The Best Winter Boots

We researched and tested designs intended for light outdoor activity in places that are cold enough to see snow. That means shoveling the driveway, walking an outdoor mall in the winter, or getting from your car to the office. We tested for functionality, not style.

• This guide does not cover winter work boots or extreme-cold boots, which are heavily insulated to keep feet warm for long periods of time and sometimes have features like reinforced toe caps or electrical hazard protection.
• A few winter hiking boots made it into the test pool since hiking boots are built for walking, albeit on trails, and that has some crossover appeal. But winter hiking boots have more-sophisticated lacing than boots made for in-town use, and the shaft height (how far the boot comes up your leg) is shorter, usually 5 to 7 inches. But overall, walking on trails and walking on pavement are different, so we didn’t test a lot of these options.
• We didn’t test winter shoes, which are insulated shoes (ankle-height or shorter) that have water-resistant exteriors (instead of being waterproof) and are best for city and suburb walking in wet and cold weather.
• We didn’t test mukluks because what they’re good at is so specific. (A mukluk is a soft-sided, often knee-high animal-skin boot originally worn by the aboriginal tribes of the Arctic, especially when hunting and dog-sledding.) They have one of the highest warmth-to-weight ratios of any winter shoe and are ideal for walking through deep snow. However, they don’t have any lugs or traction pattern to help navigate ice.

Eve O’Neill researched and wore boots for Wirecutter for almost six years. In that time, she tested footwear in two regional floods (both of which involved boat evacuation), during the fourth-largest snowfall since record-keeping began in the Lake Tahoe basin, and in spring in the Teton Valley of Idaho, a place where mud has its own season.

Staff writer Trey French, who worked on the most recent update of this guide, has lived in cold, snowy mountain towns in Colorado and California along with spending four winters in New York City. He’s found that just as winter tires are helpful for his truck, so are winter boots for his feet.

Senior staff writer Elissa Sanci contributed to the testing of women’s boots for the most recent update of this guide from the coldest parts of winter in the Denver area.

The Kamik Nation Plus (men’s sizes) will keep your feet warm and dry during light outdoor activity in the snow, like shoveling the driveway or walking from the car to the office.

The Nation Plus has better than average traction, for three reasons. It has a nubby tread pattern that grips chunky ice, a wide base that provides support on smooth surfaces, and a comfortable fit that keeps the ankle stable on fresh snow. The “speed lacing” system, a feature borrowed from the realm of hiking boots, helps with that—it can lace tighter than traditional D-rings. Neither the L.L.Bean Snow Boots nor the LaCross Outpost II fit as well as the Nation Plus.

It’s rated to -40 °F/-40 °C. In our testing, we found the Nation Plus provided ideal warmth for casual activity—not too hot, not too cold. Advertised temperature ratings are a guess, not gospel: They don’t account for the activity you’re doing, for how long you’re doing it, or for your individual metabolism. But our testers’ subjective opinions (out in the cold they went, with no idea how warm the boots were!) consistently aligned with the ratings. The -40/-40 mark was perceived by all as comfortably warm.

It’s waterproof, with lower-leg weatherproofing. A great snow boot is not only waterproof around the base but will lace up tall over your pants to keep water (and snow) out. With a shaft height of 11½ inches, the Kamik will cover more of your pant leg than many other boots we tested. The interior liner is also removable, which can help the interior dry faster.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• This boot is not available in sizes smaller than a men’s size 7 (equivalent to a women’s size 8). If your feet are smaller, consider the Sorel Caribou Boot.

We recommend the Baffin Cloud as everyday cold-weather boots that can handle shoveling snow at home, walking the dog, driving, and walking around town, too.

These boots were the easiest to put on and remove. The Baffin Cloud has two cinch toggles so you can easily take the boots on and off, which is great for those with limited hand dexterity or those who are just tired of fiddling with zippers and laces with cold hands or with gloves. Better yet, you can take a boot off with just one hand. Elissa Sanci, who tested this boot, said, “They’re comfy and just so easy to slip in and out of with minimal effort.”

They’re warm and comfortable. A lot of boots we’ve tested are either lightweight and comfortable but skimp on warmth, or they’re heavy and stiff but warm. The Baffin Cloud strikes a balance of being cozy, lightweight, flexible, and, so far, durable. Baffin doesn’t assign the boots a temperature rating, stating instead that they’re rated for use in snowy environments “when a user’s heart rate is between 60% and 79% of their heart rate max.” Though our tester can’t say that she was always exerting herself that much, the boots kept her warm through snowy conditions down to around 0 °F while walking casually in town.

