Every year winter arrives colder than the last, and it pays to know that your footwear is up to the challenge of adverse weather. Attempting to traverse icy pavements in a pair of wellies can prove a slippery affair, and trudging through snow is no job for a pair of everyday trainers .
What you need is a pair of snow boots. But don’t let the name throw you off. While it’s true that the UK gets very little snow, Antarctic blizzards aren’t a prerequisite for wearing this type of footwear.
The term “snow boots” simply means any boots that are built with water-resistant (or fully waterproof) uppers, a grippy lugged outsole for traction and, sometimes, an added bit of insulation for protection against the cold. This could be anything from a pair of full-length, fleece-lined , rubberised duck boots to a simple commando-soled Chelsea boot.
With so much variation in styles, you may find it tricky to decipher the product descriptions and decide which pair of snow boots is going to be best for your individual needs. To help, we put some of the most popular boots to the test, covering a range of styles to suit all requirements.
From budget boots to investment footwear, scroll down to see which snow boots made it through to our final review.
How we tested men’s snow boots
Admittedly, it’s not easy to test snow boots in actual snow here in the UK due to its glaring absence. However, our tester in Northumberland is never short of cold, wet, muddy conditions to trudge around in.
If a boot is grippy enough to get some purchase on a muddy Cheviot hill path or a wet, cobbled street, then it will happily cope with whatever a British winter might throw our way. We wore each pair of boots extensively in typical seasonal conditions to see how they performed. We were looking for boots that offered a good mix of comfort, durability, warmth and grip, so those that couldn’t meet all of these requirements didn’t make the cut.
Value is also something we took into careful consideration. If a particular boot had a big price tag, it would need to be justified through durability, the quality of its materials and craftsmanship.
The best men’s snow boots for 2024 are:
- Best men’s snow boots overall – Sorel men’s caribou waterproof winter boots: £132, Amazon.co.uk
- Best budget snow boot – Trespass unisex’s dodo snow boots: £34.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best insulated snow boot – Danner Arctic 600 side-zip: £230, Danner.com
- Best luxury snow boot – R.M. Williams rigger commando boot: £499, Rmwilliams.com
Sorel men’s caribou waterproof winter boots
Trespass unisex’s dodo snow boots
Adidas terrex free hiker 2 Cold.Rdy
Red Wing roughneck moc toe work boots
Danner Arctic 600 side-zip
R.M. Williams rigger commando boot
Mountain Warehouse arctic thermal snow boots
Hoka kaha 2 Gore-Tex
The verdict: Snow boots
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