My cousin is a freshman at Michigan. We’re from California, so this is his first winter living in a place where it snows. He just mentioned to me that he doesn’t have any good shoes yet for the weather, so we’re going to buy him a pair for his birthday next week.
Anyone have recommendations on some quality boots appropriate for snow and slush? I guess something that is good for a lot of walking and is waterproof, and I guess, doesn’t look out of place on campus. Thanks!
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-18/how-sorel-won-winter-by-making-rugged-boots-girly
They make both men’s and women’s boots. You should be able to find them at around USD$110 before tax. They are stated to be good to -40, and in my experience, that doesn’t feel like an exaggeration.
The Sorel’s are great for the deep snow and deep freeze. If he is looking for a little bit more everyday for walking around campus the Timberline’s like in the attached link is popular.
Thanks for the great ideas. What do you think about the classic Timberland work boots? Would that be a good choice? I think he wouldn’t want to wear actual snow boots, so I’m leaning toward that direction.
Yes - those work well and are popular
Ecco’s and Teva’s are popular too. Get the Goretex mid ankle type. UM keeps the sidewalks clear so no concern about deep snow, and he’ll be in class most of the time so Sorel boots are overkill.Also get wool socks (Smartwool, Costco merino are good). If he wants to go sledding some gators, warm gloves and long underwear are good.
One excellent addition are ice-trekkers diamond grips, metal cleats for the bottom of shoes/boots. Ann Arbor sidewalks and trails are often icy and slippery and you can run in them in bad weather.
One competing product to the ice trekkers is Micro-spikes. They’re really incredible for running in the winter and I assume would be very helpful for icy sidewalks too.
Note that work boots are not snow boots. It would be fine on campus though as they usually plow the snow very efficiently. If he/she need to walk on snow above heel level (we had 10 inches wet snow a couple weeks ago), water/snow may get in and wet the sock as the tongue is not connected. This is the worse thing happens if one need to stay outside for a while.
How about Bean Boots (LL Bean). If they’re good in New England, seems like they should be good in Michigan.
Maybe they won’t need boots at all. Kidding but it’s supposed to be in the 60s next Saturday. Crazy!!!
My daughter (sophomore) loves her insulated LL Bean Boots! During Jan and Feb, they are her everyday footwear.
It is much warmer than usual this year, but the coldest months are still ahead. In the last 16 years, I have not seen one year with less than a handful of snow day. There were only a couple years without snow day in public school in my memory.