23.12.2010

I bought this set of chains to use on a trip to the snow with the family. I practiced once in the garage before I took the trip and then packed up and left. Fortunately, I did not waste my money and the weather was very snowy so I had to put them on 3 times during the trip. In total, I probably put about 30 miles on the chains during the trip, some of which was on bare asphalt due to the lack of shoulder space to pull over and take the chains off. Here are my thoughts about the chains:Quality: Great! Despite running these chains pretty hard during the trip, I see no rust or major wear on them. I also got up to about 40MPH at times with them on with no indication that they were near the limit.The noise level was also fairly low as the chain links are fairly compact so the noise it kept to a very low rumble.Installation: Great! Once you get the hang of these, it takes less than 5 minutes to put them on and most of that time is spent adjusting the tension. That would probably be the only complaint about these chains is that although the instructions (a picture book that doesn't help much) indicate that you do not have to roll your car forward to tighten them, I don't see any other way (more on this later) to do it.Traction: Great! I was travelling with a family that had 4WD and they had some traction problems in the mountains while making a u-turn. My car had no issues whatsoever making the turn. These chains bite well and gave me a lot of confidence while they were on. I've used cable chains before and would have to say that those are a complete waste of money compared to these. Get some "real" chains and you won't be sorry.Installation tips: Pull the chain out of the box and unhook everything. Stretch it out by holding both ends of the cable part with your hands and make sure that it is completely untangled and that the chains are hanging free from the cable (not twisted). Lay it flat on the ground in front of your tire and just push under your car in until one side of the cable reaches the end of the tire. Pull it up and over the tire and connect the cable. Pull the chain over your tire on both sides, connect the top (red) connector, loop the chain through the latch and then through the red holder. Just pull the rubber tightener as hard as you can and find a place to connect it to get some tension on it. Repeat on the other side. Roll your car forward (or backward) about a half of a rotation and then tighten the chain per the picture in your instruction manual. You are suppose to drive 100M and then tighten them, but if you can tighten them like you see in the picture, you are done. You may have to re-tighten them the first time you put them on as they seemed to not want to cooperate the first time I did (maybe they had to loosen up). Taking off is the reverse order of putting them on. When you get good at it, it should take you no more than 2 minutes to remove, and 5 minutes to put on.Lastly, the other thing I likes about them is that I never had to lay on the ground to put them on or take them off. Just wear some latex gloves when installing and you will be good to go....good luck!

4.4.2014

These chains are a bit of a pain to install. Don't get me wrong, they're WAY better than any of the "Z" chains or cable chains I've tried. It's usually only a 10-minute job to get them on, maybe 5 to get them off on my car (probably less if I was willing to lay down on the road and hug my tires). But man do they handle the icy, slushy snow on my mountain road.I just moved into house about 1200ft up the side of a mountain. State maintenance ends about a quarter mile before my place. I have a dirt road with nasty ruts for the last eighth of a mile or so. The guys with 4WD don't have a whole lot of trouble up there, but those of us with front wheel drive aren't so lucky.My girlfriend has a FWD Rogue -- the traction control system is useless going up that hill, but she can USUALLY make it when she switches into low (must lock the drive wheels together better). My Mazda 6 with the gear-selector automatic has no such feature. I can tell it to hit 1st or 2nd gear, but that doesn't stop one wheel from spinning in the mud and slush like a top. The first time I tried that hill in the snow, it took me and two neighbors 10 minutes of rocking and shoving to get me up it. I would've sworn it was never going to happen. As soon as I got up to the house, I ordered these chains.Never had another problem. We got another snow storm just a few weeks later, just as bad. Putting them on the first time wasn't so bad... I didn't even need to get on my knees. It can be a bit tricky to get one end of the (relatively stiff) cable around the back of the tire, but a couple minutes of wiggling and shoving always does it. I have to be extra careful about getting the leading end twisted up. First time it happened, it looked like everything was fine, but I spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how it was both fine and tangled at the same time. Once I puzzled it out, it was always easy to fix. Given that I'm on dirt and gravel roads, I always end up a muddy mess. Not the chains' fault of course. But given the frigid temps and mud, I bought a pair of leather work gloves explicitly for chain use -- they made a huge difference, highly recommended. Since I started using the chains, I never once had trouble getting up to my house. Not to say I never slipped... There were plenty of times the speedometer read 15-20mph but I'm pretty sure I was only doing about 10. But those chains just chewed through the mud and slush and snow and never once halted forward progress. Never even made me feel worried I might not make it.Now, I only have 5" of ground clearance (some of my ruts are 6-8" deep), and apparently my limited slip differential is shot. I'm not claiming that these chains turn my little Mazda 6 into a bulldozer or monster truck. But they made one heck of a difference this winter, and I don't intend to ever go without chains again.

