Today we take a look at the Ice Trekkers Diamond Grip from Kako International. You can get a full listing of their products here, including the Ice Trekkers I review below.
When it comes to staying upright while on the ice perhaps nothing is more important to have than a pair of ice fishing cleats. Having seen many people over the years take some serious spills on the ice, a good pair of cleats is a must have, especially for those that like to fish early ice. As the year goes on snow pack on top of the snow gives a little more traction, but early ice is nearly always sheer ice and slippery as heck! Here in Minnesota last year after the lakes freezing and then getting covered in a ton of snow, we got some rain that eliminated the entire snowfall and made the ice smooth. Anywhere there had been a portable ice house was as slippery as I have ever seen it and a good friend of mine took a serious digger. It wasn’t pretty. He wasn’t wearing cleats and I was. I didn’t fall, he did. But enough about stories and the reason for ice fishing cleats, let’s take a good look at the Ice Trekkers.
Kako International makes these traction aids and I must admit I am pretty impressed with them. Once on your feet they are lightweight, stay on well and most importantly grip the ice something fierce. Even if you try to slide on the ice you will stick and not fall over. The most important thing you can have from a pair of ice fishing cleats.
As for detractors for this product I think there is one main one (the cost) and one minor one (somewhat hard to get on your boots). Let’s start with the cost. Much like anything in this world you tend to get what you pay for. There are ice cleats on the market that are as cheap as $5 to $10 for a pair. They are also uncomfortable and don’t last very long. The Ice Trekkers run about $40, so you are definitely going to have to open your wallet. The difficulty when putting them on is likely a once a season type of problem as you can simply leave them on your boots from then forward.
Final verdict:
All in all I would recommend these for the mobile ice angler that encounters glaze ice every year. They are lightweight and give you a grip on the ice that is impressive. If you are an ice angler that shoots for the cheapest stuff available these are not for you, look elsewhere. I know I will be using them this winter.
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