'Mornin!
The other week I watched an episode of 'Ultimate Survival Alaska' where one of the characters put screws into the high points of his footwear to effect ice cleats. I'm guessing they were 1/4~3/8" long and would think you'd want 6 per foot. I plan to buy some screws like this and seal them into clear plastic bags/packets to have in my EDC, vehicle & evacuation bag. While I do have good cleats they tend to be at home; packs of screws like this could be a compact backup.
Now on to the theoretical part: My vehicle is 4wd with snow tires. Its quite rare that I've traction issues but the events in Atlanta force me to admit that on a sheet of ice I still wouldn't have proper traction.
Presuming that one's tyre treads have enough rubber to prevent 1/4~3/8" screws from doing damage, do you think that putting a couple dozen in each tyre would provide passable traction if you felt it was important to drive in such conditions? (I suppose washers may be a decent idea to protect the tyres from the screws being pushed in?)
Or am I just risking puncturing my tyres?
Might is Right is the wrong thing to say but the right thing to understand.
In the past, we used to put screws through the treads of our mountain bike tires to provide better grip when riding in the winter time. Then they came out with studded tires for mountain bikes...guess what, they work better as well.
The only reason we were successful with our bicycles was the presence of an inner tube. On modern auto tires, tubes are no longer used and you would be creating many leaks.
Just invest in some quality tire chains, definitely get real winter tires, and if you regularly are driving on very icy roads, consider studded winter tires.
Just my thoughts.
Wilderness Survival and Bushcraft courses in Alberta
www.MammutBushcraft.com
Thanks TCG. Yeah, I'd think soft winter tyres in particular may swallow screws...
Could make for an interesting story when the CAA truck came to load me onto their flatbed truck though, provided you can laugh at yourself. =)
It is rare that I have to deal with full-on ice. Usually it's snow, slush, polished ruts of snow. Hence I've yet to invest in chains. I'll reconsider.
Might is Right is the wrong thing to say but the right thing to understand.
Putting spikes in the bottom of your boots is a longstanding tradition amongst people working in the bush, particularly around trees and lumber. Likely the inspiration for the screws came from something like this. Very functional when used for their intended purpose.
Note that the caulks (spikes) are placed from the outside of the sole, not the inside. One of the problems with our makeshift mountain bike tires was that the screws eventually worked their way loose and pushed inwards. But when done as in the image below, it provides a large surface area on the outside of the sole to disperse the pressure and prevent the caulk from working its way to the inside of the boot and causing discomfort. The caulks are removable and replaceable on quality boots.
Wilderness Survival and Bushcraft courses in Alberta
www.MammutBushcraft.com
I used to ice race motorcycles and I would screw in sheet metal screws in to the nobles of my nobly motocross tires they worked great but I don’t think it would work to well if I put screws in to my road bike tires lol. It would be a fun experiment may be! I do know that they use spiked tires on emergency response vehicles mainly 4 wheel drive pickup truck size vehicles I’ve also so seen them in tire shops like Fountain tire. They look like a regular snow/winter tire with white nylon type material spikes imbedded in the treads.
Id say your good to go depending on the tire and tread pattern. If you are running TSL thorn birds or BFG Mud terrains Id say your going to be fine. My BFG ALL Terrains were the bomb and I would recommend them no matter what tire size you are running. I say this because they make tires for things such as Honda CRV and the like (small ute's) not just bigger boots like 35" and up,… and at least when the conditions are better you can still be running 70MPH In Atlanta you shouldn't need need more than that! Great HWY manners and superb if you hit snow, clean well in the mud,…. I could go on and on. Go for the GFG if your in doubt!
Whatever tomorrow brings,… I will be there! 😉
Having spent over 10 years working in a tire installation business, I've seen a share of tires with studs in them. They wouldn't seal air-tight.
That picture of the tire above brings to mind that many brands of snow tire come with 'holes' in them, for push in studs to be placed. it's a long job.
I'm also mindful of that fact that many communities don't allow use of studded tires...it chews up roads pretty badly. Not a consideration if one doesn't care, but it may come as a shock if your pulled over and given a citation and forced to get towed (depending on area I guess).
Runs With Scissors