Shimano MW7 Gore-Tex SPD Shoes (MW701)

£199.99

You get a Gore-Tex insulated, waterproof liner that does a very good job of keeping water out for a long time. It’ll eventually find its way in via the neoprene ankle cuff, but you can mitigate this with waterproof trousers.

The main difference over the old model is the closure system. Where the MW81s used three Velcro straps, the MW701 uses a single Boa L6 dial. This is a massive improvement; the Boa dial makes micro-adjusting tension a cinch. It only works only one way with the L6 dial though, and releasing tension is all or nothing.

The dial sits just outside a Velcro-down flap that provides a bit of extra weather and mud protection, and makes cleaning a lot easier too. All this makes getting these on and off about as easy as regular summer shoes.

Buy this here

In dry weather, these winter shoes worked well for our tester from when the mercury hit single digits down to just below freezing. They found that warming them up on the radiator for ten minutes before setting off made all the difference when it was below zero, just to eke out a little more comfort.

The outsole is a grippy Michelin dual-density rubber, and as these are SPD shoes, the cleat is recessed, which makes comedy situations in slippery conditions less likely.