We have investigated the temperature and magnetic field dependence of magnetization (M), specific heat (Cp), and relative sample length change (ΔL/L0) for understanding the field-induced metamagnetic transitions in quasi-one-dimensional monoclinic (α phase) and triclinic (γ phase) CoV2O6 spin chains. With the application of external magnetic field, a sharp peak emerges in Cp(T) below TN=15K in α phase and a hump-like feature appears above TN=6.5K in γ phase due to the field-induced ferrimagnetic and ferromagnetic transitions, respectively. Strong field dependence of linear thermal expansion and large positive magnetostriction have been observed in α phase. Though magnetization data indicate strong spin-orbit coupling for both phases, other measurements show that this effect is very weak for the γ phase. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.