Lake Cycling MXZ303 Men's Winter Boot - Vibram Outsole - Thermosol Composite Insulated

This is my updated review after having used the boots on a long winter ride. The bottom line is that they are good - not great. I hoped for an improvement over what I had been using. They did that. But I also hoped for warm feet. They do not do that. Those who say they do either have naturally warm feet or are being paid for their review. I had been using slightly large road shoes with heavy wool socks and neoprene overboots, but they were inadequate below 40 F. I ride on the road only. I had been unable to find a winter road shoe that is sufficiently warm. The winter mountain bike boots take warmth more seriously, so I decided to try it.I just finished a 3 1/2 hour ride. Starting temperature of 35 degrees and end temperature of 40. Before I had these boots my toes would have started stinging at about an hour and been numb when I finished. With the Lake 303s they felt a somewhat cold but never started to sting. That’s enough improvement to rate 4 stars and I will continue to use them in the winter. I will guess that to do better I would have to step up to the bulkier and more expensive boots. It’s just a hard problem to solve. This boot is big enough. I don’t want a bigger boot riding on pavement. I am not particularly bothered by feeling a little cold if I am able to work physically. I did get temporary relief from any feeling of cold during the climbs (the route was in hilly terrain). These do the job and my search ends here. But if you ever hear someone describe these as ‘toasty warm’, don’t buy it. But you can buy the boot. They work well enough.My otherwise impressions:The fit is narrow. I typically wear a 43 wide. My road shoes are Sidi 43.5 wides I bought to be able to wear thick socks. For summer riding I have to put 2 insoles in each to take up the extra room. My Lake 303s are 44 wide. My first impression when putting them on is that they felt narrow. After my ride I would say they are just wide enough. They felt no tighter than other road shoes I have worn. They seem to loosen up a bit as you wear them. But they are "wide" only in the minds of Lake. Size 45 would have been too long, so either I use 44 wide or nothing.The construction looks good to me. I mounted Shimano SPD cleats on them and XTR pedals on the bike. I like them enough that the XTRs will permanently replace the Speedplay Xs on this bike, but not enough to switch them on my others. The boots clip in and release fine. I Have not adjusted the pedal, so the factory setting apparently works for me. To get it right I had to mount the cleat fairly far forward while still leaving room for the cleat to find the pedal. It is possible to mount them too far forward so that the sole interferes. The sole is a little more flexible than my road Sidi Geniuses. But not enough to bother me.They appear to be waterproof, but I will test that only if I am caught out in unexpected rain.Others complain about difficulty getting their foot into the boot. That hasn't been the case for me. They're a bit like putting on a cowboy boot or a ski boot, but that's part of the design for warmth and water proof. They are not overly difficult to put on. They seem well lined and well constructed.Brief summary: a reasonably comfortable and seemingly well constructed winter boot that keeps my feet warm enough for riding when the temperature is in the mid 30s.

Great shoes! They definitely run small, even relative to the Lake sizing chart. I measured my foot as instructed on the Lake website and came up with a 40.5 wide. I'm usually a 41 in biking shoes, but never a wide, but I knew I should get the wide based on other reviews. I decided to go up to a 42 based on the fact that I will want to layer socks inside these boots once it gets really cold. The 42 was still too short! The 43 is about right; maybe a little wider/roomier than necessary, but not too long. I think the width will be perfect for layering socks and maybe even adding another wool insole (though the included insole has a nice reflective layer to retain heat and I expect it will do well in most temperatures).Warmth: I was surprised that these were not very bulky when I got them, and was not particularly optimistic about how warm they would be. I was wondering if I would end up swapping for the new MXZ400 whenever the wide version is in stock. My feet get cold easily; in regular mountain bike shoes, my toes are cold in the 40s (F) and freezing in the 30s. I have only worn these shoes twice but they arrived just when our weather turned cold. Yesterday my 35-minute morning commute was at 21 F with a light breeze, and I was pleasantly surprised that my toes were perfectly warm in these boots and a regular pair of acrylic/wool blend socks (not my warmest socks). Today on my way home, it was 40 F, sleeting, and windy, and again my toes were toasty and perfectly dry. My feet probably would get too warm above 40, especially with no wind, and I can't speak to breathability in those conditions. I haven't put on the cleats yet, but the soles on these boots (which are rugged - big advantage for when I might have to walk through snow/ice on part of my commute) provided good traction on the flat side of my pedals even in the rain - better than my tennis shoes do. I'm optimistic that these boots alone will do well for most winter days, and that with an extra pair of socks and shoe covers, my feet will stay warm through the coldest days of my winter commute here in Wisconsin. I'll update this review when I have more experience in colder temperatures.UPDATE after ~2 months of winter commuting: When temperatures get down to 0-10 F (actual temperature or wind chill), my toes are pretty frozen by the end of my commute! They're okay for the first 25 min or so, but numb and/or painful by ~40 min. So I switch to my super warm snow boots at those temperatures. I was hoping these boots would be better in colder temperatures, but down to 15 F I'm satisfied with them. If you're riding in cold temperatures, especially if you tend to get cold toes, you might want to think about saving up for the MXZ400 instead.