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SNOW SOCKS VS SNOW CHAINS | Traction test & brake test

Mar 16, 2024
Hello everyone and welcome back. If you're new, welcome, I'm so glad you joined us. My name is Sergiu Gabor and I am a quality engineer in the automotive industry. Last year I

test

ed some

snow

chains

...well, not just

snow

chains

but also other similar products designed to provide

traction

in icy conditions. However, they requested another product that I couldn't get in time to include at that time. Tire

socks

! Which sounds as stupid as it sounds. So today we're going to

test

a couple more products to find out how good they are and if you should consider any of them.
snow socks vs snow chains traction test brake test
For this test we will go to a remote area where no one can bother us and do some hills and braking tests to test these products, after which I will give you my opinion on each product. Let us begin! Ah yes, the beauty of nature… calm… serene… and beautiful… Until it tries to kill you. Maybe not the best day to do this, but hey, we were already there. So let me tell you how I performed the test. First we will try to climb this small hill without chains to set up a checkpoint. First in front-wheel drive and then in four-wheel drive.
snow socks vs snow chains traction test brake test

More Interesting Facts About,

snow socks vs snow chains traction test brake test...

Let's see how it goes. Well, that was pathetic... Now, let's try our first product, Snow Claw. This one is priced at $15 a set, and includes two…claws. However, as recommended on the box, you need two on each wheel, so at least four claws are needed, which will cost you $30. Installing these products is actually more difficult than one might imagine, mainly because you need to wrap the damn thing around your tire. What you see me doing here is wrong, because the buckle should be on the outside of the tire. Therefore, you must completely go around the tire to pass the belt through the spokes.
snow socks vs snow chains traction test brake test
Anyway, that's why it's highly recommended to practice installing products like this beforehand. To be honest… I have a pretty good idea of ​​what's about to happen. We'll see. Yes... Just as I thought, the... claws broke almost immediately. If you have this product in your car, do yourself a favor and find the closed trash bin and get rid of them. Next up are the infamous snow

socks

. I paid about $55 for a pair, but you can find them for as little as $30. These can be found in many different colors, but I'm not sure if the material is different than the ones I have.
snow socks vs snow chains traction test brake test
We'll take a closer look at the material in a moment. Installing them is much easier than other products, but you still need to reach behind the wheel to align them correctly. This wasn't a problem for this car, but if your car has a lower ride height, make sure you can get behind the wheel before purchasing. They also come with a rotation indicator printed on a label and as expected I installed them backwards. Practice guys...practice before you get stuck. I don't think installing them backwards or upside down makes any difference, but for this test, let's install them correctly.
After installing them halfway, you must move the car a little to fully install them. I'm really skeptical about this... I have no idea how this is supposed to help get better

traction

... but let's see. Well, I'll be damned. Do these really work? I swear... This was my face during this test. I couldn't believe it, I had to try again. The socks work... Amazing. But we still have to test a pair of real snow chains to see how they compare. For this, one of the best snow chains is the Pewag Servo. Great quality and as far as snow chains go, very easy to install, although snow socks are easier in my opinion.
But it depends on the situation, as I will explain later. These have a cost that ranges between $200 and $300, depending on the exact model and size. Much more expensive than the other products. Installing them involves more steps than other products, but by following the included instructions, you'll be ready in less than 10 minutes, even without practice. You'll still get your hands dirty, but there's not much you can do about it. So let's see how this works. Well, a couple of meters longer than snow socks, proving that snow chains still offer better traction. As you can see, at this point the snow was too deep for the car to go any further.
As the snow gets deeper, the car lifts, losing traction even with snow chains or any other product. Once this was done, I also carried out a

