Ice Cleats for Winter Walks After 60: Five Pairs for Sidewalks, Slush and Park Paths

In winter, one town sidewalk can hold packed snow, slush, ice and bare concrete within a single block.

For most town walks on packed snow, start with the Yaktrax Walk. A 2005 trial with older walkers tested it under its earlier name.

If your route is mostly bare concrete and ice, Yaktrax lists the Diamond Grip for both.

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The five pairs and the walk each one suits:

• The Yaktrax Walk is the pick for most walks. Yaktrax lists its thin steel coils and heel tab for packed snow and slush in town.
• The Yaktrax Diamond Grip has swiveling steel beads, listed for ice and pavement as well as snow.
• The Yaktrax Pro Plus has coils and an adjustable strap over the foot, listed for ice as well as packed snow.
• The STABILicers Walk has steel plates under the heel and forefoot, for the driveway and the dog.
• The Kahtoola EXOspikes have 12 carbide-tipped spikes per foot, for frozen park paths, trails and icy streets.

Yaktrax Walk

Packed snow on errands and dog walks around town.

Yaktrax Walk Traction Cleats 1.2 mm high-strength steel coils Elastic band with a heel tab Look up your size and the price on Amazon

Under its earlier name, the Yaktrax Walker, it was the model in the winter trial covered below.

The tab gives you something to hold as you pull the band up over your heel.

Made for

Pulling on with cold fingers: a heel tab at the back of the band

Also think about

The Diamond Grip, if much of your route is bare pavement

Yaktrax Diamond Grip

Town sidewalks where ice, slush and bare concrete change within one block.

Yaktrax Diamond Grip Traction Cleats Case-hardened steel beads on steel aircraft cable Natural rubber sling, sizes S to 2XL Look up your size and the price on Amazon

Steel beads on cable do the gripping here, and Yaktrax lists this pair for ice and pavement. The Walk’s terrain list has neither, so this is the pick when bare concrete fills much of your route.

The beads swivel to keep snow and ice from building up as you move between gravel, dirt and concrete.

Made for

Wet snow that packs under a cleat: Yaktrax says the swiveling beads keep it from building up

Yaktrax Pro Plus

Town walks where you want the cleat held firmly in place on your boot.

Yaktrax Pro Plus Traction Cleats Steel coils with an adjustable strap over the foot Heel tab, carry bag and carabiner Look up your size and the price on Amazon

The Pro Plus keeps the Walk’s coil design and adds an adjustable strap across the top of your foot, to hold the cleat in line.

Yaktrax lists it for packed snow, slush, mixed conditions and ice, but not pavement. It comes with a carry bag and a carabiner.

Made for

Carrying them between walks: a bag and a carabiner come with it

Also think about

The Walk, if you do not need the strap

STABILicers Walk

Everyday jobs just outside the door: the driveway and the dog.

STABILicers Walk Traction Cleats Heat-treated steel plates at heel and forefoot Stretch-to-fit binding, flexible to -45°F Look up your size and the price on Amazon

Steel plates molded into the heel and forefoot do the gripping here, and the binding covers the whole sole. The listing names walking the dog and shoveling the driveway as the jobs it is built for.

Check the size options on the page against your winter boots before you order.

Also think about

The Diamond Grip, if your walk goes on past the driveway to icy town sidewalks

Kahtoola EXOspikes

Frozen park paths and easy trails, with icy streets in between.

Kahtoola EXOspikes Footwear Traction 12 spikes per foot with tungsten carbide tips Stretchy harness to -22°F, 4-year warranty Look up your size and the price on Amazon

It is the only pair here with spikes rather than coils, beads or plates. Kahtoola makes it for walkers who move between moderate trails and icy streets, and says the spikes stand up to pavement.

Made for

Hiking shoes and boots, the footwear Kahtoola sizes it for

Unsuited to

Bulky or narrow shoes: Kahtoola sizes it for trail running and hiking shoes

What a winter trial with older walkers found

In the 2005 trial, walkers given the Yaktrax Walker fell outdoors less than half as often on days with snow and ice.

It followed 109 people aged 65 and over through a winter in the northern United States, all prone to falls.

They were assigned at random to wear the device outdoors or to keep their usual winter footwear. Each kept a daily diary of slips and falls.

Falls that caused a minor injury ran at 0.13 times the other group’s rate, per day walked on snow and ice. No fall in either group caused a serious injury or a fracture.

Twelve of the device group’s 19 outdoor falls happened while they were not wearing it. Put them on at the door, not at the first icy patch under a dripping gutter.

The trial covered one winter, one device and 109 people with a history of falls. The results were published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Coils, beads, plates or spikes

Each pair grips with one of four things, and each maker lists the ground it is for:

• Coils (Yaktrax Walk and Pro): steel coils on an elastic band. Yaktrax lists the Walk for packed snow, slush and mixed conditions.
• Beads (Yaktrax Diamond Grip): steel beads strung on cable, listed for ice as well as packed snow and slush.
• Plates (STABILicers Walk): steel plates at the heel and forefoot, for snow and ice on jobs around the house.
• Spikes (Kahtoola EXOspikes): carbide-tipped spikes for frozen trails and icy streets.

Take coil cleats off on long stretches of cleared concrete. Yaktrax says its devices are not meant for gravel, concrete or sanded roads cleared of snow, because the coils cannot compress and get damaged.

If much of your route is bare pavement between icy patches, the Diamond Grip’s beads are the Yaktrax listed for pavement.

Putting them on, and taking them off at the door

Sit down on a step or a bench. Hook the front of the cleat over your toe, then stretch the back up over your heel.

Take them off before you step inside. Winter Walking, an ice-cleat maker, warns that most cleats become “an extreme slip hazard” on tile, linoleum and sealed concrete.

Keep a plastic bag in your coat pocket, so you can carry them into a store without dripping.

Which pair to keep by the door

Order the size for the boots you will wear them over, and check that size on the listing before you buy.

If a recent fall, dizziness or a new pain is why you want cleats, talk to your doctor first.

You may not need cleats at all if your route is cleared and salted, or if you can move the worst mornings indoors. A mall loop still counts as a walk.

For everyone else, keep the Yaktrax Walk by the door, or the Diamond Grip when your sidewalks are mostly bare concrete and ice.

If the cold rather than the ice keeps you indoors, dressing in three layers is the place to start.

Sources: McKiernan, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2005; Yaktrax, Walk; Yaktrax, Diamond Grip; Yaktrax, Pro Plus; Yaktrax, FAQ; Kahtoola, EXOspikes; Winter Walking, ice cleats indoors.