We Stock The Best Snow Chains Brands: König, Polaire, Spikes-Spider

AutoSock snow socks are the quick and easy solution for driving on icy and snowy roads in winter. Their ingenious design allows you to easily fit them to your car's driving wheels in just a couple of minutes and get your vehicle moving again. Just pull them over the driving wheels whenever you need extra grip, before or after you’ve started skidding.

Although developed in Norway, they're particularly appropriate for the UK, where we experience sudden and sporadic snow fall, usually short lasting, but so often the cause of massive disruption and inconvenience while it lasts.

König is one of Europe's premier chain manufacturers, based near Lecco at the southern end of Lake Como..

Unique Chains

König's new Reflex Edge automatic chains are designed for use on vehicles which can't otherwise use conventional chains, either because there is insufficient space for chain behind the wheel, or because there isn't enough space in the wheel arch to fit chains. Reflex Edge are tangle free, are fitted by pushing a rigid sprung hoop over the top of wheel (easy, even when the wheel arch space is tight) and are tensioned with the press of a button

König's Easy-fit chains are also tangle free, quick, easy and intuitive to fit and remove, also ideal for use where space in the wheel arch is limited. They're as quick and easy to use as Spikes-Spiders, and quite a bit cheaper, but they're less robust and more vulnerable to damage.

Polaire (Polar in French) is France's premier snow chain brand, also very innovative in its designs and engineering; they specialise in front-fixing chains, in other words chains which are fitted from the front of the wheel, fastened to a wheel bolt or to the wheel rim, putting chain only onto the road top of the tyre. This allows them to be fitted to vehicles which would otherwise be 'unchainable'.

Polaire's GRIP chains are mostly made from polyurethane, with stainless steel ice grippers. Their performance is as effective as steel chains, but they're much easier to fit and - important for the occasional use UK market - they can be driven (at slow speed) on tarmac, making them a much safer option than normal chains, with less need to remove and refit depending on snow conditions, less time spent out of the car by the side of the road.

Polaire also have a chain link version of the GRIP, called STEEL GRIP. Both versions use the same patented fitting system, for all wheel bolt sizes from 17mm to 22mm, no need for a range of different parts for different wheel bolt sizes.

These are made by Confon in Switzerland.

Apart from their Easy models, Spikes-Spider chains are unique, because they don't grip the tyre at all, but instead clip onto a plate fixed to the wheel rim, meaning that they "float around the tyre", self-cleaning as they go.

Unlike the other front fixing chains (Polaire GRIP, Polaire STEEL GRIP, König K-Summit) which are only held on to the wheel at one point, standard Spikes-Spider chains are held by up to five points - a more reliable fixing system for which they have the patent.

Spikes-Spiders can be resized as required, providing long term value for money for customers who use cars with similar sized wheels. And all components of the SPORT models can be replaced when they're wearing out.

Furthermore, unlike all other snow chains except the Polaire GRIP, Spikes-Spiders don't rust; the SPORT models use a specialist stainless steel developed for use in salt water.

It's no surprise that Spikes-Spiders are generally considered to be the best snow chain system available or that, for example, they are supplied as Original Equipment to the likes of Bentley and Jaguar Land Rover.