Club Obi Wan

Anbody has used Aldens on snow and ice?.....how's the traction?

It's not good. I fell on my backside quite a bit when I got my first pair, now that I have multiple pair, I actually had my oldest pair retrofitted with lug soles for that very reason, and they are a lot better. Yes, it breaks the whole SA thing, but I'm more worried about using these for outdoor utility wear. Hope this helps keep you upright!!

takes alot of practice but tis manageable .....just don't try going up any slopes with them.

todd's boots are worse.

lucky thing i play hockey and am 'one with the ice'.......now if only i can get my hands to do the same with the puck

Not a good selection for snow and/or ice. Take our word for it....be very careful.

Regards! Michaelson

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!!!

ARE YOU MAD??????????????

(No really, unless you retread thme with Vibram typt soles, they are the last thing you want to step onto a slcik surface with.

This is me 3 weeks ago.

I chose not to wear my Aldens.

Funny thing is, I jsut drove a puddle that big in my Camry this week...
Talk about white knuckle driving... "PLEASE Don't Stall!!!!!

This autumn, before I hiked over the Aletsch glacier, I thought of wearing my Aldens on this trip....thank god I didn´t

I can't really say, seeing how we get MAYBE an inch of snow a year

how's the traction?

There is NONE. Don't do it. I actually laughed when I read the title of your thread. My laugh came based on personal experience of pain.

I've been there, and dented my tailbone lots of times. Bad idea.

LOL........... Well, those reviews seem pretty clear.

I got a little overly confident with my new LS Ultimate Indy Boots (the commando soles) last week. I slipped on the ice, and since I was holding my two year old, I couldn't brace myself. Wham -- right onto my back. My boy thought it was funny, but that was some real pain. After making sure I hadn't broken my back, the first thing I did was make sure my new boots were scratched

I am in agreement with everyone else. I have the Todd's boots and the Saturday after Christmas it reached 70 F here in Indiana. My garage floor actually started to sweat. I wore my boots out into the garage and on a wet swooth concrete floor I slipped really bad and strained a groin muscle. I couldn't imagine trying to walk on ice or snow with these.

I too have had my rough experiences with wet weather and 'the boots'...I really am considering having them re-soled so that I can utilize to a greater degree! W>

Yeah, no to the snow and ice! I can't even get much traction when in a supermarket, with that 'marble concrete' stuff!

I think someone needs to make a youtube video showing the dangers of Aldens on snow/ice/etc...

It'd go something like this...

Scene 1: Indyfan newbie gets all decked out in his gear, off to adventures unknown.
Just before he goes out the door, he puts on his hat, tugs it down, gives a wink to camera... And heads out the door in silhouette.

Scene 2: Comes out the door in a rather adventurous fashion...
Steps onto the sidewalk... (CU Footing taking first step)
Cut to wide shot: Falling flat on his ####

I've told it before, but it bares retelling....I wore a pair of Aldens to my father-in-law's funeral, and was one of the pall bearers. It snowed the night before the burial, and the graveyard was up on top of a hill in a hollow on a backroad in Kentucky. It was a steep, snowy climb from the hearse to the burial site, and I was lead pall bearer.

Long story short, we were half way up the grade when I loss ALL traction due to the nature of the slick soles of my boots, and we started sliding backwards with the casket. It eventually took 10 of us to finally carry him up that hill, as once I lost traction, EVERYONE lost traction....

My father-in-law would have loved it!

Regards! Michaelson

I'll even take it a little bit further and I won't recommend Alden's for wet, wooden surfaces...

Some time around last christmas my wife and I went out for a walk. At one point we had to cross a wooden bridge that was very wet after a good nights rain. I only went out a few steps on the bridge before my Aldens lost all control and it must have been quite a sight to see for the people close by when I performed the now so famous "Alden-out-of-control-ballet"

They still are my favourite foodwear though, I'm just wondering how Indy can run on all those slippery steps at the end of KOTCS

They still are my favourite foodwear though, I'm just wondering how Indy can run on all those slippery steps at the end of KOTCS

I imagine in like circumstances, if you were about to be crushed by stone gears and/or drowned by an inflow of crushing waves, you'd be amazed just how agile YOU'D suddenly become in YOUR Aldens.

