Mongo Need Boots

[David D]

Howdie,

Does anyone know of a size 14 (& very wide mid foot) -25C WPB winter boot suitable for long days of hiking?

From hard ice with spikes to postholing deep snow (gaiters, so flat bottoms won’t work) and snowshoeing, down to ~ -30C (-25C true rated work for me).

I’ve tried just about everything* but nothing’s big enough or is way too heavy/stiff or has a flat bottom or is just unattainable.

Merrell MTL Thermo Rogue 4?  Are they warm enough?  If I could find a pair which is a big if!

Solomon Qwest Winter exists but I used to own the non winters and they weren’t wide enough. Can’t find any Toundra Pros in size.

Currently using Columbia Liftop III, the only pair available that fit but the crappy interior seam work is battering my feet, and they’re not breathable.

Thanks!

* Baffin Summit, Piedmont, Borealis, Zone; Columbia Bugaboot III; Keen Revel IV High Polar, Mid Polar, Revel III Winter, Targhee II Winter, Targhee High lace; Lowa Renegade GTX Warm; Merrell Thermo Akita Mid, Thermo Chill, Chameleon 8 Thermo; North Face Chilkat V 400, Chilkat V Lace, VECTIV Fastpack Insulated ; Oboz Bridger 10” high cut insulated, Bridger 8″ Insulated; Wind River Banff 2.0, Retallak Mid

[Roger Caffin]

New Balance have several size 14 width 6E shoes, and larger.
But I don’t think any of them are GTX. You could use a waterproof sock inside a pair.
You could go up a size and add thick wool socks.

Gaiters will work if you hook them to the bottom lacing. That said, I refuse to spend much time post-holing. I go for snowshoes instead.

Cheers

[Eli]

Your favorite shoes inside NEOS overboots?

[David D]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Eli, I think the NEOS would give up a lot in traction on icy trails without always swapping in spikes.  I wish I knew about these when I motorcycled, thanks for pointing them out.

Roger, New Balance are go-to’s for Yeti feet, I own a few pair and love the brand.  Its a good suggestion and I checked their collection out, but none look like they would take a gaiter strap underneath (flat sole).   I bushwhack a lot in the winter in quarters too tight for snowshoes and the low cut would also load with snow even under gaiters.

Riffing on Rogers suggestion, anyone ever try a mid height 3 season lightweight boot down to -30C or lower?

The system would be injinji liner->darn tough lightweight->Bridgedale lightweight WPB sock->Mid-height lightweight 3 season hiker (WPB or not) + knee high gaiters.   I own everything but large enough hikers

Looks like courting trouble at those temps?

I’ve hiked at these temps comfortably but never with less than 200g insulated boots.

For now I’m lining the inside of my Columbias with Lukotape+KTtape to cover the budget stitching job, with mixed results

[Roger Caffin]

Biased opinion – caution.

If I am working hard, I get warm. If my legs are adequately covered, my legs get warm. Think about this: it means there is warm blood going through my feet. All things being equal, that should mean warm feet.

What can go wrong? Tight footwear is going to restrict the flow of warm blood, and can make your feet cold. Same goes for tight gloves of course. The heat loss through the sides of your footwear is not that high, provided your feet are dry. So don’t get your feet wet! Heat loss through the sole is not that high either – with dry feet.

A clue: in winter I go up one shoe size, and fill the gap with a second layer of thick wool socks (usually Darn Tough Vermont full boot socks). But the shoes are just good joggers, usually low-cut.

So when on snowshoes I wear special WP gaiters (MYOG) covering the whole front and sides to the shoe. The aim is to prevent snow sitting on my feet and melting into my shoes. That is the big hazard. It also applies to post-holing of course.

Ordinary gaiters go over my (white) snow gaiters. This is one case where I use GTX gear, and the GTX works very well here.

Second caution: do not do up the straps on your snowshoes tightly. That will simply cut off the blood flow in your feet, making your feet cold. The snowshoes won’t fall off.

Cheers

[Author]

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