Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Gear Review - Goat Head Sole Spikes

Last week, much of the southeast was slammed with a three day storm that brought freezing rain, snow, and several inches of ice that more or less shut everything down for a couple days.  We lost power at our house for over 36 hours and one morning I had to remove several large trees by chainsaw which were a casualty of the ice and had crashed down over the driveway. 

It was quite an event...especially for South Carolina which doesn't see weather like very often at all.  Our last big ice storm was ten years ago.

I don't mention it often here but my full time career is in law enforcement and instead of a couple snow days with the family, I spent the better part of two days at work assisting motorists with disabled vehicles, assessing road conditions, and being around in case of some sort of emergency.

One of the last things that I grabbed before heading out at 3 a.m. on the first morning of the storm was a pack of Goat Head Sole Spikes that were up in one of my gear bins.  My old patrol Danner Acadia boots have lost quite a bit of traction over the ten years I've been wearing them but are still the first boots I grab when I'm going to be in the elements since they extremely comfortable, provide great support, and are fully waterproof to stay dry in all conditions.

Before things got real dicey I quickly screwed in the Goat Head Sole Spikes into my Danner boots and over three days of wearing the sole spikes I was very impressed as they bit into the ice and I never lost footing when walking on slick surfaces or pushing vehicles out of the snow.  After the storm had passed the sole spikes were easy to remove and my boots are ready to wear again without them no worse for wear.

Goat Head Sole Spikes may not have intended these for public safety use but I'm here to say that a  pack of will be in my work vehicle from here on out along with the included screwdriver of the combo pack to install them with ease. 

Check out the Goat Head Sole Spikes website for more information and to purchase your own for fly fishing, trail running, or to help stay upright during an unexpected ice storm as well.

3 comments:

Kym said...

I have to say I like them too.Despite advances in technology, rubber soled wading boots are still less than perfect imho. But the Goat Head spikes make a big difference. The fact they're removable and reusable is a plus

Middlemac said...

Ordering the 1/2" for my Simm Streamtreaders so I can get out more safely with my bum knee.. thanks Cameron.

Cameron Mortenson said...

Kevin...you won't be sorry with this purchase.