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review

Craft Siberian Bootie

9
£40.00

VERDICT:

9
10
Warm and effective way of upgrading any shoe to year round useability. A bigger zip pull would have been handy though
Weight: 
170g
Contact: 
www.craftsportswear.co.uk

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These overshoes from Craft are like little wetsuits for your feet. Made from stretchy neoprene, they are designed to be both super warm (the clue is in the name) and water and road grot proof, protecting your delicate road shoes from the nasty bad salty winter muck.

Made from 3mm neoprene, with a soft fuzzy backing on the inside of the foot portion, these have a fairly straightforward design, with a fixed central section at the underside of the foot, and elasticated openings at front and rear for the shoe sole. There are also Kevlar reinforced areas at toe and heel, reflective bits and pieces and the whole lot fastens with a YKK zip and long rubber Velcro tab.

The shape and design accommodated all sorts of shoes well, including road cleats with no bother. The neoprene stretched over the shoe well, but with anything but straightforward Velcro fastening shoes there were some issues at the ankle area. Shoes with a ratchet style fastening (which many shoes now have) caused a fair amount of tension on the base of the zip fastening, making it incredibly hard to pull up, especially whilst trying to keep the two sides of the bootie pulled together. A bigger zip pull might have made this a simpler process- the one used felt very small and resulted in very sore fingers. Once pulled up, the Velcro tab at the top did a good enough job of keeping the booties fastened, but the zip did show some signs of wanting to undo during rides.

Warmth levels were superb, as was weather protection and even lightweight road shoes were wearable in winter conditions. The neoprene did make for slightly sweaty ankles, but that was a small price to pay for being able to effectively just have one pair of shoes for all seasons.

If treated kindly, with no snaggy nails and bearing in mind tension at the ankle area and possible wear when choosing which shoes to use them with, these overshoes should last a good number of years too, so £40 isn't looking too pricy.

Verdict

Warm and effective way of upgrading any shoe to year round useability. A bigger zip pull would have been handy though.

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Craft Siberian Bootie

Size tested: XS

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Designed to protect feet from cold and wet conditions.

Does just what it's supposed to.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Made from wind and waterproof 3mm neoprene

YKK side zip

Rubber and velcro strap to secure zip at top

Kevlar reinforcement of toe and heel

Reflective prints

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Very well made, excellent quality fabrics and construction

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

Very warm and protective

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Be nice to them and they'll last really well.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10

Not too heavy for their warmth

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
9/10

Very comfortable

Rate the product for value:
 
10/10

Hugely cheaper than winter shoes/boots and a realistic way of getting year round use from the same shoes so excellent value.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Warmth, protection, quality of build

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Fiddly zip pull

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes. Apart from the sore fingers.

Would you consider buying the product? Definitely.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Definitely.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

Well made and high quality extremely effective winter overshoes.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 1.65m  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, general fitness riding, mtb,

 

Lara has been riding bikes for longer than she'd care to admit, and writing about them nearly as long. Since 2009 she has been working as part of the road.cc review team whilst championing women's cycling on the side, most notably via two years as editor of the, sadly now defunct, UK's first and only women's cycling mag, erm, Women's Cycling. 

Believing fervently that cycling will save the world, she wishes that more people would just ride a bike and be pleasant to each other. 

She will ride anything with two wheels, occasionally likes to go fast, definitely likes to go far and is always up for a bit of exploring somewhere new and exciting. 

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