When it comes to winter cycling, one of the most challenging parts of the equation - coming just after “how do I keep my glasses from fogging up”, is keeping your extremities warm. People who have been doing this for a while have likely arrived at their own answers to this question (I would assume that anyone who isn’t able to sort out an answer to this has long since given up on the idea of riding in the winter).
This is true for myself as well. I’ve got different levels of weather gear lined up for different temperatures. Although it often takes me a couple of rides to sort out which level I need to be at when the temperature shifts, particularly when moving from my medium gear to full cold weather gear.
The reason for this struggle: the boots
For anything below about 30° F I typically shift gear to my nuclear option for warmth: a pair of heavy-duty, wool felt-lined, waterproof Sorrel’s. These boots are warm, pretty much impervious to any moisture, and they are at least a size and a half over my regular shoes, which allows for plenty of room for thick socks, even in layers. I even have room for chemical warmers in there when I need them.
These are them, on the left, along with the middle-tier hiking boots:
Das Boots
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Sounds great, right? And from a warmth and weatherproofness standard it is. The difficulty is that those Sorrels weigh approximately one metric ton (Seriously, they do weigh a lot - I don’t have a scale, but REI lists the weight for the modern version of these boots at 5lbs for the pair, with a fully synthetic liner. My boots are older, with a liner that is a wool blend, so I’ll bet they are slightly heavier). I’ve convinced myself over the years that this is okay - I am out there on the trike for exercise, right? A little heavy lifting on the pedals is just a bonus, right?
Right?
But if I’m being honest, the reality is that I sort of dread transitioning to the Sorrels. To avoid it, I tend to push myself out to colder temperatures in my hiking boots, trying to convince myself that toes being a little numb is good for the soul. More recently I’ve begun adding chemical warmers to the hiking boots to make them functional down to lower temperatures. This works to a degree, but it also starts to add-up costwise.
Which, ultimately, gets to the heart of the matter. Some of you, at this very moment (or possibly sooner) have already said to yourselves “why not just get warmer boots? You know, ones that don’t weight a metric ton…”.
I’m not completely dim - this has occurred to me as well. But I have an ongoing problem with my Cheapness Gene firing up at any point that I start to consider buying something that I already own a solution for. The Sorrels work, and I already have them, so I really shouldn't be out there shopping for other boots. Or at least that’s what the Gene says to me.
Thing is, once I’m at the point of applying a non-reusable item that also has a cost for every ride, the calculation starts to work out differently. A 40-count box of toe-warmers comes in at about $23 on Amazon. Depending upon the weather, these usually last about a season and a half for me. But when I realized it was time to order up some more of them a few weeks ago, my Cheapness Gene started to relent a bit.
I spent a little time on an obscure shopping website) from a company based in Seattle and, with a little bit of back and forth, landed on a pair of Rockmark Men’s Winter Snow Boots.
My key criteria for this was that they be warm, but also lightweight. The Amazon page indicated that they were good to either -25° or -30° F (both claims are made on the same page, so…), and multiple reviews referred to them as being lightweight. Of course, when they arrived I found that I’d ordered the wrong size, so I had to then go and order a second pair and prepare to send the first ones back. But once the second pair came in it was time to try them out:
Boots on Pedals
My initial impressions are very good so far. The pair of the Rockmarks are lighter than even one of the Sorrel boots (Amazon lists the pair at 2.43lbs) - in fact, they are comparable to, and maybe lighter than my hiking boots. They are fairly rigid, but give enough to allow for comfortable pedaling. And they are warm.
In fact, they are warmer than the Sorrels are. This was unexpected - I sort of thought that I’d have to keep the Sorrels in the cycling rotation for the very coldest of rides, but that’s not the case. I started out for the first couple of rides with the new boots outfitting them with the same types of socks I would have worn with the heavier boots, and my feet were actually a bit too warm. I’ve since started to dial back the socks, and with relatively thin (tho still wool - always wool) socks I’m finding myself perfectly comfortable in temperatures that would have previously required the thickest of stockings. All without the use of chemical warmers.
The weight difference is enough that I’m also seeing a real-world difference in performance. I don’t expect winter riding to be fast - it is always slower than the rest of the year. But in my first outing with the Rockmarks I managed to pull my best time ever on my Rocks 8 route:
It’s about time
(For reference, this is a route that is half-gravel and which, as a result, I only ride in the winter ).
So now I’m finding myself wondering why this all took me so long (stoopid Cheapness Gene). And all of these are initial impressions of course. It hasn’t been super-cold here yet since I got the new boots - in fact, it’s ranged from the low 20’s to the mid 40’s (F) for the rides I’ve taken over the week or so that I’ve had them. This morning, however, we have the mercury sitting at a solid 10°, with a projected high of 16°, so today’s ride should provide a bit more of a test.
An additional note to add here: I’m aware that there are other options to consider for one’s feet. In particular, I know a lot of folks like to use heated socks. I did look at these, but most of the decent options - e.g. rechargeable, etc - appeared to come in at a cost level not that far below the boots I ended up buying. And at the risk of an over share, my feet have a tendency to run on the… moist side. I’d likely need to wash them after every ride, so I’d be concerned that I’d wear them out relatively quickly. Hence: boots.