Best Winter & Snow Boots for Women

Shopping around for the best women’s winter boots? We did the research and testing for you. We evaluated 50 models and tested the top 8 side-by-side. We spent a season traipsing through snow drifts and splashing through slush in the wintery outdoors to find out which models will keep your toes warm and dry, gain purchase on slippery sidewalks, and look great around town. This review is a comprehensive resource for women looking for the best winter boots, whether you’re planning on braving severe weather, want the best performance-to-price ratio, or simply desire premium all-around protection.

Best Winter Boot for Women: The North Face Shellista II Mid

Our best pick is the versatile North Face Shellista II Mid. These boots provide excellent traction and weather protection in all kinds of winter conditions — we loved the beautiful waterproof NuBuck leather shaft and rubberized outsole for its looks and performance. We stuck to slippery rocks and sidewalks easily with the temperature-sensitive, pliable lugs. As for comfort, we can’t emphasize enough the positive feeling of slipping inside the soft interior lining. At a decent price of $140, this boot combines comfort, performance, and style better than any other model. Not limited to urban use, this model also functions as a light hiker when the snow isn’t too high. If you’re looking for the best of all worlds, the North Face Shellista II Mid is where it’s at!

Best Value: Kamik Momentum

Kamik Momentum

  • Cozy
  • Affordable
  • Good traction
  • Warm
  • Style

It’s great how such an inexpensive boot would keep our feet so happy! The Momentum is by far the least expensive and highest performing boot in our review, deserving our best value pick.

Let’s start out with our favorite things about this model: it has a super touchable liner that provides warmth and envelops the foot in comfort. It also offers plenty of warmth, great traction, and is super easy to pull on and take off thanks to its cinch cord closure system.

That said, this model does not offer the most water resistance (it flooded in three inches of water) and due to its plush lining, it is also very slow to dry. The other thing that we didn’t love about this boot is that it looks like a little kid snow boot. We’d never wore it out to dinner with friends, but it was the ideal option for casual errands around town, a quick trip out on a dog walk, or stints shoveling snow. If you don’t mind the lack of style and are just looking for a warm, multi-purpose snow boot, the Kamik Momentum is an unbelievable deal!

Best Boots for Severe Weather: Sorel Joan of Arctic

The Sorel Joan of Arctic is a warm, stylish, highly waterproof boot that kept our tester’s feet comfortable down into the double negative degrees. This model is ideal for women who live in super cold climates and are looking for footwear that they can wear either for outdoor chores like shoveling snow or walking around town on frigid days. Although it is super warm, it’s very heavy, clunky, and not the most comfortable. It is also the only product in our review with a removable liner, which is a stellar performance feature for those who need to wear this boot day in and day out. Outside its performance, the Joan of Arctic is stylish enough to wear out to dinner with friends and was actually several of our testers’ favorite stylish boot. When you leave the restaurant or store, this boot will definitely keep you warm and dry on your walk back to the car, but it is not suitable for activities like hiking, where mobility and light weight are key. Overall, we loved the Joan of Arctic when the conditions called for it, but given how low it scored in our comfort metric, we don’t recommend this boot unless you’ll be facing frigid temps and severe snowstorms.

Best for Winter Hiking: Vasque Pow Pow III UltraDry

Vasque Pow Pow III UltraDry

  • Warm
  • Comfortable and supportive
  • Good traction
  • Great long term weather protection
  • Gaiter-compatible

One of our favorite boots in this review was the Vasque Pow Pow III Ultradry. This incredibly comfortable and supportive winter hiking boot took us on snowy trails, across frozen creeks, and to work in the snow and slush. Although this boot has a techy look that was voted our least stylish, it truly excels in all other metrics. Most notably, we loved how warm it was given that it’s significantly less bulky than the Sorel Joan of Arctic. The Pow Pow II Ultradry has 400 grams of Thinsulate insulation and keeps our toes surprisingly warm, especially when we were moving. This contender breathes well, making it a perfect winter hiking compadre. This boot is surprisingly water-resistant, keeping your feet dry in puddles up to eight inches deep. That said, without a nifty set of gaiters, it doesn’t provide as much protection from tall snow drifts. So if you’re looking for a boot that will move with you while keeping your feet warm and dry – this is the best option!

