Choosing shoes for winter: what sneakers and boots will allow you to be as active as possible?

Let’s remember a simple commandment: “There is no bad weather, there is inappropriate clothing”. There are no truer words. Especially when winter comes. In the cold season, if you do not think your life without outdoor activities, the choice of the right shoes should be under special control.

Why is it important to choose the right winter shoes?

At the moment of transition from warm weather to cold weather, the feet experience a “new” load, forgotten for the summer and spring. The weather conditions are bound to affect the way you set your feet and your gait.

Constantly wearing the wrong shoes, especially during sports and activities, will cause not only the development of orthopedic “roughness”, but also the deterioration of your overall health. In this regard, one of the first tasks of winter footwear is to facilitate the process of adaptation of the musculoskeletal system to winter weather conditions.

The second point is that in winter the probability of slipping and getting injured increases many times over. Winter shoes must be stable and have non-slip soles. During sports, traveling and high loads (mountain tourism, for example) shoes should help your feet feel comfortable.

In case you decided to choose boots or sneakers with a narrow toe for subjective reasons, let me reassure you – it was wrong. Such shoes in 90% of cases contributes to poor blood circulation.

A narrow and rigid toe, as well as the upper made of low-quality materials – frequent causes of blisters and ingrown toenails. A soft butt combined with an uncomfortable shoe can cause foot blockages, the development of clubfoot and increase the risk of injury when walking. The only thing left to add here is that if your feet freeze during a walk, even a down jacket for conquering Everest will not be able to keep you warm.

Sportmaster PRO expert

“How to choose winter shoes for different activities and not to miss? Answering this question is not so easy, because there are a lot of nuances that need to be taken into account. But the good news is that it is quite realistic to do. To begin with, let’s understand what kind of winter shoes.

What kind of functional winter shoes?

All functional winter shoes can be divided into models for the city, active recreation and more complex, advanced options for hiking and tourism.

What should be winter shoes for the city? All modern options are made with the use of synthetic insulators: Primaloft, Thinsulate, Thermolite and others. Natural fur and other such things are a thing of the past. Why? Shoes on natural fur are heavy and short-lived, and modern insulators, on the contrary, are light in weight and extremely warm when walking and other activities.

In urban variants it is worth paying attention to the following details: leather or synthetic upper materials, rubber sole, natural or synthetic insulation, classic lacing or lock on the side. The height of the shoe can be medium or high.

Shoes for outdoor activities more often use synthetic upper and insulation, rubber sole, as well as rubberized bumper or overshoe from getting wet.

Various waterproof impregnations or classic membrane are also used: Gore-Tex, Dry Vent, Futurelight. Lacing can be classic or so-called Quicklace lacing. The height of the boot varies from medium to high.

As for hiking and mountaineering, in general the details of the shoe are the same as in the previous variant, but the additions are a stiffer boot frame, upper with protective bumpers and structures in the midsole, which gives good torsional rigidity for twisting and turning (to safely overcome obstacles).

In addition, insoles with antibacterial coating and internal anti-freeze foil are important. There are models for high-altitude climbing: two-layer boots with reliable insulators and fasteners for crampons. They are designed to overcome glaciers and difficult areas at high altitude.

How to choose?

Winter shoes should be chosen based on functional features: the type of insulation, the type of sole and membrane.

Synthetic insulators come in different densities and have conditional temperature gradations: 200 g/sq. m for temperatures up to -20°C; 400 g/sq. m for temperatures up to -30°C and 600 g/sq. m – below -40°C. The higher the gram and density of the insulation per square meter in the boot, the more heat-consuming it is.

Different soles and rubber compositions are used for good grip. The most reliable and “tenacious” are the soles of such brands as Vibram, Michelin, Omni-grip.

Speaking of moisture-protective and vapor-permeable membranes, it is worth highlighting brands with the best characteristics – these are Gore-Tex, Futurelight, Out Dry and others.

