Salomon Deemax 2 Dry Winter Boots

Deee-Lite says the groove is in the heart. True, but the warmth is in the feet if you're wearing Salomon's Deemax 2 Dry winter boots. When I was a kid I was stuck with moon boots and let's just say they weren't as cool as Napoleon Dynamite made them seem. The original Deemax was a handsome boot that outperformed its own specs, and I wore them just about exclusively for normal daily winter wear over three years in Anchorage, Alaska. It was one of the very few pieces of gear of any kind that I actually wore out.

I took the plunge and bought the updated Deemax 2 when I saw them on sale at REI, and I'm happy to report they are just as good and maybe a little bit better even. The Deemax 2 Dry tips the scales at just over 2lb and is comfort rated to +20F thanks to 200g of Thinsulate. Temperature ratings are highly variable, but I tend to run a bit cold and yet I have no problem with these boots down into single digits. In fact, I normally wear them with just a liner sock because they're so warm. They breathe very well thanks to the snow-shedding waterproof welded soft shell.

The Contagrip sole is lugged, grippy and stable and the speed lace system zips them right up. If you've felt the bite from these thin laces on Salomon's trail runners, have no fear: the padded tongue on the Deemax evenly distributes the pressure and is quite comfy. There's even a power strap that provides noticable extra stability when cinched down. There's a nice cut in the achilles tendon area that allows the foot to slide in fairly easily even though they don't open super far. That's good because the Deemax seems to run a bit small. Go a full size larger if you can't try them on before ordering, especially if you have high-volume sausage feet or like to wear thick socks. Really a fantastic boot from a company that knows footwear.

$149.93 at Amazon (check REI first for possible sale price)