Patent ID: 7703218

Claim:
A traction device for a boot having a sole section and an upper section, the sole section having an arch region and being bounded by an inner edge and an outer edge and the upper section having a toe region, an instep region, and a heel region, the traction device comprising: a felt platform terminating in a toe section and a heel section, said felt platform being configured such that the sole section of the boot will substantially reside on said felt platform, said toe section having a first pair and a second pair of toe section passages therethrough, each of said pairs of passages being spaced apart such that the toe region of the boot will substantially reside between each of said pairs of passages; a heel extension attached to said heel section of said felt platform and extending a sufficient distance that said heel extension can be folded so as to bring said heel extension in contact with the heel region of the upper section of the boot, said heel extension having a first pair and a second pair of heel extension passages, said heel extension passages of each pair being spaced apart such that the heel region of the boot will substantially reside between each of said pair of heel extension passages; cording sized to be threaded through said toe section passages and said heel extension passages, said cording, when so threaded, creating a toe lashing in combination with said toe section of said felt platform, and forming a heel sling in combination with said heel extension, said cording, when threaded through said passages, providing a pair of substantially parallel cord segments forming side stringers that each extend between one of said toe section passages and one of said heel extension passages, said cord further having a pair of cord extension segments which extend said cording beyond said heel extension passages, each of said side stringers having a loop formed thereon which, in service, resides beside the instep region of the boot, a portion of one of said cord extension segments passing through each of said loops; and means for cinching said cord extension segments between said loops about a portion of the boot, thereby providing a downward pressure on the boot so as to draw said felt platform into intimate contact with the sole of the boot.