EST
Winter weather can be challenging. There might be blizzards, a lot of snow and dry weather or even sleet, rain and very wet conditions. Which boots are the best for mild urban winters and which fit very snowy, cold or wet conditions? We have some great options for both! You can find formal boots and hiking boots in our big list of winter boots for this season.
Let’s start from the beginning – first, you need to measure for feet – both length and width. Read more here:
You can’t measure your instep. Instep can be low, medium or high. You can make sure if the instep is low, medium or high by trying on shoes. For example, if you struggle to find fastening on shoes, that is roomy enough (laces or straps are long enough), then you might be dealing with a very high instep. Or if when you tie the laces and there is visibly a lot of extra room on the top of the shoe, then the feet are shallow (low instep).
Table of contents:
Urban boots
Narrow and medium width feet
Very light boots for mild urban winters that provide a true barefoot experience! If you need to wear those in cold, then buy the extra insoles, too. These boots don’t fit wet conditions.
- Width: narrow to medium
- Instep: medium
- EU sizes: 36-47
- Uppers: 65% polyamid, 35% polyretan
- Lining: 80% lamb wool, 20% poly + nonvisible layer – 100% cotton
- Insole: 80% lamb wool, 20% poly – NB! for cold weather conditions you need to add an extra insole, e.g. wool felt or thermo & wool
- Outsole: 100% LIFOLIT®
- Fastening: laces
Comfortable and light boots that have zippers on the sides in addition to laces. This makes it very quick and easy to put on these boots!
- Width: narrow and medium
- Instep: low and medium
- EU sizes: 45.5-47
- Uppers: high quality smooth leather
- Lining: microfleece
- Insole: removable 4 mm insole with little cushioning and a wool layer
- Outsoles: 6 mm Vibram® Terrain with great grip
- Fastening: laces and zippers
Water-repellent leather boots with warm lining that keep your feet warm and dry.
- Width: narrow and medium
- Instep: low and medium
- EU sizes: 36-44
- Uppers: soft leather
- Lining: thermal fleece
- Insole: removable 4 mm insole with little cushioning and a wool layer
- Outsoles: 6 mm Vibram® Terrain with great grip
- Fastening: laces
Modern and feet-friendly boots with water-repellent uppers and felt lining. You can wear those from late autumn to early spring! These boots have a thinner type of lining, which is preferred by people who usually drive on their daily commute and don’t have to stand in one place on the cold ground.
- Width: narrow and medium
- Instep: medium
- EU sizes: 36-42.5
- Colours: Gray & Black
- Uppers: high quality water-repellent suede
- Lining: felt
- Insoles: 4 mm Joe Nimble Bioactive removable insole finished with moisture-absorbing and antibacterial material to keep the shoes odorless
- Outsoles: 6mm Vibram terrain soles
- Fastening: slip-on
leguanos are the most comfortable shoes you have ever worn – so are these winter boots!
- Width: narrow and medium (and wider)
- Instep: low to medium
- EU sizes: 36-46
- Colours: Brown, Black
- Uppers: water repellent and breathable Polyurethane.
- Lining: soft polyester
- Insoles: no removable insole. Inner sole is covered with lining material. Additional insoles are recommended for very cold weather.
- Outsoles: 100% LIFOLIT, very flexible
- Fastening: laces
Medium and wide feet
Mika high boots are so easy to put on – they can be fit snuggly with laces and used daily with zippers. The boots have a very clever Xero Shoes lacing system where you can tighten the laces around the heels and make these boots a good choice for people with narrow heels.
- Width: medium
- Instep: low to high
- EU sizes: 35.5-41.5
- Colours: Chocolate Plum and Black
- Uppers: water-repellent textile
- Lining: soft flanel with 70/30 poly/wool blend collar
- Insole: thermo insoles that are heat-reflecting and warming
- Outsole: High-traction FeelTrue® rubber
- Fastening: laces and zipper
Mukishoes Igneous winter boots are handmade of chrome free leather. The inner lining is soft natural wool, which has good insulating properties. The shoes have very flexible soles and a spacious toe part, which allows the foot to move freely and naturally when walking.
- Width: medium and wider
- Instep: medium to high
- EU sizes: 38-44
- Colours: Black
- Uppers: chrome free leather
- Lining: natural wool
- Outsole: 100% natural rubber
- Fastening: zippers and laces
High-quality winter boots with lamb wool lining that have both glued and sewn outsoles, that make these long-lasting. If you do not need so warm boots, you might prefer Peerko 2.0 Go.
Autumn-winter boots that are easy to put on thanks to zippers and laces. If you have a very high instep, then these boots might be a bit too tight. Insoles are removable and if you plan to wear these in cold conditions, then we suggest you change the original insole for thick wool felt insoles or thermo-wool insoles.
Be Lenka Winter 2.0 is a new development from previous model Winter. The difference between the old and new is the new sole which is made on the new Be Lenka last. The 2.0 version has a rugged sole and the toe box shape differs from Be Lenka summerish models (Icon, City, but also Nord and Sierra).
- Width: medium and wider
- Instep: low and medium
- EU sizes: 36-46
- Colours: Black
- Uppers: smooth leather
- Lining: merino wool with waterproof membrane
- Outsoles: 4mm base, plus lugs
- Fastening: laces
Water-repellent leather boots with warm lining. These are not made for very wet conditions but fit dry and cold weather well.
