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Keep on being out – winter fix your boots

By on October 24, 2018

Now you can use your comfortable hiking boots during the winter as well. You don’t have to set aside your Meindl favorites during the cold Scandinavian winter season. There are simple ways to make them warmer and we are happy to share these tips.

It is mainly through the ground cooling (from the ground and up in the soles of the feet) that the biggest cooling occurs, the better the insulation from below, the better the adaptation for colder climate. Replace the regular inner sole with a wool sole, for example. Powerstep Journey Wool – a compact wool sole with an extra structure, and a nice and warm comfort.
Natural wool has the qualities to heat when it’s cold and cold when warm, giving the optimum material for varying climates. It is important that the wool sole is just compact for it to have the best warming function. If it is too soft and fluffy, the insulating air layers disappear in the structure.

Choose function socks in a mix of merino wool and synthetic that keeps your feet warm, comfortable dry and odorless. Synthetic material helps to move the moisture from the foot while the wool is warming even when it becomes moist. Just like the rest of the body, the feet need to be provided with the right material closest to the skin to keep warm, and depending on whether you are standing still or move you need more or less a proportion of wool. The more activity, the greater the proportion of synthesized to get a faster moisture transport.

Are you really frozen on your feet, there are several heat soles on the market, including the Digitsole Warm Series, where you control the heat with an app in the phone. Keep in mind that the sole builds a little more than other insoles so that they fit your boot. It is also important to set a heating level so you never get cold, ie a comfort heat that will never reach the stage where you start to freeze. If you set too high heat, the foot can emit more moisture, which will help you get wet and cold later. The purpose of a heating sole is to be comfortable longer outdoors.

Avoid getting snow in your boots by wearing gaiters. Snowline Gaiters gaiter protects the lower part of the pants as well as a part of shoe against snow, moisture, mud and snowy terrain that shoelace and hooks can get caught in. A perfect complement for longer walks in deep snow or during the mountain hike in the fall.

Do you feel that the boots are slippery on some surfaces, so there are really good spikes like Snowline Chainsen at different spikes heights, for perfect grip on both ice, packed snow and muddy terrain. It is also possible to roughen the outer soles with a sandpaper to bring back a more palpable surface, but spikes will help best on a really slippery surface.

Be sure to remove the boots when you get in. As you strains yourself outdoors, your entire body becomes warm – even your feet. It is important to ventilate warm, damp air from the foot before going out again. Change to dry socks and you can be out for a longer time!

Boots that are better suited for winter use are models within Meindl’s categories A / B and B (eg Vacuum models) where the sole is slightly softer. Choose models with space for at least two pairs of socks and extra air as the air insulates and heats.
Meindl also has several clean winter models in the assortment, such as the Narvik GTX news and the classic Sölden classics, designed for cooler climate, as well as the modern city shoe, including the Vancouver GTX all-round boot with replaceable inner sole of genuine lambskins.

Helena Olofsson, Gadgets
MyGuide2Stockholm