Forums >Gears and Wears>Snow running
Thinking about buying a new pair of runners with Gore-tex for running snowy trails and roads. Thoughts? Are they worth the money? Will they keep my feet fairly dry? Or are they just a gimmick?
Latent Runner
I didn't bother with shoes, I moved right up to snowshoes:
Your feet stay reasonably dry and WOW do you get a workout; a five mile run feels like an easy ten.
Fat old man PRs:
I am asking for show shoes for Christmas.
some call me Tim
My experience has been that gore tex shoes do a better job of keeping water in than out. And I ran in snowshoes, which is hard and maybe you should do for the experience of it, at least on ungroomed areas. Running in snowshoes on groomed trails I think is ridiculous.. trail shoes handle the terrain just fine, and the whole racing snowshoe thing is a conceit. What I recommend is to get wool socks, regular trail shoes with big lugs on em, and gaiters if you want and just go to town. Spend some serious time breaking trail and you'll be in the best shape of your life - and as long as you stay moving your feet won't freeze.
I should mention that my opinions apply to my area, so up to about 3 feet of snow and about 10 below 0F temp-wise.
ME WEBLARG
Goretex may keep your feet dry until they start sweating or slush / water comes over the top, in which case your feet may be very wet - then cold if you have some delays getting back to car / home. Goretex shoes tend to be heavier and stiffer, not to mention pricier, from what I've been told. I just use my regular shoes, but generally the wider ones with more space for heavy socks. Don't constrict circulation with socks too heavy for your shoes.
Dion snowshoes are a lot of fun when you have enough snow to warrant them. They can be a lot of work. I'll use Kahtoola microspikes when there's packed snow and no need for flotation of snowshoes. And ice joggers / studs / screw shoes when it's icier.
I usually wear smartwool socks, but occasionally use neoprene, when my feet may eventually sweat, even at -10F or colder after 4-5 hrs. What I've found works for me are the neoprene overbooties (Crescent Moon or some biking shops) - not sealed like neoprene socks so breathable in places, provides more insulation (nice when below 0F in lots of snow) and some cushion between bindings (snowshoes or microspikes) and shoes. I don't usually use gaitors since the overbooties serve that purpose for shallow snow.
...and the whole racing snowshoe thing is a conceit...
Seriously? What brought you to that conclusion?
Perhaps it was just my experience, which was this: racing snowshoes have a very small 'footprint' so as to make running in them as fast and natural as possible, and which makes them poor at being snowshoes on any terrain except groomed trails where trail shoes will do just as well. Imo, racing snowshoes may look like snowshoes, but they fail to function like snowshoes except in conditions where snowshoes aren't really required(except by the rules of the race).
You are of course welcome to your opinion, but after training and racing in them last winter, I see very little merit to your statements.
lol. Right on.
Feeling the growl again
In college, average winter temps were below zero to single digits. during December-February. 300 inches of snow per year, on average. We often did challenging runs through knee to waist-deep snow, and even on the roads it was usually 6 inches of frozen slush or loose, greasy snow. None of us wore anything but regular running shoes. Unless you're doing ultra training of 3+ hours or may end up standing around, I'm not sure why you would need anything else.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Thank you for all the replies. I figured they were not worth it. I have been running in the winter for a couple of years with no problem so I don't need to spend money on shoes that are not needed. We just had some very slushy roads the last few days and was wondering. Of course I stopped in at my LRS and was browsing the shoe selection.
I appreciate the information.
an amazing likeness
From my experience, Corrina -- the primary need is to keep snow from building around your ankles and then melting from your body heat. Whether that means gaiters, or how your pants lie, or whatever...
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
One day at a time
I don't mind the snow so much - it's the ice on the roads that gets to me. Yaktrax Pros break too quickly. I'm trying some different ice grippers this year. Last year I wimped out and didn't run much outside.
Funky Kicks 2019
I really like the "winterized" running shoes. Montrail makes an "Outdry" version of some of their models and I find that it helps to keep my feet warmer by keeping the cold wind off my toes.
i just bought a pair of Gore tex North Face brand running shoes and so far I really like them, of course I have not yet had a chance to run with them in the snow.
+1 on gaiters. They go a long way toward helping to keep your feet dry in snow. Dry is the most important part of keeping warm in the winter.
Leah, mother of dogs