Review on 20X8-8 TerraGrips Tire Chains - ST90001 by Steven Latham

For discussion and review purposes, let's assume that correctly installed, fully functional "traditional tire chains" provide traction on various surfaces (concrete, asphalt, etc.) at the highest level of any user installed traction supplemental device. I will call this traditional tire chain traction level a "10" for comparison purposes to the Terra Grips.First, I have used "traditional tire chains" for more than 3 decades on various compact tractors. For the last 17 years, I have used a John Deere 455 Diesel tractor, which is rated at 22hp. My first set of John Deere chains last over 10 years. My next set lasted about 3 seasons. Since that time, I have used at least one set of chains per season, while plowing the same surfaces and quantities of roads and driveways.Clearly, the quality of the tire chains has diminished as the prices have declined, as my most expensive set of chains purchased were the original set which lasted a decade. The least expensive (I want to stress lowest initial purchase price, highest frustration level during ownership) regular "tire chains" were the ones which I just threw away. I suspect this is directly related to many former quality products now being made in China. Personally, I consider a "Made in China" label as a PRODUCT WARNING LABEL. The Terra Grips are made in America, which Is always a good thing.The failure with the traditional tire chains was always occurring in the tire tread cross chains. Individual chain links would fail. Some broke, others were rapidly worn through. In any event, "traditional tire chains" sure aren't the quality they used to be. As cross chains fail, they flail around under the fender banging into the tractor fender and axle housing, while also threatening to damage various hydraulic lines, electrical harnesses, etc. Once the cross chains fail, I originally repaired them with special "repair links", which proved to be a complete waste of time. Soon thereafter, I was stopped plowing and lying on the ground either cutting the broken chains off the tire chains or using zip ties to tie them off, to allow me to get back to my shop without the flailing broken chains simultaneously damaging something while driving me crazy.Anyway, if "Traditional Tire Chains" are the "traction standard" for user installed traction assistance, I found the Terra Grips an interesting concept but really questioned their traction abilities. Here is how I would rate the Terra Grip Traction Strips after having used them for over 30 hours of plowing and snow blowing in just 2 weeks since their installation;Concrete Surfaces - Terra Grips provide a strong 8 and even a 9 out of a possible 10 rating for traction.Asphalt Surfaces - Terra Grips provide a 7 to 8 for traction assuming that a level 10 is great.Frozen Ground (lawns, dirt drives, gravel surfaces) - Terra Grips provide a 7 to 8 for traction, but they also don't destroy the frozen lawn, etc.Sheer Ice (the kind you can barely stand on and can't walk on without falling) - Terra Grips add minimal traction providing maybe a 2 or 3 level assistance as compared to the traditional chains superior performance of a level 10.The good news is for my purposes, I rarely encounter "Sheer Ice" conditions on any large scale. My experience was in a culdesac which had flooded during a very brief thawing period and then froze to sheer ice, which one could have skated on with ice skates if available. In that scenario, the Terra Grips were better than nothing, but not by much. Now that same area has hard packed snow mixed in and the Terra Grips provide very good traction when they have the opportunity to "grip something", like the hard packed snow. But on solid sheer ice, you are going to find nothing which works like "traditional chains" as the chains actually score the surface to bite into the ice to get traction. While that is fine on solid ice, that same chewing into the surface on a traditional road or driveway surface is a major negative and can be very destructive.The installation of the Terra Grips couldn't have been easier. Installing a set on the rear tires took no more than 10 minutes. Once installed, they do not twist and flex like the traditional chains can while underway at tractor road speeds. Overall, I am very pleased with the Terra grips. I have to admit that I was skeptical and almost ordered another set of "traditional tire chains" as backup if these failed to meet my needs. Now I see no reason to have the traditional chains and their related headaches.I would suggest to the manufacturer that they call them Terra Grip Traction Strips or something other than the traditional "chains" they are using in their name and description. Frankly, I see these as an overall superior product to the traditional chains in many ways including their ease of installation, their use without damaging the surface being driven on, their quietness and elimination of the occasional "chain rattles". Referring to these as chains diminishes this products best attributes, which is the elimination of the chain on the tread and road surface.So far, after two weeks of heavy use totaling over 30 hours already, these Terra Grips show no signs of wear or weakness. They are a very capable replacement for "traditional chains" and even though I expected these to not meet my stringent demands, I am not disappointed in anyway. I think my days of battling cross chain failures are permanently over. Based upon my extensive personal use of these Terra Grip Traction Strips, I would not hesitate to once again purchase them and I would strongly recommend them to anyone looking for an alternative to the traditional tire chains.