Winter Hiking Boots Recommendations

I did a forum search and could not come up with anything. I'm in the market for new winter hiking boots. I've been using Columbia's Ice Dragons for the past 2-3 years. They have worked fine but I'm just curious to see what everyone else is wearing. I'm not interested in plastic boots. I wore Sorels for many years and really did like them but I believe newer models of winter hiking boots are just as warm and lighter. Thanks for your input!

Good leather boots

We go 4-6 times per winter on overnight trips, often staying at AMC huts. We wear regular old fashioned 'Norwegian Welt style' boots, properly waxed. It works just fine. I carry 2 extrapairs of dry socks and shopping grocery bags. In case it gets really really really cold and wet I slip them between two pairs of socks for the trip back down.

During overnights I try to put them by the woodstove to dry them out as much as possible and usually it works just fine. If we're not in a hut then I have them under my head during the night, keeping them relatively warm.

For weekend warriors like us this works just fine.

Columbia Ice Dragon IIs

Tim

Lots of people rave about the Salomon B52s.

I will be trying out the Garmont Momentum Snow GTXs this year:
http://www.zappos.com/garmont-momentum-snow-gtx~2

I had the opportunity to check them out at a friend's house this past weekend. Fairly lightweight (looks like they are a little over 1lb lighter than the Ice Dragons), VERY stiff sole for a non-mountaineering boot (not that it matters because I almost never use crampons) and solid construction.

Started Winter hiking with the Ice Dragons - good warm boot. But after 2 years graduated to plastic in order to wear stepin crampons. Used those for 2 years before switching to La Sportiva Nepal's which I used for the past 2 years. (Bob)

The La Sportiva's are every bit as warm as the plastics and have a very flexable upper - very comfy to walk long flats like the Wilderness trail.

Geri followed a simlar pattern but with North Face and Asolo's.

FYI - EMS has a 20% off full price for 1 item sale going on right now - might be a good time to check things out and compare prices among the many online retailers.

Salomon Snowtrips

Can't say enough about these boots! Wore them fresh out of the box for 8 days during the women's W48 record last March and had no foot problems whatsoever. Very, very comfy and warm. Each night I dried them with Mats's boot dryer. I think they would not have been warm enough had temps dropped below zero; fortunately that did not happen (and I had backup available if it did).

LRiz said:

Lots of people rave about the Salomon B52s.

Click to expand...

.

Count me in as a big time raver. They are warm, very light and very comfortable. They also breathe much better than my Ice Dragons did.

Lastly, I had great success using them with my lighter duty crampons (Kahtoola Steels) and worked well the one time I used them with my BD Contact Straps.

I don't think that Salomon still makes the B52s . They may still be sold in stores and online, however.

Marty

Praise the Lord and pass the Salomons

Stinkyfeet said:

Can't say enough about these boots! Wore them fresh out of the box for 8 days during the women's W48 record last March and had no foot problems whatsoever. Very, very comfy and warm. Each night I dried them with Mats's boot dryer. I think they would not have been warm enough had temps dropped below zero; fortunately that did not happen (and I had backup available if it did).

Click to expand...

DITTO! I wore those for 95% of my hikes last winter too. Unlike Sue who is now used to those wimpy California temps they were plenty warm on cold days and too warm during normal winter operating temps for this GRANITE STATER Unfortunately they are to small now as I found out on Washington on Monday. My only complaint was that most of these full height boots slightly inhibit ankle mobility and foot movement.

I'm going to have a look at these, they look warm, light and lower.

http://www.rei.com/product/803483?cm_mmc=cse_pricegrabber-_-datafeed-_-product-_-803483&mr:referralID=7b1b3fd0-e1f6-11df-ad8e-001b2166c62d

FARMER said:

I'm going to have a look at these, they look warm, light and low.

http://www.rei.com/product/803483?cm_mmc=cse_pricegrabber-_-datafeed-_-product-_-803483&mr:referralID=7b1b3fd0-e1f6-11df-ad8e-001b2166c62d

Click to expand...

Wow, those look really nice. I want to like Salomons so badly, but I think they are cut too wide for my very narrow feet... end up with terrible toe-bang on descents .

... Unlike Sue who is now used to those wimpy California temps...

Click to expand...

Mr. Trail Breaker makes a valid point: as I sit here in 78 degrees and full sun, I'm feeling a bit chilled...

