Historically, installing chains on your car to get over a mountain pass has been an awful task. Nearly always it involves crawling around under your car, usually in the middle of a storm or in deep and cold snow drifts, freezing your hands off. It's typically wet, cold, miserable, and dirty—and unavoidable. Chains are required on many Western passes and ski area access roads. No chains, and you head home or wait until the road is plowed and clear, and others get first tracks.
No more. Thule just introduced , which literally snap on with a lever and self tighten as you drive.
There are three easy ways to put the chains on, all of which you can do without taking off your gloves: 1. Extend the rigid arch,
which means popping the chain open; 2. Lay the chain on the tire starting from
the top; 3. Open up the pedal and push down with your foot to tension the chain.
And it’s just as easy to get them off.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rb8zFQVl2H8
Still don't believe how fast these are? A month ago, Thule snagged a Guinness Book World Record for most snow chains put in one minute. It took the Thule team about nine seconds to install each chain.
To make sure that even the most mechanically challenged can be successful, Thule packages the product in a nylon bag that you turn inside out and use as a mat when installing the chains. It has printed instructions and even marked dots where you should kneel for best positioning. It’s one more way Thule makes sure installing the Easy Fits is easy—and that you don’t lose the directions. Available now, $450; .
—Berne Broudy