Sure! You can put on your hiking boots during the snow period. However, if your intention is to hike in an environment that constitutes more patches of snow everywhere, you should be considering a hiking boot explicitly created for a snow journey. You can easily get hiking boots specially used during the snow. Using them alongside gaiters and crampons will guarantee your boot waterproof and ensure a safer grip.
Snow can be regarded as ice-covered water. This simply means that, whenever the snow thaws, it turns into water. Snow has the ability to alter forms with variations in temperature. The alteration is quick and occurs constantly. For instance, on an early spring morning the snow might be iced up and the constancy of ice, by the afternoon the snow might have become partially melted, and by evening it turns back to ice again.
A correct and specially built winter hiking boots endure the whole days’ worth of situations. It would have been designed with insulation and grip for compacted snow and icy conditions. It is also integrated with waterproof to protect against slush and water.
Winter Hiking Boots
The major constituents of winter hiking boots are explained below;
Sturdiness
Winter hiking boots and rock climbing boots are weightier, harder, and provide the best adaptability in rough topography, whether compacted, loose, or slushy snow situations. You will be needing sturdy ankle support in winter for tracks where you are post-holing each pace or tracks that are packed down from utilization.
These hiking boots are being designed to have sturdy and protect the ankle. They are being built with sticky rubber soles with a lot of grip characteristics. You will find out the difference between your normal snow boot and a well-designed hiking boot. The snow boots are being designed not to have extra support and are not tough.
An additional benefit of plenty of ankle support is that the high ankle collar prevent snow from entering the boot. If snow should find its way into your boot, it dissolves and can make your socks to become wet. When you socks become hot, it lead to hot spot and painful pressure in your shoes. It might later become worse if the temperature are icy outside.
Waterproof
I am very certain that you will not want your feet to get wet during winter. This can be very inconvenient, as your feet will get, the winter temperatures will make them to become frozen. This might result to frost nip or become worse to frostbite. Frost nip can be regarded as a cold injury because of vasoconstriction and can cause numbness. Also, frostbite is an exposure to cold and can make the top layer of your skin and some tissues to freeze. Both frost nip and frostbite can be very painful and require recovery time.
There is a large gap between water repellant and waterproof i.e. the difference is enormous. The usage of water-repellant determines its durability, although they have a shorter life span and will lose its ability to repel water with time. Waterproof will completely lock out water. Sometimes, it does not allow the flow of air. However, materials such as Gore-Tex is completely waterproof but breathable.
Breathability is a great feature you should look out for in your winter hiking boot this is due to the fact that your feet naturally sweat as you walk making your feet wet. If your winter hiking boot has the breathability feature, the vapor will easily escape and make your feet dry all time.
Insulation
Your ability to be able to endure cold is being regarded as personal. It is extremely dependent on your level of activity, age, metabolism, weight, and conditions such as health, fitness, and appropriate layering. Consequently, hiking boots with insulators are rated for the diversity of temperature and have a varying thickness of insulation, it comes down to your own personal predilection.
Insulation can be designed with the hiking boot (built-in) or removable. Built-in are mostly designed of synthetic material or a down filling while removable are designed from synthetic material or felted wool. You can definitely see winter hiking boots of 200-gram to 800gram insulation. This is greatly dependent on the terrain you intend to hike and also you must ensure that you have the proper insulation for your hiking boots.
Winter Hiking Boot Features
Gusseted Tongue
This is an attribute you can found on most winter boots which emphasizes on the tongue of the boot being stitched completely closed on the sides in order not to allow moisture or snow from entering the boot through the under of the laces.
Reinforced Toe Cap
This is an additional protection to help prevent stomping snow, it will further secure your toe from stubbing. Also, your boot will be well-matched with crampons, microspikes and snowshoes which could destroy your boots if without the reinforced toe cap.
Removable Liners
These are really important for lengthier winter journeys should in case your boots become wet. You can easily bring out the liners for complete drying. However, some liners are not removable which will be very difficult to dry when they are wet. It is a total inconvenience to wear a frozen wet hiking boot the following morning.
Mid-Cut To High-Cut Boots
This will go long way to ensure that water and snow are prevented from entering your boots and also provide adequate ankle support when traveling during winter topography.
The weight of winter hiking boots is slightly heavier than regular hiking boots.
This added weight is responsible for the insulation, waterproofing, and material used in producing soles. You can get some winter hiking boots from the mall for more extreme backpackers and mountain climbers.
Additional Winter Boot Accessories
Thick Wool Socks
This item draws water and moisture away from the body. If you are the type that is susceptible to sweating, the wool will assist in circulating the water away from your feet via your socks and out your hiking shoes.
Gaiters
These are being produced in different lengths, either stopping at the top of the ankle to just below the knee. Many hiking boots are kit with a gaiter ring that permits it to affix the top of the boot. They are also built to have a double function as they are great during other seasons for protecting your boots from mud and for keeping out insects like mosquitoes and ticks.
Extra Traction
These days, hiking boots are designed with a lip on the toe and heel to have a crampon conveniently, microspike, or snowshoe bindings. You need to ensure you check on time to ensure your equipment is well-suited together.
Crampons
These are highly significant if your intention is to do rock climbing or winter hiking and backpacking. You having a well-suited hiking boots for affixing crampons is a wonderful characteristics to look out for in your proper winter hiking boots or rock climbing boots.
Microspikes
This assists with grip on frozen and packed-down snow on properly level topography. They attach effortlessly and swiftly to most hiking boots or rock climbing boots. It is known that MICROspikes have a lengthier and sharper grip than products such as YakTrax, which can only assist you in navigating snow when moving towards your vehicle or going for a morning trek.
Snowshoes
These are very important in hiking environments where you can found a lot of new, deep snow that are yet to be packed down. The concept is just to ensure walkability over the snow than sinking and having to post-hole to maneuver your way through the topography.
Waterproof Coating
Certain leather hiking boots or an older pair of boots will definitely take in moisture. The only solution to this problem is by waterproof coating as this will assist in repelling water. There are some very good brands for waterproof coating such as Nikwax, Rain and Stain, and Atsko Sno-Seal. Know that boot with synthetic waterproof will be pre-enhanced with the waterproof coating, however, you do not need to apply it instantly.
Top 4 Recommended Winter Hiking Boots
- Salomon Toundra Pro CSWP is designed by NASA for spaceflight. They are rated for -40F temperatures. Sturdy, comfortable, and plenty insulated.
- Merrell Moab 2 Mid Gore-Tex boot is built with synthetic leather and Vibram grip. The Gore-Tex membrane is waterproof and with high breathability.
- Baffin produces high-quality winter boots for hiking. There are several models for both male and female that each have the blend of the above characteristics you will want of a great winter hiking boot.
- Oboz’s Bridger Insulated has a supportive fit and 200g 3M Thinsulate of insulation with a sturdy and durable winterized rubber sole and snowshoe compatibility.
