Comparative testing of 6 types of shoes for winter

Even during the construction of my house in the cold winter of 2013, I realized that there was no better felt boots. But repeatedly I saw people in frost below -20 degrees in boots, boots and even sneakers. And it would be fine if those who move from the car to the entrance or the store, but there were also those who went all day. And only now I matured to the test of various types of shoes: from felt boots to sneakers. Interesting continuation under the cut.

So, the decision is overdue, I scored different shoes, selected only the right side of each pair and decided to come up with a way to measure heat resistance. Perhaps one of the most important parameters for winter shoes is whether the owner freezes in it or not. But man is a warm-blooded creature and he constantly heats himself up. But how to determine how well the shoes keep warm?

Then it was decided to boil the chicken eggs, immediately wrap them in foil (solely so that the burst egg does not spoil the shoes) and lower it inside, instead of the foot. The shoes were at room temperature and above +20 degrees.

The egg itself was a temperature of 60 degrees.

Thus, we created a local heating, and then sealed the top of the shoe and placed a thermal sensor inside. Outside there was a screen with readings. It was decided to take a temperature reading every 20 minutes. All measurements were taken on the street. At this time, the temperature was -10 degrees Celsius.



The following shoes took part in the test:

1. Winter boots. Baffin Selkirk Representative
2. Boots from the made foam rubber (EVA) with a heater. Representative TORVI T -60 ° C
3. Felt boots. Representative ordinary unnamed valenki with rubber soles
4. Rubber boots with insulation. Representative Pskov-Polymer
5. Winter boots with fur. Representative Tervolina
6. Summer sneakers. Representative Quechua forclaz 500 helium

Observations and Results

name / time	0 minutes	20 minutes	40 minutes	60 minutes
Baffin selkirk	60 ° C	11.5 ° C	4.8 ° C	2 ° C
TORVIT -60 ° C	60 ° C	6 ° С	3.7 ° C	0.5 ° C
Boots with soles	60 ° C	8 ° С	4 ° C	-1 ° C
Tervolina Boots	60 ° C	4.7 ° C	2.9 ° C	-2 ° С
Quechua forclaz 500 helium sneakers	60 ° C	1 ° C	0 ° C	-3.7 ° C
Rubber boots Pskov-Polymer	60 ° C	1.8 ° C	-1.5 ° C	-4 ° C

It turned out that the shoes are so different that even summer sneakers can "beat" demi-season rubber boots. But what surprised me more was the fact that felt boots made of natural wool were lost to shoes made of artificial materials. But I will tell a little more about each shoe. I'll start from bad to good.

Rubber boots Pskov-Polymer

6 place
Price: 990 r
Extreme temperature: -5

Rubber boots are one of the favorite types of children's shoes, because they can walk in puddles. And certainly the best type of footwear for walking through the swampy forests for berries and mushrooms. The presented boots are produced by the Russian factory Pskov-Polymer and honestly work out their money in the spring, summer and autumn. But with frosts they freeze out instantly, even despite the insulated insulation. The surface area of ​​the boot and the heat transfer of the rubber is such that within half an hour the temperature inside has reached 0 degrees. And in the cold they dubeyut much.

Quechua forclaz 500 helium sneakers

5th place
Price: 3500 r
Limit temperature: 0

I have repeatedly seen that the choice of city dwellers, even in winter, is sneakers. Convenient, light and warm. But it is good only when you go from the doorway to the car and back. It is unlikely that you will be able to pass through slush or deep puddles as easily as it is done in rubber boots. It was all the more interesting that the sneakers turned out to be warmer than rubber boots.

Tervolina Boots

4th place
Price: 4500 r
Extreme temperature: -20

Normal winter city boots: leather on top and fur inside. In principle, for the urban winter of central Russia this shoe will be enough, but in Siberia, on a thin sole, the legs will freeze out pretty quickly. Actually, the test showed this approximately: the shoes did not keep the positive temperature inside even an hour.

Boots with soles

3rd place
Price: 1500 r
Extreme temperature: -120

When I was looking for a list of temperature limits for various types of shoes, I didn’t believe my eyes at first. But this is not a mistake: the lowest lower temperature for felt boots is -120 ° C. It is at this temperature that the wool becomes brittle and the boots begin to break, and before that the boots keep the feet warm very efficiently. True wetted boots very quickly lose their insulating properties and shape, so some models equip with rubber soles. Great shoes available and common.

TORVIT -60 ° C

2nd place
Price: 2100 r
Extreme temperature: -60


One more rubber boots in the review, but this time from the EVA material. Simplifying - it is foamed rubber that does not pass water and has good thermal insulation. Well, to make it even warmer and the foot is not rubbed when it comes into contact with rubber, there is a warmed liner. It is all the more interesting that the stated lower operating temperature limit for these boots is -60 ° C. At first I was surprised, but in the store where I saw these boots, they suggested that they take mostly fishermen and hunters: it’s not wet and not cold.

Baffin selkirk

1 place
Price: 15200r
Extreme temperature: -70

The second in frost resistance (limiting temperature), but the first in the comparative test are Baffin boots. The boot itself is also multi-layered: there is a nylon outside, a 7-layer liner inside, and a sole with rather aggressive hooks. The manufacturer promises that with active movement, the legs will not freeze even at a temperature of -60 ° C. Judging by the test, when the temperature in the shoes remained positive for an hour - this statement may be true. Honestly, I would not want to go where you can check this statement.

BONUS

Separately, outside the test, I decided to try electrically heated insoles. I have already met chemical thermal insoles more than once, which heat up as the reaction proceeds. As a rule, they are disposable, so I was interested in these insoles. I took Thermacell insoles of 41 sizes. They can be tailored to fit your shoes, cutting along the dotted line. They are charged through their adapter, and are controlled by the remote control via radio. Heating is in the front of the foot, where the fingers are often frozen. Two modes of heating 38 and 44 degrees is enough in any shoe to keep warm. The battery will last for 5 hours in Medium mode. In general, a very convenient and interesting thing, only the price bites (about 6500r) and they can not bend and drench.

Conclusion

All pairs of shoes are noteworthy and all of them are exploited in various conditions, although sometimes at the same time of the year. I can say that I was somewhat surprised by how quickly felt boots and how long the Baffin boots kept their temperature. Rubber boots Torvit from EVA material are also interesting, especially for fishermen on the ice, when there is often water under their feet. And I wish all readers not to be ill, to dress for the weather and not to forget warm shoes!