Icy trails are the comical and sometimes painful reality of winter hiking, but shoemakers TreskSta offers an interesting solution. Their Ice Lock technology employs small pads of rubber with micro-glass filaments electrostatically aligned in the compound to create a slip-stopping surface tension, as seen in the Alta GTX ($200). It really works—at least on glass-sheer ice. You feel like there’s a fine layer of sand laid down.
The Alta GTX comes with a Gore-Tex waterproof/breathable membrane, a molded leather heel, and full-length nylon shanks for additional protection. The shoe structure comes from insights gleened from more than 20,000 foot scans to desing an upper, midsole, and outsole with pressure-free support, and should provide out-of-the-box comfort.
Those micro-glass pads have been strategically places at central touch points in the sole, which means you won’t get that magical traction if you’re walking on the edges of your boots. But the filaments run vertically through the treated rubber, so you get that traction for the life of the shoe. Given these are pretty monster, 21-ounce kicks, that should be a long time.—Nathan Borchelt
