"The Gear Junkie" Reviews Winter Running Shoes

Salomon, La Sportiva and Vasque winter trail runners for winter Nordic Walking.

Without snow on the ground, shoes made specificially for Nordic Walking are the first choice of NWers. The next best choice is trail running shoes, which are laterally stiff but with fore-to-aft flexibility. In winter, with snow or ice to contend with, Nordic Walkers' footwear priorities need to be warmth, waterproofness and traction. Steve Renegold, the Minnesota-based "Gear Junkie," has just reviewed three winter trail-running shoe models. I haven't tried any of these but am passing on Renegold's experience and evaluation. Read his entire review and if you live in a place with snow and ice, try them on with the socks you would prefer in winter. Your local running store might already be having an end-of-season sale. This year, in much of the snowbelt, we could still be experiencing a lot of winter

Renegold praised the "most impressive" Salomon Speedcross 2 for its "thick insulating upper and a unique sole with dozens of V-shape lugs made of a soft rubber" and the “'Winter Contagrip' sole was to employ pliable rubber that stays always soft—and thus always grippy—in the cold....The shoes grabbed icy ground better than the other footwear in this review." He did care for what he considered excess cushioning in the heel, but this might not be such an issue for Nordic Walkers. These lightweight shoes have a Kevlar lacing system with a side-cinch feature for additional stability. They retail for $110.

He wrote that "La Sportiva’s Ultranord GTX-XCR were the best shoe for snow, as they come with ankle gaiters" that even kept his feet dry when running through slush. Slush might, in fact, be an issue for urban Nordic Walking during snowmelt season, but I also see these GoreTex shoes as useful for snowshoeing, especially since their roomy toebox also leaves space for those small chemical foot-warming heat packs that are wonderful on really cold days. The "aggressive outsole" isn't a big deal for snowshoeing, but it certainly is for Nordic Walking on slick surfaces. It retails for $125.

About the year-round Vasque Aether Tech, Renegold wrote that with a neutral midsole and a fairly flat arch area, "there is not a lot of heel padding or a rocker feel to the shoe, keeping you landing on your midfoot rather than slamming down on the heel with each stride." Nordic Walkers do place the heel on the ground first, though "slamming" is not exactly the best way to go, so what Renegold likes for running might not be best for Nordic Walking. The Aether Tech is "weather-proofed" rather than insulated or waterproof. He liked the push-and-twist-knob closure system rather than conventional laces. He called the sole the "least aggressive" of the three also noted that this shoe seems to run larger (including wider) than others, a consideration for some hard-to-fit feet. It retails for $120.