Best Winter Boots – Table of Content

Choosing the Best Winter Boots for Your Needs

A great boot will hold up to all the elements that winter throws at us. We had the chance to test these boots in sub-zero temperatures that left our feet either toasty or tingling with numbness.

While proper footwear is critical for technical activities, it’s also just as important for everyday life throughout the winter. We hiked on cold winter days that reached temperatures below zero and walked to work each day on snowy, icy roads. We tested them in winter and rainstorms, and we wore them out to dinner on icy evenings. Some of these boots gave us a whole new appreciation for winter, while others left our toes a little numb.

We also determined which boots were best for specific activities. We did this by ranking each product in this review according to warmth, weather protection, grip & traction, comfort & coziness, style, and ease to take on and off. Below you’ll find each metric with a short description of how we tested and a summary of our results. In addition, we’ll provide suggestions to help you with your purchasing decisions along the way!

How warm are the boots?

If you try to get out and enjoy the wintry wilderness and your toes aren’t warm, it’s just hard to be happy. When taking into account warmth as a metric, we considered two things. The first was the standing warmth of the boot. The second was the active warmth of the boot. Our testing took place in a small valley town called Ridgway, CO.

The cold air from the local reservoir and surrounding mountains settle here in the morning, making it about 20 degrees colder than any other town in the area. Most of our cold-weather testing took place in the early mornings before the sun came up while walking to school. During our testing period, we experienced temperatures that ranged from -15F to 40F.

To test the standing warmth of the boot, we evaluated the thickness of the midsole and outsole, and performed the ‘slush test’. During a cold winter day, we filled up a recycling bin with water, ice, and snow, and submerged our feet for seven minutes. We did this with different boots on each foot. This helped us determine the standing warmth of the boot. To evaluate active warmth, we walked to school (about one mile) every chilly morning. During these tests, we were able to determine which boot performed better than others.

The thicker sole typically provides more insulation from the cold then a thin one. For example, the Vasque Pow Pow II Ultradry is one of the warmest contenders due to its fantabulous insulation and thick sole.

In the end, we learned a few things about warmth. The boots with the best warmth have a taller shaft, thicker outsole, and a good level of insulation. Our Top Pick for Severe Weather, the Sorel Joan of Arctic is our go-to Pac boot for nasty weather. The tall shaft, coupled with a 6mm felt removable liner and thick outsole keeps toes warm in cold weather. Though, if you’re in need of an active boot that offers a similar level of warmth and more breathability to boot, the Vasque Pow Pow II Ultra Dry is perfect. We wore both boots in temperatures that dropped to -15F, and our feet were fine after walking around for two-three hours.

The Kamik Momentum is an affordable warmth option that also keeps feet warm all day. The super thick sole insulates and keeps feet protected while in dry snow. However, what we weren’t too fond of was its lack of water resistance. The upper is nylon that, if in wet snow or slushy conditions, can get saturated easily. That said, this Best Buy award winner is truly best for cold, dry days where you don’t plan on hiking or being too active.

Weather Protection

From snow to slush, to the dreaded “wintry mix,” winter can bring all sorts of unpleasant precipitation; however, with the proper footwear, you’ll be dreaming of snow angels in no time! Its no wonder this was the most important metric in this review. Whether you’re walking to work or hiking in the backcountry, it’s nice to have a boot that won’t leak, keeping your socks (and feet) nice and cozy.

When considering weather protection, we looked at things. First, the boot’s shaft height. This helped us determine the highest winter drift a boot could brave. Second, water resistance. Third, the height at which the boot leaked (if at all). We carried out a series of water resistance tests that measured how deep of a puddle each boot could handle. First, we took our boots to the bathtub where we submerged them until they leaked. We noted this point and recorded it as our ‘maximum puddle depth’. In addition, we took each boot down to the river to see if this depth was actually true. Lastly, we simply walked around town and stomped around in puddles to truly ‘field test’ each booth. In the end, we learned that most well-constructed boots flooded at the point where the tongue meets the shaft, where-as boots with poor construction quickly flooded at the seams.

In our slush bucket tests, we compared each boot to another by sloshing around in an ice-water-snow mix. We learned that some boots insulated better than others. Here we test the Sorel Joan of Arctic and the North Face Shellista Mid II. Even though the Shellista put up a good fight it was not a match for our Best Choice for Severe Weather.
In our slush bucket tests, we compared each boot to another by sloshing around in an ice-water-snow mix. We learned that some boots insulated better than others. Here we test the Sorel Joan of Arctic and the North Face Shellista Mid II. Even though the Shellista put up a good fight it was not a match for our Best Choice for Severe Weather.