Our tester didn’t wade through floods in these boots, but their waterproof shell kept her feet dry in both slushy, old snow and fluffy, newer snow. The boots’ 13.5-inch shaft and the top toggle also prevented snow from coming in through the top.

They have above-average traction. Though no boot can compete with ice cleats when it comes to walking on smooth, polished ice, the Baffin Cloud boots get pretty close. They use a soft rubber blend from heel to toe that works like a soft snow tire, using widely spaced hexagon knobs to grip the ice. Though softer rubbers typically wear out faster than firmer compounds, we have not noticed any premature wear so far. They remained pliable at sub-freezing temperatures and continued to conform to walking surfaces.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• These boots do cost more than twice as much our men’s pick, but we believe that they offer a better value than any other women’s boot.
• With a durable, but pliable nylon shell, these boots don’t have as much structural ankle support as a more rigid boot with a higher rubber or leather midsole. However, the lower toggle cinches securely enough to provide ankle stability, and our tester never felt unsteady walking on mixed surfaces.

The Sorel Caribou Boot, which comes in men’s and women’s sizes, is great for warmer winters that go through a lot of freeze and thaw cycles.

This boot has several weatherproofing features. The impervious rubber sole lifts you almost an inch and a half above the ground, which keeps feet warm and dry by physically removing you from the slush. The tongue is gusseted (sewn to the sides of the boot) all the way to the top of the snow collar, a rarity (not even the Kamik is sewn this high). The shaft laces high and tight, and the Caribou has its own sort of speed lacing, composed of four sets of fat, exterior D-rings that allow laces to slide with little friction; this will help you get the boot on and off your foot with less effort. Finally, the snow collar prevents flakes from entering.

It has traction similar to our top picks. It has a wide surface area underfoot, a nubby lug pattern that grabs onto chunky ice, and a proper fit. Though the sole can feel clunky, the boot still fits well. Several other boots we tried didn’t: Either the heel lifted or the ankle had no support, and both of those issues can cause a foot to slide while you’re walking on snow.

Testers reported warm feet while wearing them. Like the Kamik, the Caribou boots are rated to -40 °F/-40 °C. The liner is synthetic, but you can get a version of the boot with a wool liner, if you prefer it.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• It can be stiff, and it is hard to drive in. I often see people walking around with the laces undone on their driving foot. Even so, when compared with other options, the Caribou worked better.

If you’re willing (and able) to pay a lot for a boot, you’ll get something lighter, cozier, and more flexible than anything else we tested.  If the Sorel Caribou is the F-150 of winter boots, the Ugg Adirondack III (in women’s sizes) and its counterpart the Ugg Butte (in men’s sizes) are the Land Rover.

These boots are easy to walk and drive in. When a boot fits like a worn-in leather shoe—as these Uggs both do—it moves easier. When a snow boot has this additional flexibility, walking and driving are simpler. The boots also feel less heavy and obtrusive on your feet.

Ugg’s trademark wool lining makes these boots so functional. The Adirondack III and the Butte both come with the lining rolled down, but you can roll it up—up to 11 inches—to create the tall shaft we required of all our snow boots. The fact that it’s wool means you’ll get years of wear without experiencing any sign of odor. (Notably, on the women’s boot, the upper part of the liner is a synthetic material, but the lining around the foot is wool.)

The fluffy liner provides warmth and a luxurious feel. These boots are rated down to only -32 °C, yet testers reported having toasty, happy feet.

The snug fit enables good traction. The wide, flat sole plants firmly against smooth ice, the nubby lugs grip textured ice, and the close fit of the lining provides stability. Those are the features that provided the best traction and stability for all our picks, and the combination of all three means this boot is as stable as any we tested.

The men’s Butte has a different rubber and tread pattern than the women’s Adirondack. That said, the lugs on the women’s boot are better, able to bite into and around ice that has a lot of texture. A tall version of the Adirondack III is also available.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• The price is the real downside of these boots, but this was the pair all of our testers wanted to go home with.

The Muck Boot Arctic Ice Mid boots, available in women’s and men’s sizes, are great for people who are always in and out of the house in the winter—shoveling, taking out the trash, visiting the neighbors—and therefore always pulling boots on and off.

The rubber traction performed the best on smooth ice. Every boot we tested for this guide had some sort of “winterized rubber” sole, similar to how different rubber compounds are used on automotive snow tires. Winter rubber can stay softer at lower temperatures, and soft rubber is grippy rubber. However, very few soles provided a noticeable difference in traction at all on smooth ice, except the Arctic Ice Mid and the Danner Arctic. Both have lugs made from Vibram Arctic Grip rubber, which stays soft in cold temps and has a texture like a cat’s tongue.

