[Dick]

When I worked in the bush I often wore caulked boots. These are boots with metal spikes in the bottom. If you spend much time in the bush and off pavement you should seriously consider a pair.
Advantages:
• They have exceptional grip on wood and ice
• The caulks are replaceable
• You can walk confidently across downed logs (wet or dry) or cascading ice
• You can often cover ground faster utilizing downed logs
Disadvantages:
• They can rip the hell out of your pant legs if you are not careful
• They are not good or welcome in civilization
• They can provide false confidence (I jumped on a log and the bark, with me attached, slid off)
They are generally o.k. on rocks and boulders, but not if the boulders are smooth.
Here’s a pick of a pair I’m considering purchasing:


Here’s a pic of what i used to wear;


There's some self defense potential there too!

[kevin]

how do they far on ice? I'm thinking light winter hiking where crampons would be overkill?

[Dick]

Very well if they are sharp and/or you are heavy.

I was working with a guy one December and it was raining. We got to our access point and were looking at a steep trail that was glaze ice. It was kind of scary because it was quite steep and a raging river was below us. The water had come out of the hillside and frozen on the trail, and with rain on it it was super slick.

Anyway, to make a long story shorter. I ran down the ice (my caulks were too dull to walk down) and my partner slid down on his ass (at mach 10!).

With sharp caulks the ice would have been easy to walk down.

[kevin]

can you sharpen them yourself when they dull?

[Dick]

I guess so, but they're pretty cheap. I would just make sure i had strategically placed sharp ones all the time. Some will wear out faster than others.

You can get hardened steel or tungsten. I think the tungsten ones are actually a tungsten post in hardened steel and as the steel wears away you are left with a decent nub.