Thanks all on the booties. I went for the 38 buck Pearl's
On Sun, Oct 14, 2012 at 11:16 PM, eric aldinger wrote:
> My booties are dying and my toes are getting wrinkly and cold. I don't
> ride far on my commute, but I do ride daily. I want something durable and
> moderate to cheap in price. Any suggestions?
>
> --
> Eric Aldinger
>
--
Eric Aldinger
I use PI neoprene booties on my 11 mile commute (each way). I put a Subway sandwich bag over each shoe before putting on the bootie, and they keep my foot completely dry. The bags fit over my size 8.5 shoes, and are thin enough that they don't interfere with the fit or zipper of the bootie. They are also thin enough that I don't need to cut them out for the SPD cleat. One bag on each foot will last me 3-4 round trips before the bottoms become too tattered to use. I've been doing this routine for probably 6 years now, since I first bought my PI booties and found that neoprene does not equal waterproof. All my co-workers know my routine and they save bags for me. Subway bags are pretty narrow so they won't fit over big shoes, but any thin plastic bag should work as well.
Kevin
-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On Behalf Of Rob Thompson
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 11:19 AM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] suggestion for commuter booties
I'll second the endorsement for the Pearl booties, with a small caveat. Whatever the coating is on the toe/sides/heel it really wards off water for that much longer (straight up neoprene is pretty useless, in my experience). Being a mountain-bike specific model, though, the sole of these is more open to allow cleats/tread to come through, thus water eventually seeps in from the bottom on longer rides (especially if you wear road shoes with these booties). All that said, I'm talking about rides longer than an hour (which is longer than most commutes) and the price on that Amazon link is pretty amazing.
I also have last year's Enduro booties, which have a different, effective rubberization on the neoprene and offer more coverage on the sole (they're a road version, so smaller holes to allow cleat/heel out). I liked these a lot until the zippers broke (both of them). I thought I had bad luck after the first one broke, but when the second did I decided they're just too flimsy. Maybe the new model has an improved zipper. Plus, I've heard they're very responsive to fixing their products if they fail. I'm just too lazy to deal with mailing booties back to them and debating with customer service.
After 3 winters riding here, though, I'm giving serious thought to taking the proverbial plunge and getting waterproof boots. My main hesitation is how many booties/gloves/pants I've tried that have made claims of waterproof-ness but haven't delivered (I'm talking to you, GORE). If I drop $200+ on boots that don't work, I'll be livid (and I'll still probably be too lazy to fight with a company about their crappy product).
If anyone can actually vouch for some road-specific boots that will keep my feet dry for 2 hours of PDX drizzle/rain, I'll buy them. In the meantime, I'll just wear booties, shoes and 100% wool socks to keep my wet feet as warm as possible.
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I'll second the endorsement for the Pearl booties, with a small caveat. Whatever the coating is on the toe/sides/heel it really wards off water for that much longer (straight up neoprene is pretty useless, in my experience). Being a mountain-bike specific model, though, the sole of these is more open to allow cleats/tread to come through, thus water eventually seeps in from the bottom on longer rides (especially if you wear road shoes with these booties). All that said, I'm talking about rides longer than an hour (which is longer than most commutes) and the price on that Amazon link is pretty amazing.
I also have last year's Enduro booties, which have a different, effective rubberization on the neoprene and offer more coverage on the sole (they're a road version, so smaller holes to allow cleat/heel out). I liked these a lot until the zippers broke (both of them). I thought I had bad luck after the first one broke, but when the second did I decided they're just too flimsy. Maybe the new model has an improved zipper. Plus, I've heard they're very responsive to fixing their products if they fail. I'm just too lazy to deal with mailing booties back to them and debating with customer service.
After 3 winters riding here, though, I'm giving serious thought to taking the proverbial plunge and getting waterproof boots. My main hesitation is how many booties/gloves/pants I've tried that have made claims of waterproof-ness but haven't delivered (I'm talking to you, GORE). If I drop $200+ on boots that don't work, I'll be livid (and I'll still probably be too lazy to fight with a company about their crappy product).
If anyone can actually vouch for some road-specific boots that will keep my feet dry for 2 hours of PDX drizzle/rain, I'll buy them. In the meantime, I'll just wear booties, shoes and 100% wool socks to keep my wet feet as warm as possible.
I agree- I have the Endura MTB booties and love them. Very rugged- but any neoprene bootie is going to wear and tear at some point no matter what. (Unless you never put a foot down)
I just picked up some Shimano winter boots at RCB, based on OBRA comments.
Portlander-in-exile,
Russ Rainforth
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 15, 2012, at 7:37 AM, Brandon Bruins wrote:
> The new Endura booties are looking great and very strong (durable). I wore my Shimano winter shoes last night and arrived home with completely dry socks. I've tried many booties and none of them work as well as a waterproof shoe.
>
> On Sun, Oct 14, 2012 at 11:16 PM, eric aldinger wrote:
> My booties are dying and my toes are getting wrinkly and cold. I don't ride far on my commute, but I do ride daily. I want something durable and moderate to cheap in price. Any suggestions?
>
> --
> Eric Aldinger
>
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These are awesome. Theyre the old model, so they're on sale. I like them better than the new version.
http://www.amazon.com/Pearl-iZUMi-Barrier-Mountain-Cover/dp/B00280N7XM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1350315658&sr=8-4&keywords=pearl+izumi+barrier+shoe
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2012 23:16:14 -0700
From: ewascent@gmail.com
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: [OBRA Chat] suggestion for commuter booties
My booties are dying and my toes are getting wrinkly and cold. I don't ride far on my commute, but I do ride daily. I want something durable and moderate to cheap in price. Any suggestions?
--
Eric Aldinger
_______________________________________________ OBRA mailing list obra@list.obra.org http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org
The new Endura booties are looking great and very strong (durable). I wore
my Shimano winter shoes last night and arrived home with completely dry
socks. I've tried many booties and none of them work as well as a
waterproof shoe.
On Sun, Oct 14, 2012 at 11:16 PM, eric aldinger wrote:
> My booties are dying and my toes are getting wrinkly and cold. I don't
> ride far on my commute, but I do ride daily. I want something durable and
> moderate to cheap in price. Any suggestions?
>
> --
> Eric Aldinger
>
> _______________________________________________
> OBRA mailing list
> obra@list.obra.org
> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
> Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org
>
>
My booties are dying and my toes are getting wrinkly and cold. I don't
ride far on my commute, but I do ride daily. I want something durable and
moderate to cheap in price. Any suggestions?
--
Eric Aldinger
My booties are dying and my toes are getting wrinkly and cold. I don't
ride far on my commute, but I do ride daily. I want something durable and
moderate to cheap in price. Any suggestions?
--
Eric Aldinger
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