«Previous    Next»
Golf Shoe Cleats Boost Winter Traction
To get more traction on snow and ice, Mike Peters attaches golf shoe cleats to the bottom of workboots.
“If plastic golf shoe cleats can boost traction on grass, I figured they could on ice, too,” says Peters. “But unlike with other shoe traction devices, I can walk indoors on smooth surfaces without slipping and falling, and on carpets without snagging on them. I use only older work shoes with rubber soles at least 3/4 in. thick.”
He drills a hole into the bottom of the sole and squirts super glue in the hole, then inserts the base of the cleat – by pounding it into the sole - before adding more glue and screwing the cleat into the base.
“I can walk on icy, inclined surfaces where I wouldn’t have gone in the past with no problem,” says Peters. “I have several different pairs of shoes with cleats on them, and use each shoe for a different purpose. I wear a size 13 and generally install 8 cleats per boot. Many second hand stores sell used winter work shoes cheap, which work great if you don’t want to drill holes into new shoes.”
Peters came up with the idea after he bought a pair of slip-on Yaktrax traction cleats, which are designed with a coil system that slips on over the shoe. “One time I went shopping at Walmart while wearing Yaktrax cleats, and I slipped on the floor and lost my balance. Fortunately I was able to grab onto a nearby shopping cart so I didn’t fall and get hurt. I noticed that some other shoppers were removing their Yaktrax cleats before entering the store, and putting them back on again when they left. I thought there had to be a better way.”
Word of his traction cleats got around, and now Peters says he modifies quite a few shoes for friends and neighbors. Last winter he gave several pairs of modified shoes to patients at a local nursing home, who were able to go on a day trip and walk safely outdoors. “Some of the people were so thrilled they now think I walk on water,” he notes.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Peters, P.O. Box 53, Harmony, Minn. 55939 (ph 507 381-6874; Mike1961@harmonytel.net).


  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2021 - Volume #45, Issue #1