Chains are a pain to install and remove, and they'll damage the tires if you don't remove them as soon as you see bare pavement.
Instead of chains, I carried a knife and a few feet of 1/4" rope or plastic tubing. Weighs next to nothing, won't cut a tire, easy to install if you can tie a decent knot, easier to remove (with the knife), doesn't make a rusty mess in the trunk, cheap, and effective enough.