Salomon Toundra Mid WP Winter Hiking Boot Review

The Salomon Toundra Mid WP winter hiking boot is a lightweight boot that is perfect for hiking and snowshoeing in winter weather. Rated for -40 F, the Toundra Mid WP is insulated with Aerogel, an ultralight foam insulation that NASA developed to protect the Mars probes from extreme cold. Considered the most efficient insulation available today (3 inches has an R-value of 30), Aerogel insulation is far less bulky than Thinsulate (widely used in winter boots) and doesn’t rely on thickness or loft, making it ideal for cold weather footwear and apparel applications.

The Aerogel insulation used in the Toundra Mid WP boots has the added benefit of being very lightweight, which is important when winter hiking with heavy crampons or snowshoes. Weighing just 1 pound 7 ounces (per boot), the Toundra Mid WP boots are so light that they feel like you’re wearing trail runners instead of a much winter boot, providing a noticeable reduction in the amount of fatigue experienced when hiking steeply uphill or breaking trail in snowshoes.

The Toundra boots are indeed quite warm when worn for cold weather hiking and snowshoeing, with a faux fur lining around the top of the boot for increased comfort. They fit slightly wide and about 1/2 size small, so size up and wear a slightly heavier sock to get a good fit. Your feet will also stay warmer and be more comfortable if you leave a little wiggle room for your toes, but that is true with any winter boot.

The waterproofing on the boots is very good and I have not experienced any leakage when snowshoeing or stomping through winter streams.  A gusseted tongue also provides extra protection against water ingress, providing 5 inches of clearance in standing water.

Additional features include a thick toe cap for additional toe protection and a heel notch on the back of the boot to hold your rear snowshoe strap, a great add-on to ensure a secure boot-to-snowshoe connection.

Sole traction is good even though the lugs of the boot aren’t exceptionally deep. The soles are not stiff, so you’ll definitely want to use a crampon with a flexible leaf-spring like the CAMP Stalker Universal Crampon, which fits these boots very well.

Comparable Winter Hiking Boots

Men's	Women's	Insulation
Oboz 10" Bridger Insulated	Oboz 9" Bridger Insulated	400g
KEEN Revel IV High Polar	KEEN Revel IV High Polar	400g
The North Face Chilkat V 400	The North Face Chilkat V 400	400g
Salomon Toundra Pro	Salomon Toundra Pro	400g
Oboz Bridger 8" Insulated	Oboz Bridger 7" Insulated	200g
KEEN Revel IV Mid Polar	KEEN Revel IV Mid Polar	200g
Columbia Bugaboot III	Columbia Bugaboot III	200g
Merrell Thermo Chill WP Boots	Merrell Thermo Chill WP Boots	200g
La Sportiva Nepal Evo GTX (Unisex)	La Sportiva Nepal Evo GTX (Unisex)	GTX Duratherm
Scarpa Ribelle HD (Unisex)	Scarpa Ribelle HD (Unisex)	37.5 Tech.

Recommendation

I bought these winter boots on the recommendation of a peakbagging friend, who crowed about their waterproofness and lightweight. He was spot on with that advice and these Salomon Toundra Mid WP boots have become my winter hiking footwear of choice.

Double 1++ recommended!

Disclosure: The author bought these boots with his own funds and loves them! 

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