Winter related Purchases.

Pangea

Where would be the best place to buy ice grips/studs for your feet this year? and which type is the best
Any good place to buy sleighs?.

kenmc

What happened to the ones you got in 2010?

Pangea

kenmc wrote: »

What happened to the ones you got in 2010?

Never got them in the end!

boatbuilder

I'd say there are plenty of winter products around because all the shops stocked up last winter and never sold any because it was so mild.
I've seen plastic sledges in local shops for about €30 for long ones and €10 for small ones.
Made of really thin plastic though.

Calibos

Tesco have salt, snow shovels and.............grips for shoes.

Woodies have snow socks for cars btw

jjdub1

Pennys on O'Connell Street (Dublin) were selling those shoe studs for €1 a pair last week - looks like I may need them afterall

muckish

Autosock tyre socks are amazing. They really do work going uphill and downhill. The only problem is wear and tear. Larger wider tyres will wear out pretty quickly if you drive a distance on them. You have to take them off when you get onto tarmac as soon as you can. One other thing to consider is to have a bucket in the boot to store them when you take them off, otherwise you'll have a swimming pool in the boot. Pair of gloves as well as they are bloody cold. Also sometimes can be difficult to stretch over a wide tyre with limited rim room. They will get you home.

I didn't buy a set this year as I have Kleber snow tyres on. These are just as good on snow IMO. Have a set of RUD easy-on chains to tackle the back of Errigal road. Hopefully this saturday!

otherfrog

Howdy all, have been keeping an eye on this forum over the last few weeks - after reading the latest forecasts, I've been digging out my bits and pieces from the winter of 10/11.

Regarding purchases for Winter - I wore Yaktrax grips which were/are great on compacted snow, but they're lethal on pure ice, so bear that in mind if you've got a pair.

Studded grips/cleats are probably better bet.

Hiking boots are a good idea too.

Some basic advice:
Probably worth picking up another container or two of salt now, because if we get a prolonged spell of cold & snow, there'll be a run on them again and the shops wont have any.

Hardware outlets should still be selling large bags of salt too.

Fingerless gloves are a godsend if you've got a touchscreen phone.

Even if the power stays up:
It's a good idea to have a LED torch lying around & decent set of rechargeables.
A small gas stove gives you options.
The power packs in Halfords etc. with jumper leads and inverter are a useful investment. You can use them to recharge your phone & batteries for radios + torches, as well as start your car
A cheap pair of PMR446 walkie talkies can also prove useful.

More than anything though, if you've got elderly neighbours - keep in touch with them & let them know you're there - and perhaps pick up a few items that could make their lives easier.

gbee

Kippure wrote: »

There an M&s tire, Have got me out of trouble the last couple of winters.

Best tyres in the World. You would not believe what they dug me out of.

Only issue on my vehicle is the heavy steering and front end assembly rapid wear ~ does not happen on better vehicles. But literally saved me more than once and outperformed a Land Rover in mud, pulled out of a freshly ploughed field and quicksand at a beach braking the exhaust and leaving a five foot deep hole.

Brilliant on snow, new they just crush the stuff ans you'd not know it was there, not so great on ice, it can handle it grand up hill, leave everything in a pile behind you as they try to follow, is OK downhill but the engine break is more at play here anyway but if I am silly enough to get it into a skid on ice ~~ it'll go.

Kippure

gbee wrote: »

Best tyres in the World. You would not believe what they dug me out of.

Only issue on my vehicle is the heavy steering and front end assembly rapid wear ~ does not happen on better vehicles. But literally saved me more than once and outperformed a Land Rover in mud, pulled out of a freshly ploughed field and quicksand at a beach braking the exhaust and leaving a five foot deep hole.

Brilliant on snow, new they just crush the stuff ans you'd not know it was there, not so great on ice, it can handle it grand up hill, leave everything in a pile behind you as they try to follow, is OK downhill but the engine break is more at play here anyway but if I am silly enough to get it into a skid on ice ~~ it'll go.

I put them on my isuzu 3litre turbo diesel. Back in 2010 i could plough snow with them on in deep snow just over 2 feet. Let some air out of them to get more span on the snow, unlaiden i could drive over the snow. There not the best in ice tend to slide a little. By far the best tire ive ever bought and last a long time.

Kinda like in this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnw1RmO90f8

An Ri rua

http://www.micksgarage.com/winter-accessories/shoe-ice-grips/ for Shoe Ice grips. I bought them at €2-3 less than Aldi were doing their Specials.

The lads are great. F**k Tesco and give them a go. You wouldn't know what would be in the Tesco ones.... Horseshoe nails ?????