Buyer Beware: We were surprised to learn that many products that claimed to be waterproof, were only water resistant (at best!). Many of these products are waterproof until the water level rises over the rubber outsole – no higher. So when purchasing, make sure you look at the materials of the uppers. Don’t trust company claims, even if ‘waterproof’ is in the name.

Every product has a distinct “flood level”. However, many models also had a “slow leak” level. When we left our feet in the water for several minutes, we noticed spots that slowly let in moisture. Keep in mind, however, that water seeps into boots very differently than snow.

In order for your feet to get wet when it’s snowy out, you have to be out for a significantly longer period of time, or when it’s fairly wet. If the snow in your area is really dry and fluffy, boots that seeped in our tests may not seep at all in your part of the world. Unless you are planning to ford a creek or brave a gushing gutter, the flood level might not be that important to you.

Most boots typically leak where the tongue meets the shaft of the boot as pictured here. However some boots like the Northside Kathmandu leak prior to this point as a result of shotty craftsmanship and non-sealed seams.

If you’re looking for the creme de la creme of winter boots and weather protection, the Sorel Joan of Arctic outcompetes the rest! It features the tallest shaft height, with a tongue that attaches high up on the shaft protecting against tall snow drifts and gushing gutters. It can withstand raging rivers and puddles with depths up to 10 inches and snow drifts up to 13 inches! This was our automatic go-to when we got two feet of powder.

On the other end of the spectrum are the boots that didn’t perform too well in this metric. The Columbia Minx-Mid II didn’t score highly because of its lightweight construction that became easy saturated. Our feet were soaked in just 2.5 inches of water in our water tests, even though Columbia claims the boot to be totally waterproof – it’s even written on the side. It did, however, do well in both dry and wet snowpacks, staying dry and protecting against snowdrifts 11 inches high. The same issue occurred for the Northside Kathmandu. While it did well in snow, it leaked readily in just three inches of water, through the poorly crafted seams of the boot. That said, it is a great option for simple snow days – but not icy or slushy conditions.

Comfort & Coziness

Winter boots that are comfy and cozy just make life that much better. Although some might think of coziness as a luxury, when you’re investing in new cold weather footwear, coziness starts to seem far more important. We considered how supportive and comfortable each competitor’s footbed was and we compared each one’s interior lining. To do this, we examined the liners and put our feet into each boot without socks. After driving a car in all the contenders, we also noted which ones were most uncomfortable to drive in (the Sorel Tofino II) and which ones we never even noticed while wearing, The North Face Shellista II Mid.

Another factor that greatly affects comfort is how heavy and bulky the boot is. When you’re carrying four extra pounds on your feet, you’re going to be much less comfortable than if you’re only carrying two extra pounds. Boots like the Sorel Tofino II and Columbia Minx-Mid II are comfortable to wear all day, thanks to their lightweight designs.

We learned that some of the comfiest boots feature a fuzzy and supportive footbed, with a furry or insulated liner. Boots like the Ugg Adirondack II were at the top of the list. We fell in love with its sheepskin-lined insole that made wearing these boots feel like walking on clouds! So, if you’re in the market for the best in cozy comfort, this is a great choice! We also loved the versatility of this boot. It features a cuff that can be flipped up or down to go from a short to tall boot!

The interior is lined with plush sheepskin fur that keeps your feet cozy and warm. Here we get ready for our river tests while examining the interior of the boot.

Another boot that scored well in this metric is our Editors’ Choice winner, The North Face Shellista II Mid. Although it doesn’t feature the plush interior like the UGG Adirondack, we were really impressed with its well-supported footbed that almost feels like memory foam! We also liked the support it provides throughout the shoe/ Unlike floppier and bulkier boots like the Sorel Joan of Arctic and Kamik Momentum, its fit stands out as streamlined and comfortable. It also features a lightweight design, that makes it feel like you’re not wearing it at all! It’s a perfect around-town boot that is comfortable while driving, walking, and hanging out at the coffee shop.

