The best shoes for walking on ice

Metal spikes, cleats, studs – call them what you will. Only cleats, not rubber, provide safe and non-slip traction on ice.

We’ll spend some time discussing the newer rubber outsoles that claim to grip on ice, and why those are (mostly) useless in real-world conditions. When we say ‘ice’, we refer to hardened ice (black ice included) that often forms either after a period of freezing rain or other circumstances. It’s important to make this distinction clear, because soft and slushy ice is nowhere as dangerous. It’s very common during winters for a heavy snowfall to be followed by warmer temperatures, and then back to freezing.

When that happens, all the puddles from the snow melt turn into solid ice, sometimes overnight. The following morning, commuters in the city or walkers on a trail find their shoes to offer no traction at all. Even shoes that are supposed to be ‘non-slip’ are ineffective on slippery ice.

Many studies show that slipping and falling over frozen surfaces lead to an increased incidence of injuries during winter. This makes choosing the right shoe very important.

The basic science behind how shoe outsoles grip

The level of friction (also known as the friction coefficient) between the two opposing surfaces is what determines how well (or not) the shoe will grip.
In short, if more force is required to push a certain object over a surface, that means that the object grips better. The opposite is also true; something that’s easy to slide over a surface has a lower grip. The overall friction depends on the material, contact area, and the force (weight) applied from the top.

A good grip depends on the friction coefficient. Pictured here is an adidas Continental outsole over a rubber treadmill belt; that results in excellent grip due to the high friction coefficient.

Ever played air hockey at the local arcade? The flat puck slides effortlessly over the glossy surface when struck; a slab of tofu or steak will not. As you can see, the friction coefficient makes all the difference. Winter car tires work on a similar principle. The softer winter compound doesn’t harden in the cold, thus providing the necessary levels of traction and contact area.

However, shoes don’t have the advantage that winter tires do. When walking or running on ice, there’s only a small patch of the outsole that’s in contact with the ground. And unlike a car, both feet are never in contact with the surface at the same time. And if we were to walk on all fours, that would improve the grip by a significant margin. And that’s why it becomes necessary to ‘brute force’ the grip on ice through spikes and cleats. That’s the only reliable method of latching onto the frozen ground. While some aftermarket traction devices like the Yaktrax use coiled metal, the shoes on this guide only use spikes.

Now let’s look at some examples of surface ice. These pictures were taken by Solereview during different months of a Canadian winter.

A few examples of icy surfaces

It’s a cold winter day, but the sidewalk is salted and safe for walking.

Believe it or not, on a relative scale of ‘safe to hazardous’, the picture above is an example of a ‘safe’ surface. This pavement has been salted to lower the freezing point of water, thus preventing the formation of slippery ice. That’s why you’ll see small puddles on a salted sidewalk, even on a very cold day. Most outsoles grip well on wet sidewalks, even foam ones.

Crushed ice isn’t bad either. Here, most rubber outsoles provide adequate traction.

A dry slush of snow and ice also lets the outsole lugs dig in for grip.

A snow-ice slush isn’t particularly dangerous if you know how to walk on it. The semi-solid surface crumbles when the weight is applied, thus providing adequate surface area for outsoles. Here, most rubber soles (like the ones on Blundstone boots) grip well, as long as the outsole isn’t completely smooth.

This is not good – there are patches of hard ice on the surface.

Icy lumps are as hazardous as they get. They’re hard to spot and easy to slip on.

Now, we’re getting into slip-and-fall territories. Flat, hardened road ice is akin to a bumpy skating rink, but with smoother ice. It gets worse on frozen slopes like icy driveways. Here, most rubber outsoles effectively lose traction. Walking like a penguin – which is taking short steps with a fully planted stride and lowering the center of gravity – minimizes the chances of falling.

Lastly, if we’re talking about hikes and treks on ice, then it’s crampons or nothing. For day hikes on iced-over trails that do not involve alpine climbing, short crampons with six points will do. A more aggressive crampon geometry with 8-10 points is needed for activities that involve climbing. This buyer’s guide does not address those use cases.

Yes, these are carbide-tipped metal spikes. Pictured here is the Salomon WinterCross Spike.

Fully cleated outsoles are relatively easier to find. Salomon does an excellent job with the Spikecross, and the Swedish brand Icebug has built a vast collection of spike-tipped shoes. Carbide-tipped steel spikes are embedded into the rubber outsole and placed under the forefoot and heel areas for traction. We highly recommend the Salomon WinterCross Spike if you can still find them. This model appears to have been discontinued, so the Genesis 2 GTX Spike is our current top pick.

Fully cleated shoes are the safest for walking on ice, and generally deliver decent levels of versatile traction on softer surfaces like slush and snow. The biggest drawback with fixed studs is that they cannot be used indoors. Metal cleats grip very well over ice, but will slip on smooth surfaces as well as damage them. The second group of shoes is somewhat hard to find. The outsole has retractable spikes for dual-purpose use – which means the shoes can be used on ice and indoors.

Pajar boots use retractable cleats made by OC System, Italy.

Based on our experience, only the ‘OC system’ outsole has a functional ‘on-off’ design that works as advertised. The metal spikes are mounted on a hinged section made of TPU, and flipping the said hinge exposes them. When not needed, the spikes can be retracted into the rubber outsole. It’s an interesting design that requires a ‘key’ to switch on the spike. The OC System isn’t without its share of drawbacks. The hinge mechanism takes up a lot of outsole real estate and makes the outsole ‘flat’ when the spikes are in a retracted position. The lack of deep lugs makes the outsole slippery on slush.

Pajar, the Canadian boot brand sells a wide assortment of boots with OC System. Naot – an Israeli shoe company – offers a couple of models as well, but Pajar does a much better job with the upper design.

Korkers also sells a few boots with an optional cleating system. However, unlike the OC system, the Korkers spike system is a separate component. So you’re better off buying standalone traction devices so that they can be used with other shoes as well. We recommend the Kahtoola EXOSpikes – a traction system that we use regularly during winter.

The short answer is no. Please do not buy shoes with a Vibram Arctic Grip outsole (or similar tech) if you intend to use them on hard ice. We’re no strangers to shoes with an Arctic Grip outsole. On this site, we have reviewed a few shoes with an Arctic Grip outsole, and our opinion hasn’t changed.

Please stay away from Vibram Arctic Grip outsoles. They will NOT provide sufficient traction on hard ice.

Vibram advertises its outsole as suitable for ‘wet ice’. The rough sandpaper-like texture of the rubber lugs is supposed to increase the friction between the outsole and ice to improve the grip.

In theory, the rough texture of Vibram Arctic rubber is supposed to grip better on ‘Wet Ice’ – a surface condition that freezing winters do not have.

Now, ‘wet ice’ is not what most walkers and runners need to be worried about. They’re more likely to slip and fall on hardened ice, like the kind that we showed you.

And unlike Vibram’s marketing campaign that had people testing the outsole on a slope of wet ice with supporting handrails, there are no handrails on the slippery roads and pavements.

On these hazardous surfaces, the Vibram Arctic Ice rubber and its kind are ineffective. Brands like Keen and Dr. Martens market similar outsoles, and all of them are equally bad. They do not offer any slip resistance on black ice. That being said, the grip of Vibram Arctic Ice on wet pavements is superlative.