Sorel Caribou
By Zoe Whitfield
When I first moved to Lake Tahoe, my friends took me to the store to buy a pair of Sorel Caribou winter boots.
I thought they looked clunky and unwieldy. And they weren’t cheap – $89! (And this was 20 years ago!)
It didn’t take long, though, and I was a believer.
Those Sorel boots are still with me, and I will never let them go.
These leather and rubber boots are awesome, they keep the snow and wet out, and my feet warm and toasty inside. These boots have a warm wool liner that keeps the warm in and the cold out. The liner “wicks” moisture away from your foot to keep you warm and dry (I don’t know about you, but when my feet get cold AND wet, that makes for a miserable outing!)
A nice feature of these winter boots is that the liner can be removed, so if and when it does get wet, you can remove it to air dry. Also, since wear on the liner is inevitable, every few years you can replace the liners for about $10 – $15.
I’ve kept my original Sorel Caribou boots in great shape just by replacing the liners every few years. They feel great, the only wear (besides replacing the liner) I can see is that a little of the tread has worn away. But after 20 years, who can blame it?!?
These boots are famous for keeping your feet warm and snug in temperatures as low as -40 degrees (yes, that’s 40 degrees BELOW zero!), and I can attest that they do, in fact, keep your feet warm at those temperatures.
After living at Lake Tahoe for some years, my husband and I moved to northern Minnesota. The snow in Minnesota is not as prolific as it is at Lake Tahoe – 4 feet a year as opposed to 30 feet per year – but the temperatures in northern Minnesota easily, and frequently, get to -40 degrees. My Sorel Caribou boots kept my feet warm and happy!
If you hunt, like to ice fish, or just simply need some footwear that will keep your feet warm and comfortable in cold and unpleasant weather, you won’t go wrong with the Sorel Caribou. They are available for both men and women, and there’s even a Caribou for little kids.