6.12.2015

I live in an area of Southern California where chains are required after snowstorms. I grew up in this area, and I remember my father putting on the chains on his truck, and it was a horrible experience.These are much better than your father's chains. I cannot describe how easy these are to install – it's literally a 1-2 minute job, even if you're trudge around in the snow. There are like 4 steps to attach them, and you don't have to get out of your car to tighten up anything, like you will find in the cheaper generic brands.Thule is a Swedish based company that manufactures all kinds of stuff for traveling and camping. And Sweden is known for its snow, they've got it down pat.

23.2.2016

I bought these hoping to better deal with wet ice in the Alaska mountains where I live. Studs are permitted here (so far) but not in neighboring Yukon, so studs are not the answer. The Blizzaks and Ice-X work well in the "normal" winter temps, but not wet ice. So I have owned a lot of car/light truck tire chains over the years. The old ladder chains were pretty basic, and dirty but they worked. Then came the egg cars with close fitting fenders, and cable chains were supposed to be the answer. Wrong answer! Cable chains gave you something to show the Trooper that you are legal and, well I can't think of any other use for them. Ah! Making rust!Now there are some engineered emergency traction devices like these Thule's,

25.4.2014

Winter in NH this year was horrid - snowstorm after snowstorm and plows had trouble clearing the driveway. It got so bad we had a solid 3" thick slab of ice all the way up the driveway and it was too slippery to even walk on. I ordered these chains (size 095) for my SAAB which has all-season performance tires on it (which means OK but not great performance in dry weather, excellent wet-weather grip compared to straight performance tires, but really crappy grip in winter). These chains worked - incredible grip even on powdery snow-covered ice.Putting the chains on is a pain in the neck even though it's comparably easier than many chain designs. Expect to spend 2 minutes per wheel (and if you have an AWD car,

14.3.2018

Having used these a few times this Winter, I can say- they ABSOLUTELY work. My Toyota Corolla would have been absolutely useless in some of the situations these allowed me to drive thru. My driveway is steep, slick, and paved. Without these: One INCH of snow, and I'm probably stuck. Two inches, and it's guaranteed. So far, this Winter...I've not been stuck ONCE, and I've used them, I think, 4 times. I've previously tried cables, which were useless.The bad news: They're not quite as easy to put on as the videos would have you believe. The biggest problem- the chains tend to roll and tangle into a roped mess. And once you have a link crossed/tangled,

28.1.2017

These bad boys are awesome! They worked incredibly well on my 2006 Honda Civic. I bought them for a ski trip up to Big Bear, CA. They received 16+ inches of snow the prior night so chains were required on all vehicles the next morning. I saw a few 4-wheel drive cars spinning out and fish tailing on the ice but with these on, my car was a tank. I drove on thick ice and snow with no difficulty, I recommend these to anyone, they're a great buy. I practiced once on one tire before the trip and when it came time to put on the chains, I was done in under 10 minutes while all the other goofs on the road couldn't figure out how to install their drive on chains. Installation is very, very simple.

27.5.2015

These chains did real well on my last trip: they're not to noisy, they fit perfectly but boy are the "instructions" atrocious(also the booklet fell apart within 5 minutes-doh).The main problem: the instructions have no words at all in them: its like ikea instructions on something that instead of having a few extra screws left over, the item may potentially destroy part your car... never the less, my friends and I debated and studied them for 30min-1hour on the way up to the mountains and once we were in the snow it took us only about 10min to get them both on, although we still don't know what some of the extra bits of metal that were included are for. The second time we had to put them on it probably took us only 5 minutes.