Asolos!

I swear by Asolo's and I use them year-round. Combine with a heavy sock from REI or smartwool and your feet shouldn't get cold in most situations. Mine only get a little chilly when standing still at -5 degrees or worse. I've been in -20 degrees and they were fine as long as i kept moving.

Get one of the higher end models (original retail value = $180-$220) on www.sierratradingpost.com when they have their 35% off sales. You'll have to sign up for their email distribution list to get the 35% off notices, though, and be prepared for almost daily emails. The 35% off sales happen about once a month. They are also a member of upromise.com if you are saving money that way too.

Keep in mind that almost anything is an improvement over your Columbia's. Some people may disagree with me, but in my experience, Columbia makes garbage* products.

*compared to other brands, like mountain hardwear, north face, arc'teryx, patagonia, asolo, etc.

roadtripper said:

Keep in mind that almost anything is an improvement over your Columbia's. Some people may disagree with me, but in my experience, Columbia makes garbage products.

Click to expand...

In general, or boots, or this specific boot?

I am quite happy with my Ice Dragon IIs. They have 3 seasons on them, fit great, and are in nearly new condition. They work well with Microspikes, MSR Denalis, and even Grivel G10s (flex bar) when they are necessary. But, I have nothing to compare them to, so they may well be garbage and I just don't know it. Compared to my other two pairs (three season) of boots, I really like them as much or more.

Tim

FARMER said:

http://www.rei.com/product/803483?cm_mmc=cse_pricegrabber-_-datafeed-_-product-_-803483&mr:referralID=7b1b3fd0-e1f6-11df-ad8e-001b2166c62d

Click to expand...

These look really interesting. About 4 years ago when I first got into winter hiking, I had the hardest time finding any non plastic winter boots that were vegan. There were a lot of interesting leather boots out there but very little that were synthetic and warm enough for winter in the Whites. I ended up with these.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/...-Mountaineering-Boots-Waterproof-For-Men.html

I'm quite satisfied with the Aku boots but they were expensive and I'd definitely take a look at these Salomon's if I were doing this again. Thankfully the Aku's are bulletproof and will likely outlive me.

Bill and Sheep said:

...About 4 years ago when I first got into winter hiking, I had the hardest time finding any non plastic winter boots that were vegan...

Click to expand...

There are boots out there that eat meat?

roadtripper said:

...Keep in mind that almost anything is an improvement over your Columbia's. Some people may disagree with me, but in my experience, Columbia makes garbage* products.

*compared to other brands, like mountain hardwear, north face, arc'teryx, patagonia, asolo, etc.

Click to expand...

I have Columbia Ice Crushers (or maybe Dragons, I don't know who the boot's mascot is, I've never seen him). Anyway, the boots are fine. Comfortable, warm, good sole. One of the benefits of having ultra-low standards is that I can wear a garbage product and be pleased with it.

Billy said:

There are boots out there that eat meat?

Click to expand...

Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle whose adherents seek to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.

FARMER said:

I'm going to have a look at these, they look warm, light and lower.

http://www.rei.com/product/803483?cm_mmc=cse_pricegrabber-_-datafeed-_-product-_-803483&mr:referralID=7b1b3fd0-e1f6-11df-ad8e-001b2166c62d

Click to expand...

I'll certainly take a look at these since there appears to be a lot of satisfaction with Salomon winter boots. With that said, I really do like the Ice Dragons [How could you not with a name like that? ] and have performed really well; and as Tim said has worked well with snowshoes, microspikes and the Grivel's. So I just might buy another pair.

Thanks for the suggestions thus far!

I like my Crestas year round, though they don't get much summer use. Wetproof a few times over the winter and I stay dry. With a Bean/Smartwool sock over those thin white synthetic liners I've never been cold. Snow shoes, crampons or Stabilicers.

I have several friends who are partial to Cabela's Avalanche boots. They're often sale, as they are now ($65).

I have a pair, and they're great, but since I still have pair of comparable Salomon's which just won't wear out, so it may be a couple of years before I use the Avalanche's regularly.

LRiz said:

Wow, those look really nice. I want to like Salomons so badly, but I think they are cut too wide for my very narrow feet... end up with terrible toe-bang on descents .

Click to expand...

Merrell's run narrow. Have you tried any of them?