Keen Summit County

A truly warm winter boot, comfortable out of the box, with features expected of Keen.

I acquired these boots a couple months ago, as a Christmas gift from “the dogs” (with the assistance of my wife), who appreciate my efforts to walk ‘em even when it’s colder than the dark side of the Moon out there. I’ve since worn them dog-walking (of course) in single-digit to mid-teens temps (and a little warmer, too), and for a few short day hikes in mid-teen-to-twenties temps in rolling terrain, unpaved trails. In all cases, I paired the boots with SmartWool Trekking or Mountaineering socks. (In the case of the Trekking socks, I also occasionally added liners to augment fit.)

The boots are the same size as my other Keen boots, the Targhee II, and other Keen boots I’ve had over the years. (Yeah, I like Keen boots, for their fit, comfort, and reliability.) These, however, are a bit bigger in actual size—presumably for the use of very thick winter/mountaineering socks. With such very thick socks, the boots become a very good fit, though still slightly larger, to my perception, than my Targhee II pair. They were comfortable from the get-go, and remain so now. They’ve trudged through snow and ice with no problems, except for some grip issues on icy road surfaces. The waterproof construction is thus far 100% effective.

On excursions of two-hours-plus at night in single-degree temps, these boots (which are allegedly warm enough to keep one’s tooties toasty down to about forty-below) did an exemplary job of keeping my feet warm, even when standing about.

Mobility, agility with the boots on is only modestly less than in regular boots, and much better than in some winter/snow boots. I do wish the soles gripped icy surfaces a bit better, but that’s a difficult problem to solve, all things considered, so only a little mark-down there.

The construction appears well-done, and I expect to get a great amount of wear from these boots. Strongly recommended for the purpose for which they were designed—winter hiking/camping.

Background

Have had this particular product for approximately two months, with moderate use during that time. Have had/used other winter/insulated boots in past three-plus decades, of various brands, models, etc. These rate higher than most and as high as any.

I just bought them so I can't really talk about long term, but short term speaking, these boots are really warm and comfortable.

I read reviews about how cold they get when you stop moving. A reminder: all boots get cold when you stop moving because they don't contain any heat source besides you. I started to get cold after 30 minutes of not moving in -10° temperature. I think it's really good, since when I started to walk again, they got really warm in a minute.

They are perfect for snowshoeing and I'll have to get used to walk around with them. Really good investment.