Stabilicers Sport Ice and Snow Running CleatsRunning (or walking) outside in the winter can be both difficult and dangerous. When the ground is slick, it can be easy to lose your footing and difficult to change directions if necessary. If you enjoy running across frozen lakes and ponds (as I do) then you have to try to stay where the snow has drifted just to get some traction. A couple of years ago I was buying some new shoes at Sportshoe Center, and I found a product called Stabilicers that really helped with the safety problems. They are not a cure all for everything, but they do make it a lot easier and get rid of the need to actually run in the roads.

Stabilicers are light-weight crampons that fit running shoes. They have nine cleats that do a good job of gripping ice, but they do not work quite as well when there is a thin layer of snow over the ice. When you wear them, you need to bear in mind that you can still slip; it’s just a lot less likely that you are going to.

When I wear mine out pond running, they work out the best. I can run over the ice without working about sticking to the snow drifts, which lets me run out away from the shore a ways. I also can fit them on my boots for when I am walking, but they can come off fairly easily if I do not put them on just right.

If you are walking on tile or concrete or some other non-slick surface, they can tend to make it a little slick. They are pretty quick to take on or off, though, so I will sometimes carry them when I do not need them and put them on during the run when I get to a trail or icy stretch.