I bought these as chains for my travel trailer in case I encounter bad roads in mountain passes. A sure cure for bad roads is to carry chains. They are mandatory in Canada, Oregon, and Washington. I bought these and groaned. The chains are ridiculously small will not take any pavement use at all. Unfortunately, you have to run in pavement to get to a place to remove your chains sometimes. The links are very thin and not a hardened alloy. These are one and done chains.These were the wrong size so I gladly returned them for cable chains. They will out perform these by a mile.

While the product description highlights various improvements, I found it not very easy to use. The self-tightening feature and upgraded design are good in theory, but the actual installation process is still somewhat challenging.

I purchased these chain as a back up in case my Autosocks failed. When I received it, the container was broken and the chains were swimming inside the shipping box. It took about 20 min to untangle and separate the two chains. The written instructions were somewhat hard to follow but the video provided by Amazon was very good. While trying to put the first set on, I discovered that the yellow chain was misthreaded, not allowing the chains to lie flat. The other chain was threaded properly. This defect rendered the chains unusable. So I am returning them. Thank goodness I didn't need them as my Autosocks worked beautifully and got me and my family up the mountain during a winter storm.

We took measurements before we ordered. This is the second time.

I'm comparing these Snowtec chains against a set of SCC Auto-Trac Peerless chains that I own, which features the same ratcheting self-tightening mechanism. I love this style of chains because they are easy to put on and take off by one person; no need to shout instructions to a helper at the steering wheel, you can do this by yourself. To install: lay out the chains on the ground with the stainless steel braided cable (in blue) forming a half circle with the wheel in the center, rotate the half circle 180 around the wheel so the cable / chains slip behind the tire, fish out the two ends of the steel cable and hook them together at the top behind the tire, push / pull the chains to the backside so they drape evenly over the tire tread face, hook the blue steel plate to the yellow chain on top, push the big yellow button to pull out the red plastic knuckle at the bottom and hook it to the yellow chain, press the small yellow button to retract the cable and you're done. Removal is the reverse of installation. It took me 3 minutes to put the chains on one wheel after reading the instructions, as you can see in the pictures (granted, in a warm and dry garage). The most difficult part is taking the chains out of the plastic carrying case and untangling everything; you're half way there with that done. Not having to turn the steering wheel not only removes the need for a helper but also makes it much easier to install on rear tires for RWD vehicles without having to crawl under in the muck.The set of two chains comes with a plastic carrying case, an instruction sheet, a few spare links to repair broken chains, and a pair of rubberized gloves with extra long sleeves to protect the forearms. The long gloves are a super thoughtful touch, as your forearms (and whatever clothing on them) WILL get dirty as you reach behind the tires.Compared to my SCC Auto-Trac chains:- These are not has heavy (11.5lb including case and accessories), vs the Auto-trac at 13.5lb, for the same size tires. I can see why: the chain links are a little bit smaller, a bit thinner, and the braided stainless steel cable a little smaller in gauge. In a word, everything is just a little smaller / thinner and less robust than the Auto-Trac, which will likely give both more durability and slightly better traction on account of the bigger links. But the differences are small, and you can't tell unless laying them side-by-side. In my book this Snowtec set still passes the mark for robustness.- The instruction sheet is a folded piece of glossy paper smaller than 8.5x11", with tiny print. Good luck trying to read this in the dark, drenched in snow and mud. The Auto-Trac instruction sheet by comparison comes on a poster-sized water-proof plastic sheet with big photos & print, so you can read it beside you in the snow with a flashlight, as well as doubling as a tarp to keep your knees from getting wet. For this reason, I strongly suggest practicing installation and removal before heading to the snow, which you should do anyway.- Use extra caution when pressing the small yellow button to retract the red plastic knuckle -- it shoots back like a bullet. In this it's not any different from the Auto-Trac; both are equally dangerous. Pull tightly on the red knuckle with one hand while pushing the button to retract it slowly.Overall, I'm very happy with this Snowtec set. It's a bit less robust than my Auto-Trac, but still combines easy installation (comparable to snow socks and other such quick-to-wear-out gimmicks) with the superior traction and longevity of chains. And if you use good chain practice (drive slow, remove immediately when road surface becomes visible, rinse thoroughly to remove dirt & road salt and allow to dry completely before putting away), it will probably last just as long. Recommended.