to the Walk, which is to say fine on packed snow and mediocre on hard ice.
Yaktrax Walk
The basic model: coils, a light harness, nothing else. It is inexpensive, it disappears into a coat pocket, and for shuffling to the car or along a snowy sidewalk it does the job. Treat it as disposable — it is the model most likely to lose a coil within a season or two, and the least secure on the foot. Buy it for a parent who walks to the shops, not for anyone whose winter involves slopes or speed.
Where Yaktrax do not belong. Coils and beads sit on top of ice rather than through it. On any trail where a slip runs out — steep icy singletrack, exposed ridges, frozen scree, snow slopes above a drop — Yaktrax are not adequate, and a device that comes off mid-slide is worse than no device at all. Trail hiking on ice calls for real spikes; steep snow and alpine terrain calls for real crampons, stiff boots, an ice axe and training in self-arrest. Read microspikes vs crampons if you are unsure which of the three categories your winter actually needs.
Sizing and fit
Yaktrax size by shoe size in S/M/L/XL bands, and they are the least tolerant devices in this category of a sloppy fit because the harness is thinner than on a spiked model.
Size to the footwear you will wear them on. A winter boot is bigger in outsole footprint than a street shoe of the same nominal size — if you buy against your dress-shoe number and then use them on pac boots, they will be loose and will roll off. Between sizes, go up for bulky boots, down for shoes.
Once on, the coils or bead strands should sit flat and evenly across the outsole with the toe and heel sections fully wrapped, no bunching at the arch, and no visible gap where the harness is being stretched thin. On the Pro, cinch the strap over the instep. Pull the toe of the device forward with your hand — if it slides, you are a size too large.
The other fit variable is your footwear itself. Smooth-soled, smooth-uppered urban boots give the harness little to hold. A lugged sole and a textured upper hold Yaktrax far better than a slick leather boot does.
Who should buy Yaktrax
Buy them if your winter hazard is pavement: a commute, a school run, a dog walk, a mail route, a driveway. They are cheap enough to keep two pairs, light enough that you carry them, and they will not chew up a supermarket floor or a wooden hallway the way steel spikes do. Between the three, take the Diamond Grip unless weight or price rules it out. More options in this class are compared in best ice cleats for walking.
Who should not
- Winter hikers. Buy real spikes. The Kahtoola MICROspikes are the default, and the whole field is ranked in best microspikes.
- Anyone on steep icy trail. The Hillsound Trail Crampon, with 17 mm spikes and an over-strap, is the tool for polished descent ice.
- Trail runners. Coils flick off on rough ground. A short-tip running device is safer and lasts longer.
- Mountaineers and anyone above treeline on snow. Not remotely in scope.
The direct head-to-head is set out in Yaktrax vs MICROspikes, and traction's place in the rest of your kit is covered in the winter hiking gear checklist.
Durability and care
Coils are the limiting part on the Walk and Pro — inspect the anchor points at each end of every coil at the start of the season, and retire the pair if a coil has pulled free or a strand has fatigued. Diamond Grip cable is far more robust; the beads dull slowly and the harness usually fails first. On every model, road salt is the enemy: rinse, dry at room temperature, and store flat rather than balled up wet, which is what cracks elastomer.
Diamond Grip on Amazon Yaktrax Pro on Amazon Yaktrax Walk on Amazon
FAQ
Can I drive wearing Yaktrax?
Take them off. Coils and beads on a pedal are exactly as bad an idea as it sounds, and the harness can catch under the pedal.
Are Yaktrax safe on stairs?
On snow-covered outdoor steps they help. On bare metal or tiled indoor stairs they are worse than nothing, because the steel slides on the hard surface. Remove them at the door.
Why did my coil come off?
Almost always because it hooked on something — a kerb edge, a stair nosing, a root — and pulled out of its anchor. It is the standard coil failure and it is a sign the device was being used on ground it was not designed for.
Do Yaktrax work on black ice?
Partly. The Diamond Grip is usable; the coil models are unreliable on smooth hard ice and can slide. If black ice is a regular feature of your route, spikes are the safer purchase.