That is the big negative too them, that and the fact they are heavy and more difficult to clean.
But..............................
Waffle boards work well in mud and can be used to bridge ditches/rocks!
In my experience MaxTrax do not work in mud or on rocks!
They have been used on every one of the High Country trips I've been on over the last few months and they havent worked once!
I'm yet to test them on sand, where I'm sure they would work well, but in mud they are useless!