Comfortable unisex winter boots that have a thick warm lining (lining thicker than in Yepa).
- Width: medium and wide
- Instep: low and medium
- EU sizes: 37-48
- Uppers: water-repellent leather
- Lining: wool
- Outsoles: 6mm rubber
- Fastening: laces
Regina is the new tall boot for women from Peerko. Boots are slightly insulated, ideally worn as an urban lifestyle boot during winter.
- Width: medium and wider
- Instep: medium
- EU sizes: 37-44
- Colours: Noir and Brun
- Uppers: nubuck leather, heel part is from smooth leather and the rear-facing highboot is from a stretchy rubber textile
- Lining: felt covering most of the inside, except from the stretchy rear part
- Outsoles: 3.5 mm thermoplastic rubber, with 1.5 mm profile
- Fastening: zippers
Empire is a foot-friendly alternative to popular tank boots. Laces from bottom to top and a zipper on the inner side of the boot. Laces make these boots suitable for a wide range of foot types.
Be Lenka Sierra boots are a new version based on the old Be Lenka Winter Long boots. Sierra looks and fits much better. If you have thicker shins then there are rubber bands on top of the shins to give a better fit.
In addition to the boots we described above, we have some last pairs of good urban boots as well: Larissa Cognac, Sole Runner Atlas Black, Groundies Manchester, Groundies Astana, Mukishoes Raw Leather.
Hiking boots
Lems Boulder Boot (waterproof)
Boulder Boots are a great fit for adventurous people in demanding conditions. These are some of the lightest hiking boots there are! A classical look makes these boots a good fit for both urban and wild surroundings.
Alpine Black are warm and waterproof winter boots. Boots are made of vegan materials and the bottom of the boot has a membrane to ensure waterproofing. The inner lining is insulated and the boots have removable thermal insoles to ensure warmth.
- Width: medium and wide
- Instep: medium and high
- EU sizes: 39.5-48
- Colours: Black men and Black Women
- Uppers: Vegan friendly textile
- Lining: waterproof membrane, 200g insulation, rated to -25°/-32°C
- Insoles: removable thermal soles
- Outsoles: rubber 5.5mm FeelTrue®
- Fastening: laces
- Vegan!
Hand-made from quality oiled nubuck leather that prevents water stains, the warm fleece lining provides excellent insulation. The 4mm antislip rubber lug outsole provides excellent protection and grip while walking on various surfaces. The protective membrane gives the shoes its waterproofing capabilities and keeps feet warm and dry.
- Width: medium and wide
- Instep: medium
- EU sizes: 36-47
- Uppers: nubuck leather
- Lining: fleece
- Outsoles: 4mm TPU rubber
- Fastening: laces
Freet Tundra is a higher boot than Mudee. These vegan boots are good for occasional long hikes or daily use. The uppers are made from a special microfibre that feels and looks like leather but is fully vegan and makes care and maintenance of the boots very easy.
- Width: medium and wide
- Instep: low to high
- EU sizes: 37-48
- Uppers: Premium synthetic microfibre
- Lining: well-breathing and water-repllent
- Insoles: 3mm removable ConnectComfort Ortholite
- Outsoles: HillGrip Grip with 4mm deep lugs
- Fastening: laces
- Vegan!
Freet Mudee boots are well-breathing and waterproof. Uppers are made from a microfibre that is vegan, very durable and easy to take of. These boots have proven to keep feet warm and dry in very wet and demanding conditions.
- Width: medium and wide
- Instep: low to high
- EU sizes: 37-48
- Colours: Brown and Black
- Uppers: waterproof and durable microfiber
- Lining: waterproof and well-breathing
- Insoles: ConnectComfort removable 2.5/3mm OrthoLite
- Outsoless: MultiGrip2 performance outsole that are good in slippery conditions
- Fastening: laces
- Vegan!
The thin lining makes these boots a good fit for mild weather and people who have very warm feet. But if you do get cold in these boots, you can add thick felted wool or Thermo warm insoles.
- Width: narrow and medium
- Instep: low and medium
- EU sizes: 38-47
- Uppers: high quality waxed smooth leather
- Lining: soft leather
- Insoles: removable 4 mm foam insoles covered with textilethat helps to keep the shoes odorless
- Outsoles: Vibram 6mm Terrain with great grip
- Fastening: laces
These boots are good on both hiking trails for autumn and spring but also a winter boot for mild conditions. These boots don’t have a furry lining, but you can add felt wool or Thermo Warm insoles. The toe-boxes are covered with rubber that makes these long-lasting.
- Width: narrow and medium
- Instep: low and medium
- EU sizes: 41-45
- Uppers: hydrophobic nappa leather
- Lining: textile
- Insoles: removable Joe Nimble Bioactive Footbed (4mm) with antibacterial finish to keep the shoes odorless
- Outsoles: Vibram 6mm Terrain
- Fastening: laces
Feelmax Kuuva 5 is a decent high hiking boot that can be worn with a lot of snow. When using these boots in cold temperatures we suggest using Felt Wool or Thermo Warm insoles instead of the original ones. These boots are very roomy and can fit a pair of warm and thick socks if needed. Feelmax has said that these boots stay dry in wet conditions for 4 hours.
- Width: medium to wider
- Instep: medium and high
- EU sizes (last pairs!): 44, 46, 48
- Uppers: leather and textile
- Lining: textile and SympaTex ® waterproof membrane
- Outsoles: Feelmax 2,5mm rubber soles