It is very important to choose the right size of winter shoes. What is fundamental here? Take shoes a size larger (half a size). Such a reserve will leave room for a warm sock (thermal sock). This accessory is extremely important, because in combination with a thermal boot gives an excellent result. You will be warm and comfortable.

Is there a difference for men and women?

If you need to choose winter women’s shoes, will there be fundamental nuances here? There are practically no functional differences. They may concern only the design.

The block in men’s shoes, as a rule, is wider than in women’s shoes. At the same time, all boots for mountain tourism have both narrow and wide (for men and for women) – depending on the brand. Therefore, in any case you need to try them on.

More about nuances and flyhacks

traveler, photographer

“In fact, there are not very many nuances, much less secret ones. The main thing is to accept for yourself that convenience and functionality should always come first, not appearance at all. In the nearest sports and multi-brand store you can always pick up something worthwhile. Something comfortable. True, it is not a fact that it will look stylish, fashionable and youthful. Although there are a lot of models now, but really good copies still lose out on style”.

Manufacturers of urban models always face a difficult choice: what to give greater priority – functionality or appearance. No matter how warm and comfortable the boots are, they have to go with the clothes.

At the moment, major brands of outdoor footwear have already adapted to the demands of consumers and have a fairly wide range of products that are not only practical, but also comfortable and not like stone boulders with laces.

Some of the most popular models for the city are sport-style boots. Since they are not very stiff and weigh relatively little. These are all sorts of sneakers, sneakers, half-boots with additional insulation inside.

If you like these, pay attention to their level of protection from moisture. Since mostly the streets of cities are covered with reagents, you will constantly face slush. Boots have a membrane or water-repellent surface? Great, you’re good to go.

However, do not be deceived, such shoes, as a rule, do not strongly protect from serious cold. To go for a long walk in it, you need to be a well-tempered person.

Models for outdoor activity should be chosen by understanding what kind of activities you are going to do. For walks in the woods and riding snowmobiles are more suitable boots with a high shank or winter boots like those produced by the brand Sorel. Such shoes are not designed for hiking in the mountains, and they will be uncomfortable on the terrain.

Ivan: “Winter is the time for walking along picturesque mountain routes. It is foolish to refuse such an opportunity, especially if you are already at resorts for skiing or snowboarding. Try to use insulated trekking shoes with good ankle support, increased tread on the sole and an extra layer of insulation. Look out for Solomon, The North Face, Boreal”.

About shoes for mountain tourism it is important to know that here it is necessary to have several (specialized) pairs. For example, one for staying at the foothills, one for the base camp and one for the assault. Among other things, it is necessary to understand in which location you will be, to realize the climatic peculiarities.

5 basic rules of choice

So, let’s summarize briefly. How to choose the right winter boots or boots? These points should be taken into account.

1. For what purpose the shoes are bought (to walk in the city, in the countryside or in mountain hiking).
2. What is your level of frost resistance and how much time you are going to spend outdoors.
3. Foot length. Remember to choose the right winter shoes by size. The reserve “for growth” and for the movements of the foot inside the boots should be from 1 cm to 1.5 cm. How to choose the right size? It should be larger than your native one. By a size or half a size. This space will be enough to wear comfortably and create an “air layer”, without which your feet will freeze. It is important not to overdo it with the reserve. If the shoes sit too loosely, the supinator inside will be incorrectly oriented in relation to the foot. Consequently, it will either simply not “work”, or will contribute to the incorrect formation of the foot.
4. Foot fullness and volume. Most manufacturing brands sew shoes for three fullnesses: wide, medium and narrow. If you have a narrow foot, do not choose shoes with a wide toe. Remember that the wrong choice leads to improper distribution of physical stress on the muscles of the feet.
5. Realize that design is far from the most important thing in functional models.

So, choosing winter men’s shoes is not a problem if you take these tips into consideration. Women may have difficulties with the last point. But even here there is good news – today’s functional shoes increasingly look very even spectacular.