We got tired of winter/snowy day-hiking in our old Sorel Caribou and LL Bean felt-lined boots. Although they are warm and tough, they are just too heavy. My size 11 Caribou boots weigh in at 2 lb 13 oz per boot, or over 5 lbs for the pair! Note that they are great for working outdoors, where warmth is important but weight doesn’t matter.
As warmth was a primary consideration for sub-zero day-hiking we wanted something equivalent to the Sorel/LLBean boots. After reading many reviews we settled on Keen Revel IV High Polar boots, advertised as good to -40 degF. I found that the Caribou is also rated to -40 degF, so I figured that they were equivalent (not clear how well either would actually do at -40 degF, perhaps if you wore really large boots with multiple thick socks and were active). Our target was around -20 degF, the coldest we typically get on our winter vacations to the Adirondack Mountains of NY.
My size 11 1/2 weigh 1 lb 13.5 oz per boot as compared to 2 lb 13.5 oz for the Caribous, or a full 1 lb lighter. For comparison my size 11 Merrell Moab ventilator low hikers weigh in at 1 lb 1 1.5 oz. Keen makes a mid version of the Revel IV, I believe the weight difference is minimal and we really went for the warmth.
Yes, I know, none of these are particularly lightweight boots.
As we live in Virginia our first chance to test the Revel IVs was a day or so ago, after a few inches of snow and temperatures near 30 degF, quite far from our target of -20 degF. Temperatures below 20 degF are rare here, so we figured this could be our only chance to test them and break them in a bit. We are not taking a winter vacation in the Adirondacks this year due to Covid (we are both over 65 and my wife is particularly susceptible, thus making long-distance travel a bit of a risk), normally we’d be leaving late Jan or early Feb.
I wore athletic socks (cotton…oooh, I’m a bad boy!) and found the Revel IV boots to be comfortable right out of the box, sturdy, and a bit too warm (no surprise!). The high top even stabilized my floppy ankles, and I felt less worried about slipping on the icy trail and twisting an ankle. They were loose around the feet because I wore minimal socks, but the high top compensated and my feet didn’t move around much. Normally I’d wear them with heavier socks, but it was just too warm.
Overall I’m very pleased with the Keen Revel IV High Polar boots, although they are a bit heavy. But as the target for us is -20 degF and warmth is the primary concern, it’s a tradeoff I’m willing to take.
I suspect there are alternative footwear systems that are lighter and just as warm, perhaps someone can describe them here. But it sure was easy (too easy?) to simply order these and be done with the problem (note: be sure to choose a vendor that covers return shipping if the boots don’t fit, we both had to return boots to get a half-size larger).
