Irish Setter Shadowtrek 3859

I have been in need of winter boots for quite some time. After my last couple outtings my feet said, "We've had enough!" I was hoping to wait one more season before opening the wallet but I gave in.

I'm primarily going to use them for ice fishing and any photography/research trips I make where there will be cold temperatures and deep snow.

To test them out I went to Hoffmaster State Park for a couple hours. I took the tougher route to the lake to see how my feet would feel afterward. I spent a nice deal of time admiring the amazing scene at the shore. The waves were crashing against the ice, the wind was strong, and the temperature was about 18 degrees.

These boots fit everything I was looking for: affordable price (under $120), light weight, well constructed, waterproof, and of course, warm and comfortable.

They are amazingly light weight! At a mere 3lbs I hardly noticed that I was wearing them. This made trecking through the snow as easy as possible, without snowshoes. They're made of a nylon fabric rather than leather which drastically cuts down on the weight and, so far, doesn't appear to have any negative characteristics. According to their web site, the Shadowtrek's sole is specifically designed to be light weight and durable.

Speaking of durable, these were build to last! Every exposed seam is double stitched so I'm far less likely to run into the fabric coming apart. A nice section of thick rubber protects the toe area from any sort of abrasion I might get while walking through the wilderness.

Gore-Tex lining keeps the water away while still providing adaquite breathability. I stepped into some slushy, ice cold water. This would normally cause me to panic a bit but the Shadowtrek's Gore-Tex didn't flinch. When it came to the six inches of snow, I was totally free of worry. These can handle at least eight inches of the cold white stuff before they'll remotely think of letting any inside. On top of that, the footbed is woven with a wicking fabric, which, coupled with my wool socks and liner, helped keep my feet completely dry.

As I said, I walked for roughly 2 hours through 6 inches of snow. At no point did my feet ever feel the slightest bit cold. The 800 grams of Thinsulate Ultra provided the perfect amount of warmth. When it comes to comfort I was delightfully surprised.

This may sound like a sales pitch but it's hard to find a negative aspect of these boots. This may have something to do with me never really owning a good pair but I have owned some AWESOME shoes in my day and have those to compare to.

Along with the trip I described, I have worn these boots many times in various conditions, from simple driveway shoveling adventures to half day trecks in the woods. They are still as comfortable as the second time out... they did take that first trip to really break them in. And that's another thing... most leather footware takes a very long time to break in so I was very excited about the short period required by these boots.

If anything does come up on the negative side I'll be sure to post it here.

The most important lesson here is this: If your feet are telling you something, you should listen. That, or, seek professional help. However, they do say "let your feet do the talking."