Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Back to REVIEWS
review
Overshoes
Craft Siberian BootieCraft-Siberian-Booties

Craft Siberian Bootie

9
by Lara Dunn
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Feb 13, 2013

6
£40.00

VERDICT:

9
10
Warm and effective way of upgrading any shoe to year round useability. A bigger zip pull would have been handy though
Weight: 
170g
Contact: 
www.craftsportswear.co.uk
How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

These overshoes from Craft are like little wetsuits for your feet. Made from stretchy neoprene, they are designed to be both super warm (the clue is in the name) and water and road grot proof, protecting your delicate road shoes from the nasty bad salty winter muck.

Made from 3mm neoprene, with a soft fuzzy backing on the inside of the foot portion, these have a fairly straightforward design, with a fixed central section at the underside of the foot, and elasticated openings at front and rear for the shoe sole. There are also Kevlar reinforced areas at toe and heel, reflective bits and pieces and the whole lot fastens with a YKK zip and long rubber Velcro tab.

The shape and design accommodated all sorts of shoes well, including road cleats with no bother. The neoprene stretched over the shoe well, but with anything but straightforward Velcro fastening shoes there were some issues at the ankle area. Shoes with a ratchet style fastening (which many shoes now have) caused a fair amount of tension on the base of the zip fastening, making it incredibly hard to pull up, especially whilst trying to keep the two sides of the bootie pulled together. A bigger zip pull might have made this a simpler process- the one used felt very small and resulted in very sore fingers. Once pulled up, the Velcro tab at the top did a good enough job of keeping the booties fastened, but the zip did show some signs of wanting to undo during rides.

Warmth levels were superb, as was weather protection and even lightweight road shoes were wearable in winter conditions. The neoprene did make for slightly sweaty ankles, but that was a small price to pay for being able to effectively just have one pair of shoes for all seasons.

If treated kindly, with no snaggy nails and bearing in mind tension at the ankle area and possible wear when choosing which shoes to use them with, these overshoes should last a good number of years too, so £40 isn't looking too pricy.

Verdict

Warm and effective way of upgrading any shoe to year round useability. A bigger zip pull would have been handy though.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Craft Siberian Bootie

Size tested: XS

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Designed to protect feet from cold and wet conditions.

Does just what it's supposed to.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Made from wind and waterproof 3mm neoprene

YKK side zip

Rubber and velcro strap to secure zip at top

Kevlar reinforcement of toe and heel

Reflective prints

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Very well made, excellent quality fabrics and construction

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

Very warm and protective

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Be nice to them and they'll last really well.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10

Not too heavy for their warmth

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
9/10

Very comfortable

Rate the product for value:
 
10/10

Hugely cheaper than winter shoes/boots and a realistic way of getting year round use from the same shoes so excellent value.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Warmth, protection, quality of build

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Fiddly zip pull

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes. Apart from the sore fingers.

Would you consider buying the product? Definitely.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Definitely.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

Well made and high quality extremely effective winter overshoes.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 1.65m  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, general fitness riding, mtb,

 

Craft Siberian Bootie
Craft
Lara Dunn

Lara has been riding bikes for longer than she'd care to admit, and writing about them nearly as long. Since 2009 she has been working as part of the road.cc review team whilst championing women's cycling on the side, most notably via two years as editor of the, sadly now defunct, UK's first and only women's cycling mag, erm, Women's Cycling. 

Believing fervently that cycling will save the world, she wishes that more people would just ride a bike and be pleasant to each other. 

She will ride anything with two wheels, occasionally likes to go fast, definitely likes to go far and is always up for a bit of exploring somewhere new and exciting. 

Add new comment

6 comments

Avatar
The _Kaner | 11 years ago
0 likes

Look like John Merrick's overshoes.....

Avatar
NeilXDavis | 11 years ago
0 likes

For me any overshoes that are even a moderate hassle to get on will never cut the mustard. Getting dressed in all your winter gear takes long enough as it is without additional struggles. My own personal experiences of these overshoes are exactly that they are a hassle - my previous £12.99 planet x neoprene overshoes were on in seconds... that's my benchmark.

At the very least I would recommend a size up for anyone considering these.

Avatar
Dr_Lex | 11 years ago
0 likes

Given the two previous comments, my wallet is being put back in my jacket pocket.
Can anyone link to a pair of thick overshoes with velcro fastening bands? Otherwise I'll be in the shoe department, looking at the MW81/Defrosters and wistfully dreaming of the 45NRTH boots.

Avatar
NeilXDavis | 11 years ago
0 likes

I have a pair of these and they are IMPOSSIBLE to get on...how on earth you can give them 9/10is beyond me....there is literally no give in the material, as you say the zip is impossible to pull up...daft. I like Craft kit and have plenty of it but honestly avoid these overshoes...3/10 from me..

Avatar
Tony Farrelly replied to NeilXDavis | 11 years ago
0 likes
NeilXDavis wrote:

I have a pair of these and they are IMPOSSIBLE to get on...how on earth you can give them 9/10is beyond me....

Leonie didn't find them impossible to get on, (as you can see from the pic above) once on they did the biz - hence the 9/10. Simple really.

Avatar
jayme | 11 years ago
0 likes

I had a pair of these that lasted 1 ride. I use a size 46 shoe and on the 46-48 overshoes the zip pulled apart after a couple of miles. A very wet footed ride ensued. Check and go up a size if possible.

Latest Comments