While we love the Sorel Tofino II’s nifty style, lightweight design, and streamlined fit, we noticed that it has a bit of a design flaw that toppled this shoes comfort rating from the original Tofino. The frame of the boot is rigid and pinches into the back of the leg just above the ankle. While wearing thin socks, many of our testers mentioned this as a big demerit in the design of this winter boots. That said, while wearing thick socks, this wasn’t a problem. So if you plan to purchase this boot, make sure you size them appropriately for a thicker sock.

Grip & Traction

Winter can bring icy sidewalks and snowy trails, so it’s important to know that you won’t end up wiping out every time you hit a patch of ice. We studied each model’s outsole by measuring the depth of the tread and the pattern. In addition, we took to the mountains for an afternoon and carved out a slippery trail along a hillside to test each boot’s traction side-by-side. For each test, we wore a different boot on each foot; we then walked, hiked, and ran up the hillside. After all that, we came to some important conclusions about grip.

Even though all the winter boots tested provided some level of traction on the snow, no winter boot can protect completely against super icy conditions. If you find yourself looking at shiny sidewalks with an icy lustre, reach for a pair of YakTrax. This mini metal harness fits around the boot, providing extra traction and with a non-slip guarantee in icy conditions.

A look at all our contenders and a comparison of thier lugs patterns. We found that deep sticky lugs did the best for all sorts of slippery surfaces. That said none performed well on ultra-icy surfaces so we recommend supplementing your winter gear list with a pair of YakTrax to prevent unexpected slips and falls.

Depending on what you’re using your winter boots for, there are different levels of traction requirements. If you plan on winter hiking, check out a boot that features a soft rubber and a deep lug. A boot like the Vasque Pow Pow II Ultradry is our highest traction contender. It features wide, deep lugs, that adhere to both snow and rocky trails. The softer rubber sticks to slippery surfaces, while the deep lugs grip the snow better. Even though the Kamik Momentum is not a winter hiking boot, it features the deepest tread of all the boots reviewed. That said, the lug rubber isn’t that soft, so it slips easily off rocks. As a result, it’s not a great hiking boot, but it is a wonderful around-town or work boot for those that need some traction in town.

A comparative look at the lug depth of our highest rated boots for traction. The Vasque Pow Pow II (in the middle) offers a very deep and technical lug design while the North Face Shellista Mid II shows off a more closely spaced design. The Kamik Momentum also had large lugs like the Pow Pow II Ultradry but it lost a few points as the rubber wasn’t as nearly as stick as the Shellista and Pow Pow boots.

The North Face Shellista II Mid is another boot with great traction, and it offers a little style to boot. In comparison to the Columbia Minx-Mid II, The North Face lugs are closer together, with a variety of designs to prevent slippage in many directions. The Columbia Minx-Mid II features a star-shaped lug that is spaced far apart. A nice addition to preventing sticky snow from building up on the bottom of the boot.

A look at our lug-less competitors! The Sorel Tofino II (middle) features the deepest rubberized sole thus providing the best traction on the snow of these faux-fur options. Next in line is the Sorel Joan of Arctic (left), followed by the Northside Kathmandu, that performed the worst in our traction tests.

On the other side of the spectrum are rubber-soled boots that don’t feature distinct tread patterns, but ‘waves’ instead. The Sorels (Arctic and Tofino) and Northside Kathmandu fall into this category. Of the three, the stylish Sorel Tofino II’s proved to provide the most traction on our hill-running tests. When comparing the tread designs we noticed that its tread was much deeper than the other two. The Sorel Joan of Arctic was also decent, but we found ourselves slipping around on icy patches more often than not. Of all the contenders, the Northside Kathmandu proved to provide the worst traction of them all. This is due to the ‘lugless’ design that isn’t deep nor sticky. In general, we found ourself slipping and skating on snow-ice patches that all other contenders had no problem sticking too.

A look at the lugs of all competitors. From top left down: Vasque Pow Pow II Ultradry, The North Face Shellista II Mid, Sorel Tofino II, Ugg Adirondack II. From top right down: Kamik Momentum, the Columbia Minx-Mid II, Sorel Joan of Arctic, Northside Kathmandu.

Style

We often take style into consideration when rating women’s clothing, but in this review, we weighted the style metric a little more heavily than usual. Footwear plays a key role a person’s overall look and generally, it’s not something like a jacket or coat that you take off once you get to your destination. On cold or wet winter days, you may have your boots on all day long, so it’s important that they match your personal style. We all know that if you don’t like the way your boots look, you probably won’t be happy with them, especially if you’re wearing them on an everyday basis.

