Styles of snow chains (and where to get them quickly)

A snowHead

I have bought quite a few snow chains over the years, both in the US and Europe. In the US I have always gone to walmart or some such, and bought their cheapest ($20 - $30 I think). I have ended up with something like the below. They have never failed me, and do not have anything to really fail on them.

In Europe, when I have not managed to buy some like the above on eBay I have bought them from a service station, and they look something like the below. They have usually failed me. In particular they have one or other sort of tensioner that can easily fail (something like the images at the bottom of the post, [1] and [2]).

There appears to be another type of snow "chain" that I was not aware of, basically it appears to be a set of studded cable ties. Something like this:

All the snow chains available on amazon are of the latter 2 types, as well as all all a car factors. Am I being stupid for not being able to make a superior product work? Are we being burned in Europe not getting "proper" snow chains? Is there another explanation that the simple and reliable type are not easily available in europe?

A secondary question is what is the best way to buy snow chains if leaving on boxing day?

[1]

[2]

The hook on the end of the rubber bit here is the softest metal known to man.

A snowHead

My experience of European chains is that there are different sizes of the links that make up the chain. The 9mm ones break, 11mm ones don't.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

The quickiest and most reliable way is probably to pop into the nearest Halfords.

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I was also going to suggest Halfords, though a quick Google might reveal other stockists in your area.
We just don't have enough call for them in most of the UK for them to be readily available in the shops. I get raised eyebrows when asking about them at car garages/sellers - and I live near the Scottish border!
They are actually available in the UK in a wide range of sizes, prices and types if you search for them online: but if you need them by 26th, go to a shop in person.
Wouldn't trust those cable tie ones as anything but a quick, 1-shot emergency use!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

The ladder ones are called cables and like you say they are easier on/ off and work very well. You can even get them up to about 60mph on tarmac before the beads start pinging off.

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Halfords sell socks which are the easiest option for a one week trip and have some advantages over Chains such as being able to drive on short amounts of tarmac ie through tunnels...

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

What is the downside of socks? They do look handy and are cheaper than chains. I guess they are not so long lasting, and/or do not give as much grip?

After all it is free

they're not that robust, especially if you have to drive for a while on a non-snowy road (which is quite often the case). But yes, handy. And the socks you stop and put on when necessary are always better than a set of chains left in the boot till it's too late.

are you sure you are fitting them correctly? The rubber bit should only be there to fasten the loose end on. The tension comes from the ratchet pictured red in your images. Most supermarkets / petrol stations near ski resorts will have chains for common sizes.

I've bought a few sets from here over the years, https://www.roofbox.co.uk/snow-chains/

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As @endoman, says, the load is taken by the ratchet mechanism on the chains with red tensioner devices on them. The hook is relatively lightly loaded and just pulls a tension on the black tendon to prevent the chain backing through the ratchet.

I've a pair bought from Carrefour in 2004 and 9mm size that are still fine after multiple uses.

Socks, everyone focuses on traction and not getting stuck going up when it gets slippery. Try driving down a steep gradient with socks on a front wheel drive car in the snow and you'll soon "appreciate" the limitation compared to decent chains.

The zip ties are all but useless, apart from veeeeery light use and extremely low loading on virtually nill gradient.

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> are you sure you are fitting them correctly?

I am not sure, no. This type I have always bought just before I need them (or else I would have got the other type) and so did not have a chance to test fit them before I got to the hill. It always ended up with the red ratchet mechanism (?) broken, but I am not sure how it got that way.

snow reports

watch some videos, then have a practice in the dry and light.

Also consult your car's manual - you may need narrower rims/tyres for traditional chains. Many modern cars don't have enough clearance between wheel and suspension.
There are specialist chains that are fixed from the outside to the wheel bolts (RUD Centrax, Thule k-Summit) but they are expensive.

You know it makes sense.

After having to change the chains every time I've changed my car, and ending up with at least three sets in the garage, I've now gone for the more up-front-expensive £299 Spike Spider Easy front-fitting ones. Firstly, they fit a much wider range of wheel sizes, so fit my other car and are much more likely to fit anything of similar spec' in the future. Second, they don't have any anterior links, fitting onto the front of the wheel, so fit lower-profile wheels. They also really do only take a few minutes to fit.

Quite a lot of chains need adjusting to your specific tyre and wheel size. The above took about 25 minutes/chain to adjust the links to my particular setup. And that was in a warm garage, with the spare wheel lying on the floor. So perhaps worth trying your chains out the same way, at leisure, on the spare wheel first (a lot easier than with the wheel attached to the car

).

As @Oleski says always check your Owner's Manual re chains. A lot of UK models have low-profile wheel and tyre setups that don't have enough spare space for chains to rotate behind the wheel. If your model isn't certified to take conventional chains, then you may have to resort to the front-fitting types like the Spike Spiders, Thule K-Summit etc. For example, on my BMW M235i the summer ex-factory setup isn't certified to take chains: I either use front-fitting ones or have to use 1" smaller wheels and 25mm narrower tyres.

I'm not a fan of socks. They do turn your UK summer tyres into sort-of-winters and are a good and cheap 'insurance' for a UK driver who might only rarely, if at all, be out in the snow. But for an Alpine trip, where you may well encounter prolonged tarmac-snow-tarmac conditions, you may want to consider all-season or winter tyres. However, even then, you will still need to consider chains for both steep, icy conditions and the rare cases where police mandate them.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

> a UK driver who might only rarely, if at all, be out in the snow.

I did think that the "cable tie ones", in a slightly more reusable form like below, would make a good solution to this, as they fit almost any car. Cheap, and do not take up much space.

A snowHead

Spikes Spyder....end of.

have use the type with the rubber handle and hook (so called softest metal known to man in earlier post) and think you must have been fitting them wrong , they were good enough, that hook should not be under huge tension, its only there to hang the end of the tensioner onto the chain after setting the tension thru the adjuster

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I have Rud Centrax similar idea to spider spikes , have adjusted to fit several cars and are just brilliant

That type of chain I highly recommend although granted not cheap

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Have a look on the Roof Box Company. Various different types including snow socks if you just want some back up. We ordered chains yesterday and they will be delivered today. We are also returning our old chains for a trade in - change in car and type of chains that can be used - so their service can't be faulted.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Roof box co is where I got mine , good price and service

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the cable tie ones, get very brittle in ther cold, and snap easily

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

the cable tie ones, get very brittle in ther cold, and snap easily

After all it is free

Well I have used the Thule auto-tension ones for years, and that's in a commercial vehicle, this year did 6hrs drive in chains, never had any problems whatsoever with the tensioning system.

Snowchain test - it's all in German but with Leo https://dict.leo.org/englisch-deutsch/ it should be understandable ….

https://www.expertentesten.de/heimwerken/schneeketten-test/
The Amazon star ratings can also be seen.

Snow socks don't give chain performance, they are for putting on summer tyres to get near wintertyre performance for short distances.
Likewise plastic isn't going to hold up as long as metal, if you do go plastic then go big.

Pewag make some very thin chains (sub 4mm) for cars with very limited clearance.

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Styles of snow chains (and where to get them quickly)

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