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Scott P wrote:

By the way, spikes = crampons.

Source? I've never heard of crampons referred to as spikes (including here on 14ers.com or anywhere else). Micro-spikes are often referred to as spikes.

True, and the spike is the south end of an ice axe.

Now that we know the terminology. Question about micro spikes. I haven't done much winter hiking yet. I went up the Crags trail to the shoulder above the treeline yesterday. Wore micro spikes the whole way with my regular Merrill summer shoes because it was icy from the beginning. Pretty easy hike but when I go done the bottoms of my feet felt like they had been beaten with a hammer. Never had that problem before. Would this have been caused by the micro spikes and the softer more flexible shoes?

Tejonmax wrote:bottoms of my feet felt like they had been beaten with a hammer.

Are your spikes too small for your shoes? I wear men's size 9.5 boots and a medium spike works on all my boots, but I do notice my feet get colder with them on than crampons because they tend to compress the boot more and hold snow/moisture closer to the boot due to the rubber.

You shouldn't need a non-flexible pair of boots for non-technical climbing, so that wouldn't make the difference. Have you worn those Merrell's in the snow or icy packed-down trail before? Perhaps a winter boot more suited to the terrain might help, too. Not necessarily a non-flex, rigid sole climbing boot, but something in between that and a summer shoe.

Meg

thanks for the reply. I wear 9.5 shoes and the micro spikes are supposed to fit (and seem to). It may be that the extra pressure around my shoes didn't sit well my feet. Maybe my feet were just having a bad day. The older I get the more temperamental my feet are. The days of grabbing a pair of New Balance shoes off the shelf and wearing them until they fall apart seem to be gone.