I will be honest when I first received and wore the boots I had my druthers, the fit was good but they were probably some of the stiffest boots I’d ever tried on. The first day they actually made my legs sore, but I know that boots must sometimes be broke in and that takes a bit.
After a few days of wear, the boots were comfy and kept my feet very dry which is awesome because wet feet are a big pet peeve of mine. Out on the trail they proved to be light weight and they kept my feet warm, even with my thinnest Smartwool socks. I wore these boots with all of my snowshoes (from traditional long wooden snowshoes to small aluminum snowshoes) and had no problems. I wore them around town running errands, outside working, and walking.
The lowest temps I have worn the boots in have been around 18 – 20 degrees Fahrenheit. I liked the fact that when out snowshoeing especially during intense snowshoeing my feet did not get so warm that they started to sweat. Somehow this miraculous little boot kept my foot dry and comfy, woohoo rock on little boot that could! This boot (after the initial break in period) provided a nice fit, was definitely comfortable for my feet, kept my feet warm and dry, and was great to wear both on the trail and off. My thanks for Snowshoe Magazine and Colombia for the awesome boots and an opportunity to test them out.
Now for some info regarding the pics and trail. I tend to snowshoe off trails and in backcountry areas. On the particular day my pictures were taken I started from my front yard which is where I start many of my snowshoe journeys and continued on to a trail called Camp 4 road.
Camp 4 road is a seasonal trail located in Skandia, Michigan and is not plowed in the winter and is primarily used by snowmobilers. I snowshoe on average every other day with a minimum snowshoe outing of 2 miles if not more. I have worn the Bugatech boots on almost every snowshoe outing so far this winter and have had nothing but positive experiences with them. I would recommend these boots to others!
For more information on the Columbia Bugatech Lite Omni-Heat Boots, click here. To view Jennifer’s snowshoeing photos, click here.
