8 Best Microspikes for Hiking

A hinged front plate is the reason to look at the Trail Crampon rather than another stretch-on harness. The plate pivots with your foot, so the 17 mm carbon steel spikes stay flat against the surface on a steep pitch instead of lifting at the toe the way a rigid frame does.

Security is the other half of it, and this is where the Hillsound pulls ahead of the cheaper harnesses on this list. A toe bar at the front, a double chain underneath, a velcro strap across the instep and a textured elastomer lining inside all work together to keep the thing on your boot. Getting it on and off is quick once you have the sequence, which is why we keep it for the days when the trail turns steep and a rolled frame would cost more than a moment.

Sixteen ounces and a few extra seconds at the trailhead are the trade, and the strap has to be threaded each time, which is fiddly with gloves on. If your winter hiking is rolling trail and frozen puddles, the cheaper picks cover it. If it is a climb and a descent on hard-packed ground, this is the one.

Most winter trails aren’t one surface. There’s frozen dirt and rock, a shaded patch of glazed ice, then a groomed section you could almost run on. The EXOspikes are built for that mix: 12 points per foot combining tungsten carbide tips, aluminum steps and a TPU traction matrix that takes the abrasion rock and gravel deal out.

At 9.6 ounces a pair it’s the lightest premium option here, and for running or a fast hike that’s the number that decides it. What we appreciated is the open design, which sheds snow instead of packing it, and the way the tungsten tips keep biting when the trail turns to ice. On a straight sheet of blue ice we still reach for the steel spikes of the MICROspikes; this is the pair for a surface that keeps changing underfoot.

The harness is stiff. Pulling it over a bulky winter boot takes a real effort the first few times, especially in the cold, and it doesn’t get much easier with practice. Once it’s on, the reinforced eyelets and elastomer keep it there, and the two-year warranty covers the part that would otherwise worry us.

The budget end of this list doesn’t have to mean fewer points. Nineteen stainless spikes on a double chain, plus a pair of velcro straps to hold the frame down at the instep — that’s the Win.MAX’s whole argument, and it’s a good one.

The TPE harness is 5.49 mm thick, which matters when you’re stretching it over a bulky boot in a cold car park, and the sizing runs generous enough that a size 12 boot sits in the XL with room to spare. On icy trail and slick driveways the spikes dig in and stay dug in; the straps are what keep the frame from rolling forward on a soft-soled boot.

What we think: this is the pair for someone who gets out a handful of icy weekends a season rather than a full winter of alpine starts, and who would rather spend the difference on fuel. The straps are two loose pieces to keep track of, and letter sizing means measuring your boot rather than trusting your shoe size. Neither changes the recommendation at this end of the list.

Sizing is the first thing we flag on this one: it runs small against its own chart, so order up, and order for your boot rather than your shoe. Get that right and the rest of it works.

What you get is 19 stainless spikes on a welded chain and a silicone harness rather than TPR, the more elastic of the two materials and the one that stays soft in real cold. Coverage runs the full sole, heel to forefoot, so the load spreads when you are on a slope, and at 11.2 ounces it’s light for the spike count.

Our reservation is the chain. Welded links give the best grip of anything at this end of the list, and they are also where this design gives ground under sustained rough use on rock and roots — the harness survives while a link doesn’t. For icy paths, packed trail and the occasional steep pitch it’s a comfortable, affordable choice; treat it as trail walking gear rather than mountaineering equipment.

At 9.44 ounces a pair, the Cimkiz is the lightest thing on this list, and that isn’t a throwaway detail when it’s sharing a pack with layers and a flask. Nineteen stainless spikes on a firm chain, a stretch TPE harness, and a shape that folds into a pocket.

It goes on over a boot without a fight and grips icy paths and packed trail. The chain and the welds are the parts to watch on rocky, mixed ground, where the points take more of a beating than they do on flat ice.

Here’s where we land: for frozen towpaths, driveways and the easier end of a winter trail it does the job at a price that’s hard to argue with, and the weight makes it the one you don’t leave behind. The one-year warranty is the shortest in this group, and the chain is the reason we keep it out of the top tier. Buy it for the kind of winter walking where ice is the only obstacle.

Packed snow and refrozen slush are what this one is for. Twenty-four conical steel studs spread across a full-coverage frame, in a TPE rated to stay flexible down to -70°F — cones spread the load rather than trying to punch a hole, which makes them the friendlier choice on anything short of bare ice.

Fit is the variable. The frame has to stretch a long way to get over a winter boot and it’s fussier about boot shape than the premium pairs, so the size range that looks generous on paper turns out narrower in practice.

Get it right and it grips. The studs cover the whole sole and the removable straps hold the frame down at the instep, which is what stops the toe creeping forward on a descent. On a snow-covered driveway or a gentle trail it feels sure-footed.

Our take: there’s more to work with here than on a bare stretch-on cleat, because the coverage and the straps give you something to adjust. Size from your boot, and keep an eye on the heel rubber, which is the part that goes first when the frame has been pulled over the same boot all season.

On a steep, shaded slope, more points engaged means less hunting for purchase — and 28 spikes per foot is the highest count here.

The points are 304 stainless on a 2.2 mm silicone frame that stays soft in the cold rather than stiffening into a plate. Two adjustable straps and a storage bag come in the box, and the straps are worth using: they pull the frame tight across the instep and keep the toe down on a descent.

What struck us is how much of the sole it covers. The points run heel to toe, so there’s grip whether you land on the ball or the heel, which matters on a long irregular descent where you’re not placing your foot the same way twice.

For steep packed trails and heavy winter boots this is the most aggressive traction here, and it’s the pair we point to when someone finds a 19-spike harness short on a hard climb. It’s a lot of spike for the money, and on the right boot it’s the closest thing in this group to a real crampon.