And it now has fleece lining! The Arctic Ice model that we tested in 2020 was made of neoprene without any additional insulation (the neoprene did the insulating). The Arctic Ice now has a fleece lining in addition to the neoprene for warmth and comfort. It has an outer shell of hard rubber—like a rain boot—so it won’t fit as precisely as some more traditional boots, like the Kamik or Sorel boots, but the shell allows more movement in the foot. That makes this boot much easier to slip on and off for quick entries and exits than the Danner Arctic 600 boots.

The exceptional rubber mitigates the less-precise fit of this loose boot. Typically, foot movement causes some instability on ice and snow. In this case, the rubber returns much of the traction lost by the fit, and in a noticeable way. It also feels durable enough to last a lifetime.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• The major flaw with this boot is the wide cuff opening. If you step in snow deeper than the boot, you get a foot full of snow (so much for all that waterproofing). But it’s so functional in other ways that we still think it’s a great option, and you may be able to mitigate this issue by wearing some tall waterproof snow gaiters. There is also a knee-high version available for men and women, if you prefer.

The Bogs Arcata Boot is a cozier slip-on in women’s sizes that will still keep you stable and dry while you are shoveling and running errands.

It’s cozy and fits well. A faux fur lining makes the Bogs Arcata pair warm, cozy, and a better fit than any other slip-on boot we tried.

This boot has surprisingly good traction. What you gain in convenience with rubber, slip-on snow boots you sometimes lose in ankle stability (which really impacts traction). In the case of the Bogs Arcata, the faux fur lining, which goes all the way to the toes, helps address that issue. It makes an all-rubber boot, which can feel loose around the feet, fit more snugly and therefore behave more stably on loose snow, packed snow, and chunky ice. In addition, the tread is beefy with wide channels, both of which also improve traction.

It feels warm. And it should, since it’s rated to -58 °F/-50 °C, the warmest-rated of our picks. Most of our choices in this guide aren’t made for such cold temperatures.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• As with every slip-on boot, this one’s top is open, and snow can get in. Snow can also get in through the cut-out handles. But you may not notice or care if you don’t regularly deal with large drifts of fresh snow, and the faux fur offers at least a small amount of protection.

The Ugg Classic Short Boot (men’s) and the Ugg Classic Short II Boot (women’s) are easy to travel in, and cozy and warm enough to be an end-of-the-day slipper once you get where you’re going.

Hate them or love them, Uggs are comfortable. They’re flexible and therefore easy to drive in and comfortable to wear on the plane.

They’re also functional. They’re treated to be weather-resistant, and lined with real wool that will not stink after a few uses. That’s the perfect combination of features for post-skiing or -snowshoeing, when you need to change out of wet boots, get damp feet warm, then probably drive somewhere.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• There is no traction advantage. These boots won’t give you any special grip on snow or ice. That said, if you wear them mostly on pavement, in cars, around airports, or indoors, it’s less of an issue.

We focused on winter “pac boots,” a term that broadly refers to a style of winter boot with a big, waterproof rubber base that encases most of the exterior foot. These are the features we looked for:

Waterproofing: We started with requiring a waterproof sole, but we also chose boots that had tall shafts, about 8 to 10 inches. They keep snow out! We also looked for boots with snow collars, which line the opening of the boot and keep snow from falling in or clinging to your leg.

(Though we didn’t test them, you can also pair waterproof gaiters with your boots if you’re going to be out in deep snow for a while, and you want to keep snow from entering through the top of the cuff.)

Warmth: We chose to test boots that use around 200-gram insulation in their design. That means one square meter of insulating material weighs 200 grams. Such boots should keep your feet warm while active for one to two hours. Stationary warmth typically requires 400-600 grams of insulation.

Traction: The shapes and materials of boot soles perform differently when you’re walking on packed snow, dry snow, crunchy ice, smooth ice, dry ice, wet ice, or something in between. Our testers rated traction on every one of those different surfaces.

