How Long Should an Ice Cleat Last?
This is a question that I get from just about every safety professional I speak with.
This is a question that I get from just about every safety professional I speak with. It is a fair question to ask and one you should have an understanding of before you purchase winter traction aids.
What someone asks me, “How long should an ice cleat last?” what I’m hearing is, “How many of these things am I going to buy to get through the winter?”
Some ice cleats are built for recreational purposes, like walking the dog and shoveling the driveway, while others are built for utility workers, letter carriers and construction workers. If you use the wrong ice cleat for the wrong job task, you will experience drastic differences in how long they will last.
If you are a utility worker who regularly deals with power outages due to snow and ice storms, and you chose an ice cleat from a retail store designed for recreational use, you might burn through five to ten ice cleats in a winter. If you are looking for ice cleats for walking the dog, and you buy an industrial-strength traction aid, it just may be the only ice cleat you ever need to buy!
Understanding which type of ice cleat you are purchasing is key to understanding how long they will last. If you are looking to buy traction aids for outdoor workers, in order to avoid winter slip and fall incidents, then you should also avoid traditional, consumer-driven retail stores.