Does anyone have experience of these. I need new chains and was wondering about socks but these seem a good compromise, although the reviews I have read have been mixed.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I have some and have used in anger a couple of times. They are hard-wearing enough but need a bit of brute force to get on properly. If you do get them, my advice would be to soak them in very hot water for 10 mins or so and then give them a right good stretch before trying to fit them for the first time (which should definitely be before you go away so you're confident you know what you're doing with them). Also remove wristwatch to enable better access under the wheel arch and get a pair of marigold gloves and keep themin your boot. These will offer far better grip, warmth and protection than the "gloves" that come in the bag (which will undoubtedly shred on first use).
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
There was a bag of these in the back of our work minibus, I was sceptical, asked the owner about them - response, don't even try, there's only one in the bag as the other one broke after a few uses. We do have 12mm chains instead though.
I have some and have used in anger a couple of times. They are hard-wearing enough but need a bit of brute force to get on properly. If you do get them, my advice would be to soak them in very hot water for 10 mins or so and then give them a right good stretch before trying to fit them for the first time (which should definitely be before you go away so you're confident you know what you're doing with them). Also remove wristwatch to enable better access under the wheel arch and get a pair of marigold gloves and keep themin your boot. These will offer far better grip, warmth and protection than the "gloves" that come in the bag (which will undoubtedly shred on first use).
In that case, why would you bother? If you have had some practice, you can fit a good set of conventional chains, eg König, in less than 60 seconds / wheel, with minimal fuss.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@ulmerhutte They are more straightforward to fit than most standard chains and much cheaper than the easy fit "proper" chains (like the spikes, or those Thule CU-9 things), which is why you might bother. It's why I did. I don't know of too many people who can fit a regular chain in 60 secs, particularly people like me who only travel a few Kms a couple of times a year on roads where you might need them. I was just pointing out one of the downsides - and how to get round it. The OP can make his/her own choice based on the feedback.
@Ingemar_Skidmark, I guess it is what you get used to... I had a look at the Michelin video and TBH it looked no easier than: http://youtube.com/v/H0fIfx8yPkI
That said, I learned to fit ladder chains, so these contemporary chains are a breeze in comparison.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Thanks for the advice. Chains or snow socks I think.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Here's a chart I did for one of the car owners forums, that tries to show what sort of solution best fits what circumstances. Think left side for warm and dry, right side for cold and snow.
What we've done is on our 2nd UK-only car, we've renewed the summer tyres plus EasyGrips-just-in-case with all-season tyres, given that the all-seasons should be fine in the UK to get us home. Then we have separate summers and full winters for the main car that goes to the Alps, with 'proper' chains just for the very worst situations. In th 12 years since we started using winters, we've been through a number of bad Alpine situations without having to use chains. I've only used them twice on the car with winters, once just to get out of a car park with a steep drive, taking them off again within 100m, and another to get out of the village to pick someone up down in the valley at 10pm (not something I'd normally do voluntarily).
So all I'd say is that the choice for me wouldn't be socks vs chains but winter tyres vs all-seasons, both +chains. Yes, on summer tyres, the socks do have that advantage over chains that they can tolerate longer on tarmac (i.e. when you get those tarmac->snow->tarmac conditions) but that window, so to speak, is very narrow. I'm not saying there's a perfect answer: sooner or later, even with winter tyres, you will need chains. Trouble is it's one of those probability/cost/benefit decisions. If your summer tyres aren't due for replacement yet then of course, yu'd be throwing them away to fit the all-seasons. And swapping winters 2x each year is a hassle, even if they extend the life of the summers pro rata, plus you're forking out for the winter set a lot earlier (than when the summers would be due for replacement).
Winters and all-seasons both do a good job covering that transitional zone, where you're constantly alternating between tarmac, slush and snow. I've hit this a number of times and the problem is that on summers, you can't fit the socks because they'd shred after a while, and you certainly can't fit chains as they'd vibrate too much on the tarmac/slush bits, and summers would be deadly, so what would you do?
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