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In this guide
MICROspikes are the stretch-on traction most Canadian hikers mean when they say spikes: a rubbery harness pulled over a boot, with short stainless chains underneath carrying a dozen pointed spikes per foot. Kahtoola calls this the fourth generation of the design. Altitude Sports, a Montreal retailer, sold the black pair for C$99.95 on 2026-11-05, with XS to XL in stock and free shipping over C$74.
That price lands between two of Kahtoola’s own models. Below it, Altitude sells NANOspikes for C$62.95, ten tungsten carbide studs per foot meant for icy roads and urban paths. Above it, the MICROspikes Ghost drops the chains for a moulded matrix and weighs about 43% less; on Kahtoola’s US store it costs US$20 more than the original. The original is neither the city option nor the light one, so the case for it rests on the spikes, the harness and the ground you actually walk on.
Our verdict
For hard ice on hiking trails, C$99.95 buys twelve hardened stainless spikes per foot, a harness rated to -30 °C and four years of defect cover. Too much for a shovelled sidewalk, and heavier than Kahtoola’s Ghost.
- A good fit for
- Hikers who meet steep frozen trail, refrozen snow or glazed switchbacks and want traction that stays on for hours over hiking boots or trail shoes.
- We would skip it if
- Your ice is on flat sidewalks and parking lots, where Altitude’s C$62.95 NANOspikes fit the job, or you count grams and would pay more for the lighter Ghost.
Reasons to consider it
- Twelve 10.4 mm spikes per foot in heat-treated 400-series stainless steel, on welded stainless chains
- TPE harness with a toe bail and a raised heel tab, rated by Kahtoola to stay elastic down to -30 °C
- A four-year limited defect warranty on purchases made on or after August 1, 2025, from Kahtoola or an authorized reseller
The compromises
- A pair weighs 285 g in XS to 422 g in XXL, against 179 to 208 g for Kahtoola’s chainless Ghost
- Kahtoola prints separate sizing charts for hiking shoes and insulated boots, so the same foot can need a different size in winter boots
- Altitude’s own listing still says “2-year warranty” and “-30°F”, both out of step with Kahtoola’s current page
What we have not verified: Kahtoola publishes no spike or chain lifespan, no guidance for long stretches of bare rock and no figure for how the harness holds on low-cut trail runners. Altitude’s listing contradicts Kahtoola on warranty length and cold rating, and whether Altitude counts as an authorized reseller is not stated on either page.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
MICROspikes Footwear Traction, Black
Twelve 10.4 mm stainless spikes per foot on welded chains, a TPE harness rated to -30 °C with a toe bail and heel tab, six sizes, and Kahtoola’s four-year defect warranty, for C$99.95 at Altitude Sports.
Before you buy: At 285 to 422 g a pair it is the heaviest stretch-on traction Kahtoola sells, sizing depends on whether you wear shoes or insulated boots, and Altitude had no black XXL on 2026-11-05.
Price checked November 5, 2026. Retailer prices can change.Twelve spikes on welded chains, and the ice they are for
Each foot carries twelve spikes of heat-treated, corrosion-resistant 400-series stainless steel, 10.4 mm long, joined by welded stainless chains. Kahtoola spreads them under the forefoot and heel to make what it calls a stable walking platform. A point that long bites into hard ice and crusted snow on a slope, which is where a stud or a coil, both relying on many short contact points, starts to skate.
That is the reason to pay C$37 more than Altitude asks for NANOspikes. Kahtoola pitches those ten tungsten carbide studs at icy roads, streets and urban trails, and at stepping on and off dry pavement. MICROspikes belong on refrozen trail, steep packed snow and the glare ice that forms where meltwater crosses a path. On a cleared Toronto sidewalk the long points are more than the surface asks for; on a frozen switchback the studs are not enough.
A harness rated to -30 °C, and the second sizing chart
The harness is thermoplastic elastomer shaped to the foot, with a toe bail that stops the boot sliding through the front on descents and a raised heel tab you can grab with gloves on. Kahtoola rates the TPE to stay elastic down to -30 °C, which is also -22 °F. Altitude’s listing prints “-30°F”, a much colder figure; read Kahtoola’s page as the rating, and treat the colder number as a unit mix-up.
Sizing takes a minute because Kahtoola prints two charts. In hiking shoes and boots a US men’s 8 to 10 is a medium; in insulated winter boots the same foot moves up, since a men’s 7 to 9 is already a medium there and a 9.5 to 11.5 a large. Six sizes run XS to XXL. Pick the chart for the footwear you will actually wear on the trail, and note that Altitude’s black colourway stopped at XL on 2026-11-05.
Weight, packed size, and the lighter sibling
A pair weighs 285 g in XS, 338 g in medium and 422 g in XXL, and packs to about 13 by 8 by 5 cm in the tote sack that comes with it. The chains account for most of that mass, and on a long day it is noticeable on the feet. Kahtoola files the original under heavy-duty mountain use in its own comparison panel.
The MICROspikes Ghost replaces the chains with a moulded TPU matrix and weighs 179 to 208 g a pair, which Kahtoola describes as 43% lighter; its spikes are shorter at 9 mm. On Kahtoola’s US store it lists at US$109.95 against US$89.95 for the original. Altitude sells a C$129.95 item called MICROspikes Traction Cleats whose description is the chained original’s copy, so check which model a Canadian listing really is before paying the extra. Stay with the original if you want steel chains and the longer point; pick the Ghost if you run winter trails and count grams.
Four years of defect cover, and the line Altitude has not updated
Kahtoola covers stretch-on traction for four years against manufacturing defects when the pair is bought new on or after August 1, 2025, from Kahtoola or an authorized reseller; earlier purchases keep the old two-year term. Cover belongs to the original owner, wear from normal use is excluded, Kahtoola repairs or replaces at its discretion and sends no prepaid label for a claim. Altitude’s product details still read “2-year warranty”, so keep the receipt with its date.
Care is short: rinse in lukewarm water, air-dry without heat, store the pair clean and dry and inspect it before each outing. Altitude’s listing does not say whether it is an authorized Kahtoola reseller, and its return terms sit on a separate help page rather than on the product page, so read them before ordering a size you are unsure of.
Skip it for sidewalks, or if weight decides
If your ice is the kind a city makes, on flat sidewalks, driveways and mall parking lots, C$99.95 of chains and long spikes is more than the surface needs, and walking onto cleared concrete or a store floor with them on dulls the points. Altitude’s C$62.95 NANOspikes, built for streets and for moving between ice and dry pavement, are the better match there.
Pass as well if every gram counts. The Ghost keeps twelve spikes per foot and comes in near half the weight, for a US$20 premium on Kahtoola’s US store. The original MICROspikes make sense for a hiker who wants long points and steel chains on steep frozen ground and is willing to carry about 340 g a pair in medium to get them.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- Altitude Sports: Kahtoola MICROspikes Footwear Traction, Unisex (opens in a new tab)
- Kahtoola: MICROspikes Footwear Traction product page (opens in a new tab)
- Kahtoola: Warranty (opens in a new tab)
- Kahtoola: MICROspikes Ghost Footwear Traction product page (opens in a new tab)
- Altitude Sports: Kahtoola NANOspikes Footwear Traction, Unisex (opens in a new tab)
- Altitude Sports: Kahtoola MICROspikes Traction Cleats, Unisex (opens in a new tab)
