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JOANNE ELVES

AutoSocks

Available at: autosocks.ca

Price: $109.95 to $139.95 automotive, up to $255 commercial

A product from Norway that looks rather odd is slowly making its way onto the tires of heavy-haulers that inch their way up the snow-covered passes in B.C. and Alberta. Instead of loops of chains, the tires are wearing socks.

Textile covers such as AutoSock are fabric covers slipped over tires like shower caps to provide extra traction on ice and snow. The silvery material looks smooth, but uses the geeky world of science. It's all about tribology; the force of friction between the ice/snow, the cloth and the tire.

The AutoSock also comes in automotive sizes. Strapping them onto the tires can be dirty work but it's quick. Wrap the cover over the top and sides of the tires then roll the car a metre to finish. Wash them at the car wash and store them in their tough bag in the trunk.

We tested the AutoSock on icy and mushy slopes and found them to work surprisingly well – I'd say at least 30 per cent better than the "all-seasons" alone. They do have limitations; you can't drive more than 50 kilometres an hour and they should be removed for clear roads.

The AutoSock is approved by Transport Canada and all provincial DOTs as an alternative to chains.

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The Canadian Press

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