brake

test with both snow socks and chains, starting at 30 km/h, on a very icy track. road surface. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a measuring device, so I had to measure the braking distance in steps… I know, it's not a very precise method, but as we'll see, the results are pretty clear anyway. First, just the bare tires as a control. Next, the snow socks. That's a big difference... Now let's look at how snow chains work.
Wow, amazing… Let me be completely honest. If someone had suggested to me that snow socks perform similarly to snow chains, I would have laughed in their face. Honestly. However, it is not all good news, as I will explain below. I'll start with the snow claws first by saying that they are garbage and shouldn't even go near your car. But to be fair, I'll explain why, and if you're not interested, skip to this point. Okay, so the main problem with this product is the strap and buckle. There are more, such as the high price, the inappropriate choice of manufacturing materials, but we will focus on what failed me.
The strap is made of weak fibers that failed immediately once force was applied. I encountered the same problem last year when I tried similar products. Straps like these are not designed to withstand such abuse. Other similar products replaced the belts with chains, and these could probably work better, but they would also scratch the tires badly. I totally disagree with these products because they are basically just a gimmick. If the strap hadn't failed, the cast aluminum buckle would. Still, the manufacturer recommends 2 claws per wheel... Well, in my opinion, you need at least 5 to distribute the load evenly and have the least chance of working correctly, but at this point the price goes up to $75, for a reason. which is quite complicated to install and has a high chance of failing.
Now we get to the snow socks, and as I have already made it quite clear, I am very surprised with these products. They just work, but they have some drawbacks. Let me explain. Firstly, depending on your driving style, they may not be as strong as snow chains. As you can see here, the products tested ended up with a few holes. Now, I tested them thoroughly, with hard braking and a lot of wheel spin, but during normal driving, this should not be the case. However, I did the same thing with Pewag snow chains. Twice. And they are still intact.
On the other hand, if I had tried a pair of cheap snow chains, maybe things would have been different. These socks are really flexible and I find that, in normal riding, they are more durable than a cheap pair of snow chains. In addition to this, if the road you are driving on is only partially covered with ice or snow, using them you will not have to worry about breaking them like you would with snow chains. The second point has to do with installation and this applies to both snow socks and snow chains. By chance, I got stuck trying these products, because the snow was quite deep, the car sank and I couldn't move it anymore.
Well, you might think I had all the equipment available to get him out... but that was harder than anticipated. And since we're still talking about snow socks, I'll start with those. You see, to fully install them, you need to move the car a little, but if it's stuck you won't be able to do it. You can see the problem... If the tires spin in place, the socks just fly off and are almost impossible to put on. So, this can be considered a disadvantage for these products, but you can easily fix it by installing them before you get stuck.
Maintaining the socks is also easier as you can simply throw them in the washing machine. Snow chains need cleaning and oiling so they don't rust over time. In my opinion, these products are more right than wrong. Traction is almost on par with snow chains, although chains are still better in this regard. However, braking distance was consistently better on ice or snow. All in all, I couldn't believe I would ever say this, but snow socks work, earning them a recommendation from me. As far as snow chains go, I think for the best traction this is the way to go.
A good pair like the Pewag Servo will last you a long time and, compared to other models, they are very easy to install. But there is always a but". Snow chains are generally more difficult to install than snow socks. They are more expensive, require untangling, and require many more steps to install correctly. But unlike snow socks, you don't have to move the car to fully install them, and this really helped me get the car off the ground. However, if your tires are stuck in deep snow, you will have to get your hands dirty and shovel the snow so the chains can go around the tire.
Otherwise, you will not be able to close the chain link. So again, install them before you get stuck. In terms of braking distance, I always had worse results than with snow socks, and I think that is due to the surface. Imagine this is the contact patch between your tires and the road surface. With snow chains, there is not much surface area to provide grip when the

brake

is applied. Additionally, the links can break due to the great force required to stop the car. With snow socks, the entire contact area is covered by the material, providing better grip.
So I'm wondering if the ultimate setup might be snow socks on the front wheels and chains on the rear wheels. Obviously for cars with four-wheel drive. You'll get the best stopping distance as the front wheels apply most of the braking force and the best traction for the rear wheels. It seems like a good idea and I'll think about it for the next test. Speaking of upcoming testing, I haven't rated these products because I plan to do a more detailed episode on them and many others, where I will test them on many more surfaces, such as mud, snow, and with improved measuring equipment. , but until then, that's been it.
My first review and opinion on these products. I hope you found this information helpful and if so, hit the like button and let me know in the comments what other products I should try in future videos. If you want to help me make this episode, you can do so by becoming a Patreon member at the link in the description. Patreon members always get ad-free early access to all my videos and a chance to win some of the products I test. Until next time, thank you so much for watching and have a great day. Bye bye!

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