Gear Review
Columbia Titanium Bugaboot XTM Omni-Tech Winter Boot - Men's
comfy, but not as warm as advertised
By Ben Reff
Ranked #273 - Men's Winter Boots and Shoes
January 1, 2011
I have this boot in last year's model. They're exceptionally comfortable for a pseudo-pac boot, and they've done ok for me in moderate winter hiking in terms of grip, support, and flexibility. They're also significantly lighter than traditional pac boots.
Unfortunately they are not nearly as warm as advertised. The labeling makes the dubious claim that they are comfortable to -60 degrees. Personally, I've gotten icy-cold toes in these boots in 15 degree weather with multiple layers of high-quality socks. Even when I've got my heart rate up from snowshoeing, walking, or otherwise working, my toes have still gotten painfully cold in single digit temps and below. I mostly feel the cold in the toe box area - the rest of the foot seems to be fine. Perhaps there's a design flaw in the sealing of the insulation. I don't know.
I picked these up on clearance for less than half retail, so I'm not too bummed. These boots work well in moderately cold temperatures, as long as you're active. But you may be disappointed if you think these will keep your feet warm in sub-zero temps.
View Details: Columbia Titanium Bugaboot XTM Omni-Tech Winter Boot - Men's
Helpful Votes: 0 Yes
Change me.
2 Comments Last Reply: February 15, 2011 By: Ben Reff
pjcolorado - Trust me, I've worn a variety of different sock combinations with these boots. And I have plenty of experience with cold weather. The warmest I've found is wearing a thin wicking sock with a high-quality, mid-weight wool sock over it. In temps below 15 degrees, my toes get cold regardless of what socks I'm wearing, unless I am moving around. And that's a serious problem, because I don't consider 15 to be particularly cold. I have not experienced this problem with other winter boots, such as the old pair of Sorel Caribous I owned or the Schnee's pac boots I got to replace these. As I wrote in my review, my experience with the Bugaboots is that I either own a bad pair or there is some kind of design flaw that prevents the toe area from insulating properly.
Helpful Votes: 0 Yes
Write your comment here...The more socks you wear the colder your feet get. You need to use the body heat from your toes to generate the heat into the toe box. Just like a sleeping bag. The more layers of clothes you wear the colder you will be as the sleeping bag is more effective using your body heat. If you have on too many layers you wont be able to heat up the space between your body and the boot, or sleeping bag. If you can go down to 1 quality pair of socks it should help. I have been winter camping in Colorado Rockies (mostly above 10,000 feet in blizzards, etc) for over 30 years.
Helpful Votes: 0 Yes