I've been looking closely at these recently, since the main roads are gritted I don't need a chain and only need it for back roads and emergencies.
But people should remember that they are temporary solutions. For instance to help you get up a slippery hill or driveway, and to navigate back roads which aren't gritted below 30mph, they have never been intended for and shouldn't be used on normal/gritted roads, that's just asking for trouble for obvious reasons of why shoes aren't made of cloth and it's a bit lazy since they only take 2-3 minutes to take off/put on.
I'll probably be getting myself a set since up here in the hills the snow hasn't gone for the past month!
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Michelin do a similar product - Easy Grip which are like a woven bungee cord which slips over the wheels.
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Michelin do a similar product - Easy Grip which are like a woven bungee cord which slips over the wheels.
Thanks for that - never seen those before, and I've got a couple of sets of AutoSocks, but never needed to use them. Videos on YouTube of both products look very similar in deployment.
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I bought a pair back in Feb and have now had a chance to use them. Our house is up on a hill in the Cotswolds so which ever way you try to get to it, it involves a ~10% or more hill.
First go was down a hill signed as 20%. The top was almost sheet ice and the rest slippery slush. They were great, didn't feel the car slipping at all.
Used them again the other day to get home. Main road closed so had to go cross country up/down some very steep and narrow country lanes. They did pretty well. There is no way the Mondeo which seems to have no grip in snow would have made it home without. Suspect the Mondeo's problem are the pretty worn Bridgestone Turanzas.
I think autosocks are great. Bit of a hassle to keep taking on/off when you get to gritted roads. The big downside is that they can get ripped up easily. On one steep county lane I ended up wheel spinning and in the process it has shredded one of the socks to the point where it is not fit for use. The sock obviously got down to bare tarmac. The other is basically fine bar a few small tears. Much easier to use if you have two people in the car as you have to partially fit, roll 1m then fit the rest.
I am considering winter tyres as a more permanent solution but will replace the worn sock and be more careful next time. Well worth keeping in the boot to get out of a tight spot.
If you do buy them keep a bin bag in the boot as they are dripping wet and covered in snow/slush once used.
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