 

The winter boots in this review ranged significantly in style…from the techy Vasque hiker to the tall faux fur Northside Kathmandu, to the streamlined, yet floppy, Columbia Minx-Mid II. Our best boot pick, The North Face Shellista II Mid has a wingtip outsole. It’s a great option for those looking for a boot that doesn’t feature faux fur and looks clean and ‘mountain-chic’. According to our survey, this was a top choice, alongside the Sorel Tofino II. If you’re into faux fur, this is a great option! It has a conservative faux fur liner and patterned canvas upper, with many great color options. When reading each individual review, be sure to consider whether there are aspects of a certain model that might keep you from wanting to wear it on an everyday basis.

Another aspect to think about is whether you typically tuck your pants into your boots or not. There are some practical reasons to tuck your pants in; for example, if it’s snowy or wet out, the bottoms of your jeans will stay dry. It’s also currently on trend to tuck your pants in – and it’s pretty much your only option if you’re wearing skinny jeans. That said, the tucked in look isn’t for everyone and it can also be difficult to pull off if you like wearing more flared pants and have a penchant for short boots. It is inherently harder to tuck wider-legged pants into short boots.

Similarly, it is impossible to wear tighter pants over the top of boots with thick fur cuffs. So, be sure to think about what types of pants you own and whether you want to primarily tuck in or not. This was one reason we loved the UGG Adirondack II. This winter boot has a cuffable suede shaft that can be worn up or down, making it a bit more versatile.

How Easy Is it to Take On & Off?

To evaluate this metric, we looked at a few key factors that contribute to how ease a boot is to take on and off. We looked at the lacing system and whether or not we could simply slide your foot in and out of the boot. To test this, we first loosened the laces of each boot. Then we tried to put the boot on without using our hands. Finally, we tried to take the boots off without using our hands. We preferred boots with a simple one-pull cinch lacing system.

If you’re looking for the easiest, kick your boots off at the door boot, the Kamik Momentum wins hands down. It features a quick-pull cord cinch system elastic pull lace system with a wide opening that allows you to slip your boot on and off with ease. The inner liner is slick so it doesn’t catch on socks, nor does it bunch up. Similar to the Kamik, both The North Face Shellista II Mid and Sorel Tofino II have a rigid upper that doesn’t bend or twist when putting your foot in the boot. However, both have regular lace up systems that take a little more time to put on properly.

Even though the lacing system of the Sorel Tofino II isn’t a true one-pull system, it functions like it most of the time. The D-ring eyelets and laces lack friction, so the laces pull easily and consistently throughout the shaft of the boot.

The Northside Kathmandu originally scored high in this metric, but after a few tests, we learned that the insole bunched and balled when taking socks in and out of the boot. Even with its rigid upper, wide opening, and simplistic lacing system, it learned a much lower score. In the end, we ended up taking the insoles out completely, and just settling for the boot without the insole. In this setup, we felt like the boot was exceptionally easy to take on and off, but we had to eliminate a component of the boot to get there.

Here we observe that the The North Face Shellista does NOT feature a ‘one-pull’ lacing system. As a result, it didn’t earn the highest points in this category because getting a precise fit takes a little extra time then other competitors.

On the other side of things, the Columbia Minx-Mid II scored the lowest in this category. This is because the shaft of the boot is made of a floppy material. Even though this boot has an awesome one-pull cinch system and they’re relatively easy to take off, it’s not possible to put this boot on without using your hands. The Sorel Joan of Arctic is similar in design, but we found that they were harder to take off than to put on. However, as long as we adjusted the lacing to be pretty loose, we could still take them on and off with relative ease.

Taking a boot on and off can either be a challenge or fairly easy! For example, the Columbia Minx-Mid II is super simple to take on and lace up, but its nearly impossible to put it on without the use of your hands due to its flimsy upper.

Conclusion

Looking for fun around town? Make sure to purchase a pair of boots that will keep your feet warm and cozy so you can do anything you please in the fluffy white stuff!

Owning a great pair of boots can significantly improve your winter. Proper footwear is important for outdoor activities, as well as everyday life in the sometimes grueling winter season. With factors ranging from warmth, comfort, protection from the elements, and even fashion, we have tested it all in hopes of helping you find the perfect boot for your needs.

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