And, walking in dense city, some of the "micro" spike traction aids are <i>amazing</i> for walking over the slipperiest surprise slick ice spots, like they're nothing.<p>Occasionally, I feel like I have to warn people coming the other way on the sidewalk, since I'll stomp right over, say, some ice that has has filled a porous sidewalk, and left a slightly wet layer atop that smooth surface -- basically, you'd have a lot of trouble simply standing on it without falling down, much less moving on it -- but the person coming the other way probably doesn't realize I've got gear making all the difference.