Though sticky, winter-specific rubber gets all the attention, we discovered there are four ways a boot can gain and improve traction on snow and ice:

• Fit had the most significant influence on boot traction and stability. Boots that don’t fit well are unstable on snow and ice. Loose ankles, heels that lift, and space around the foot and toes all can create traction problems.
• A wide surface area on the bottom of the shoe helps. It provides some (small) stability on smooth ice surfaces.
• Nubby, widely spaced lugs were essential for stability on crunchy ice. They stop side-to-side sliding remarkably well. A lot of winter boots come with tread that’s smooth or wavy, which is very slippery.
• The rubber did matter, a little. There were a few boots, either made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or with smooth tread patterns, that were dangerously slippery on ice and compact snow. There were a few boots made with specialty rubber (specifically the Vibram Arctic Grip) that had more friction on ice patches. But almost everything else—the entire middle swath of proprietary “winter rubbers” we tried—grip about the same.

Style options: Laces achieve a better fit and a lot of traction, and those add up to a good ice boot and a good walking shoe. Slip-ons are functional for going in and out of the house 10 times a day. So we chose a few of each, and if a shoe somehow integrated both functions, even better.

Cost: We haven’t spoken to a single friend, colleague, or acquaintance who bought their boots at full price, unless it was an intentional fashion purchase. For that reason, we chose not to define a price bracket for this guide because we think it’s likely you can get a deal. It seemed more important to find what worked, and then discuss why.

We were noticing some stock issues with the Danner Arctic 600 Side Zip for men and women, our former pick for walking on ice. Although we still like this boot, we’ve decided to dismiss it in favor of concentrating our guide on more snow-specific boots, instead of hikers.

We were impressed with the ankle stability of The North Face Chilkat V 400, but we found them heavy, and they were too stiff to drive in comfortably.

The Baffin Escalate women’s boot has a similar construction as our women’s pick, the Baffin Cloud, but at a slightly lower price. It doesn’t have the same soft, extra-grippy rubber at the forefoot and heel, though.

We were initially impressed by the Kamik Lea Mid women’s boots, but as we wore them, we became frustrated by the stiff zipper, which often hurt our hands.

We were curious about the Fubuki Niseko 2.0 boots after seeing so many people wearing them after skiing. They were extremely comfortable when we put them on, but while we were walking, the outer shell dug into our ankles.

The L.L.Bean Snow Boots for men and women are rain boots masquerading as snow boots. The fit around the foot is loose, like on a rain boot, and the tread pattern doesn’t have any lugs.

The Columbia Heavenly Slip II boots have the same snow-friendly foot shape as an old, discontinued pick, the Columbia Heavenly Omni-Heat. Without the laces or tall shaft height, they can’t keep snow out of your boot and off your pants.

The Columbia Moritza Shield women’s boots were as comfortable and almost as warm as the Baffin Cloud, but we kept reaching for the latter because they were easier to put on and remove.

The Columbia Minx Mid III boots are similar to the Columbia Heavenly Omni-Heat, and since they were discontinued, we retested the Minx Mid III. Their construction felt too soft, and they were best suited for benign conditions in only mildly cold weather.

The number-one best seller for women’s snow boots on Amazon, the Columbia Ice Maiden II, is very one-size-fits-all, making it loose in the foot and calf, even with a robust tightening of the laces. The traction wasn’t good, and it’s more of a warm shoe that looks like a boot.

Same for the GlobalWin Waterproof Winter Snowboots. The shaft is not very tall, and the snow collar doesn’t do anything. And they had the worst traction of every boot we tested (imagine plastic on ice).

The lining of the LaCrosse Outpost II is so, so squishy. Sometimes gear writers say dumb things like, “This boot feels like walking on marshmallows!” But that’s definitely true in this case. And though we liked that about this boot, the fit was off. The ankle was very soft, and the boot itself is huge.

The Sorel 1964 Pac 2 boots for men have rain-boot treads and are slippery in snow. The same goes for the women’s Joan of Arctic and women’s Tofino II.

Sorel women’s Tivoli IV uses only 100 grams of insulation and are not warm enough for winter.

Reviewers love the Bearpaw Elle, and the pair we tested looks and feels just like an Ugg boot out of the box, at less than half the price. But first, it should be noted that Fakespot gave this particular listing a “D”, which effectively knocks the Elle rating down to 1.5 stars. Either way, we’re concerned about the lining, which the website states is a “shearling and wool blend,” but it feels more like a synthetic and may smell and become pilled after a season.

The Men’s Muck Boot Arctic Excursion Mid, also a former pick, didn’t have the same level of grip as our new pick, the Muck Boot Arctic Ice Mid.

We didn’t test a pair of Steger Mukluks because the price was even higher than that of the Uggs, and you have to waterproof them yourself. The Uggs come already coated and ready to wear.

We also tested boots from Baffin, Columbia, Kamik, and The North Face that have since been discontinued.

This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.