8.9.2017

I purchased these early this year and am just now getting to write a review about them.When I received them, I did a trial run to put them on my Prius. Incredibly easy to get on, granted it was dry and not storming. The next morning, I set out to the mountains in search of snow (in the middle of a huge storm in the Sierras). When I hit the snow line, it was lightly storming. My abs started kicking in and my wheels lost all power so I skidded to a halt. Threw these bad boys on in 1.5 minutes flat and was rolling without a problem. A few miles later, I arrive at chain control, pass up a bunch of gaper drivers who had no idea how to put on their sad, tangled chains. When I pulled in,

12.1.2015

I live in Kentucky, and we only get snow a couple times a year, but I live up two large hills, so I bought two pairs of these for my wife and I. I've used them several times, and in fact I would not have made it home without them one night. Coming up one of the hills, there was a SUV stuck halfway up, and he refused to just back down. I had these chains strapped to the back wheels of my Mustang, which does not have posi-track (so only one wheel spins, and it gets stuck very easy). I was able to drive up the hill, stop when the guy in the SUV started coming into my lane, then take back off on the hill, pass the SUV, and make it to the top without any trouble at all. I was amazed,

9.1.2011

These are perfect to keep in your passenger car for that occasional need for chains. The design makes these exceptionally easy to put on, which is exactly what you want, especially if you don't use chains regularly. You can have them on both tires realistically in under 5 minutes. Even non-mechanically inclined drivers can slap these on, and properly, easily.The chains are sturdy, but won't last for seasons and seasons worth of regular use, but they're much sturdier and effective than the cheaper, useless cable chains. They come in a plastic storage case with a velcro square on it that keeps the case from flying around your trunk.

13.2.2018

Correction: I have spoken with the company and sent pictures. The company were super helpful and it had turned out I had purchased the correct size for my wheels but not for vehicle (VW Multivan) these were suitable only for a car. The company was super helpful and helped me solve the problem very quickly and to my 150% satisfaction. Even though they were the wrong ones they got me up and down a very steep hill although others could not. Thank You KonigUsed for the first time this week and easyish to put on after practice. Added loads of traction up a very icy hill where the Czech Taxis failed to get up the hill. HOWEVER after only the second use the one chain has snapped in one place.

4.2.2020

I read somebodies review that helpfully sugested practising using these. I did just that and found the illustrations were helpful but took a little working out. On top of that the middle plastic bracket that the tensioning length of cable passes through had been put on the wrong span of cable on both of the chains in the pair. This had the resulting effect that the cable was not creating any tension. When I carefully inspected the diagrams for discrepancies this became apparent ahd I clipped the red plastic bracket on the correct span. Tension problem was then solved but if I had not carefully inspected the fitting and discovered the error I consider the chains may not have been too effective for long and could well have damaged the wheel arch.

2.4.2015

Other than the fact that if you are using these chains you are likely in some snow, they are very easy to use. I used them 3 times this past winter (I bought them half way through the winter). We live at 8300 feet in Evergreen, Co. There may be wet roads at the bottom of our mountain and then a foot of snow as we approach our driveway. I have found them easy enough to use that I just pull over when the roads get bad. It takes approx 2 minutes per tire. I practiced in my dry garage a few times, to become acquainted with them. I love them, they were an excellent purchase for me. On a side note, we took this purchase as an opportunity to be sure our cars are equipped for a snow emergency.

15.1.2013

I've never put on tire chains before because my 4WD has never needed them until recently.These were excellent for a couple reasons:1. Unlike a lot of chains, this chain just wraps around the stationary tire and then tugs into place - no rolling required.2. Thule recommends checking the tension after 100 yards but mine needed no adjustment.3. The length of chain put into tension at the end of the process seemed shorter for me than indicated on the instructions. I repositioned the thick plastic hook and there were no problems.4. 15 minutes to put the first one on, to learn the process, two minutes for the other.5. A minute each to take off the next day - easy on easy off.6. All chain with very little plastic,

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