Regards! Michaelson

A couple months ago, I bought a pair of the "Ultimate Indy Boots" with the commando sole from Hawaiian Soul.......the traction on these babies is much better than the regular Aldens and I had no problems walking on snow or slippery surfaces. Highly recommended!

Michaelson wrote:

They still are my favourite foodwear though, I'm just wondering how Indy can run on all those slippery steps at the end of KOTCS

I imagine in like circumstances, if you were about to be crushed by stone gears and/or drowned by an inflow of crushing waves, you'd be amazed just how agile YOU'D suddenly become in YOUR Aldens.

Regards! Michaelson

Hmmm... That could be it Just thought it could have been a realistic approach to Bernie's gear-choice to hear Marion shout "No time to argue! Take of those boots and run Indy.....!"

PSBIndy wrote:A couple months ago, I bought a pair of the "Ultimate Indy Boots" with the commando sole from Hawaiian Soul.......the traction on these babies is much better than the regular Aldens and I had no problems walking on snow or slippery surfaces. Highly recommended!

I've been thinking seriously about these boots too. But I ended up thinking, that If I want a pair of non-SA Indy-boots I think I would go for Nadoolman's first choice of the Red Wings, just to complete the story.

Cheers Indy-K

IndyK wrote:Hmmm... That could be it Just thought it could have been a realistic approach to Bernie's gear-choice to hear Marion shout "No time to argue! Take of those boots and run Indy.....!"

Cheers Indy-K

True, and we ALL know how easy these are to slip off after they've been laced up!

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:

IndyK wrote:Hmmm... That could be it Just thought it could have been a realistic approach to Bernie's gear-choice to hear Marion shout "No time to argue! Take of those boots and run Indy.....!"

Cheers Indy-K

True, and we ALL know how easy these are to slip off after they've been laced up!

Regards! Michaelson

Exactly And it would have given us all a rare opportunity to see if Indy's tongue was actually staying in the middle.... (Those who know what I'm talking about will know what I'm talking about.... )

Cheers
Indy-K

That seems to vary from pair to pair. My last two pairs didn't have that problem.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:That seems to vary from pair to pair. My last two pairs didn't have that problem.

Regards! Michaelson

...Or even from boot to boot. On my brown pair only the right boot has the problem, and as I recall it the problem also occured on only one of the pumpkin boots.

Cheers
Indy-K

I got to use mine up on Mt. Hood this last week. Not much slippage that registered. Spent most of last week trucking around Portland, OR. last week in the rain as well. Not a slippery moment at all. the only time I had any slippage was hiking on a trail upt to the Pittock Mansion. The trail was relly muddy in spots and that is where the slippage occured. But, once I was on more solid earth traction was good again.

Cheers!

Dan

Look at it this way. Turn the shoe over and look at the sole. It's completely smooth. Do you see ANYTHING that wuold create traction or grip? Nope. Now, I've been wearing boots (Aldens included) almost exclusively for just shy of 20 years, and I've gotten used to walking on slick surfaces in all kinds of footwear but make no mistake: Aldens are city shoes. They're not designed for hiking, temple excavation, nazi truck hijacking, or kicking Thughee butt. That's what makes Indy such a bada** -- he does all of that IN SPITE OF his Aldens, not because of them.

In all seriousness, though, they're really kind of slippery in the rain and snow. On, say, snowy sidewalks when the snow is pristine and no one else has packed it down, they're fine. On regular sidwalks when it's raining, they're fine. All of these statements do not apply if you live in a city that has curb cuts for wheelchair access. Prepare to slide into the street if you do. (Philly's like that -- I just don't cross exactly at the corner.)

The advantages that Aldens have over a lot of shoes are (A) they give good ankle support, (B) they have a nice wide base, and (C) they're heavy. If you slap on a vibram sole or some other sole with real grip to it, they'd be EXCELLENT as stylish rugged shoes.

Don't get me wrong. For the most part, you can learn to walk in them on slick surfaces, as long as you're not trying to climb a mountain or whathaveyou. As I said, I've been wearing boots for years and it can be done -- but expect to slip a few times along the way.