Flat Pedals Winter Shoes – Five Ten vs. ION

Hi everyone, hope y’all safe and well.

I’m looking for some feedback about the ION Scrub Select shoes, especially how they can deal with winter conditions.. I do own a pair of ION Scrub AMP, I love them, they are looking absolutely amazing and they are PERFECT for spring/summer/autumn but are not crafted for lower temperatures.

Now, the Five Ten Freerider EPS are often rewiewed as great, if not the best, flat pedals winter shoes… Not to mention they’re about 50 bucks cheaper than Scrub Select! A no-brainer choice, some may say..

But hum… If I knew the Scrub Select were indeed almost as good as the Freerider EPS, and can actually take you through the winter with warm and dry feet… I think I would shut my brain off and follow my heart!

Thanks!

To my knowledge, the only really winter specific flat pedal shoes around are the Vaude Moab AM STX

I’ve done loads of research this past week on what’s considered the best and yes, that Vaude Moab mentioned about does well, but it’s still not perfect:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwivjoHdwKLtAhXoWRUIHdawB4kQFjAAegQIAhAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gxsyndicate.co.uk%2Freview-vaude-am-moab-mid-stx-mtb-boots-july-2020-by-tobes_gxsyndicate%2F&usg=AOvVaw0MGmdu_pT6xox3Bp7wnlDy

I wear trousers in the winter and always have freezing cold hands and feet, so this winter I’m just going to screw it and start using Vaude long bike gaiters, this is coming out as the only way to actually stay dry. Combined with knee length sealskinz and a Dirtlej Dirsuit I’m hoping it’ll do the job!

I’ve used Freerider ELC before with sealskins and the water still gets down the sock, then your feet freeze.

There seems to be lots of SPD waterproof shoes with all the bells and whistles; don’t soak up water, fast drying, light weight, goretex/inners to stop stuff getting in them, but bugger all decent options for flat shoes.

There’s a Five Ten trailcross gtx with goretex coming but it’s delayed until August 2021 but until then it’s a case of make do.

OP are you taking advantage of Ion’s Black Friday 20% off?  Maybe evens up the price a little

I have the ION Scrub Select. IMO they’re great shoes, solid, stiff sole and more than grippy enough to Nukeproof pedals yet just easy enough to reposition the foot. They seem at least as grippy as my Five Ten Impact VXIs. They are a little narrow for my wide plates so I’m running a size up from normal. My son has ION Raids and like the Scrub they seem very well put together.
I guess the question is how wet is it where you ride? As the Scrub Select is made of leather it takes an age to dry when thoroughly soaked even on the boot dryer. It has been rather biblical here lately though….

I’m managing to squeeze my feet plus Sealskinz in to my Scrub AMPs. A bit tight but I’m that happy with them that I don’t want to be disappointed if I buy different shoes for winter.

Not sure if that helps?

Sealskins are working great for me with the Scrub AMPs too, and not tight. My feet are quite high volume so I had to try a few shoes to fit even normal summer socks. The warmth of the shoe is quite imbalanced I think; the rear is quite padded and thick, but the top of the toe box is some woven stuff which lets the cold air through and any minor splash of water.

EPS are shit. Probably good if you have a cold dry winter- they’re very warm when dry. But they’re not even splashproof- just leather with some coating on it, first decent puddle and you’re wet and then you’re cold.If you put tons of waterproofing on them, then they’re still leaky, just not as bad so it takes several puddles before you’re wet and cold. Probably a north american thing?

If you want a winter-ish five ten then the Freerider Element is a lot better. Not great but the water resistance is so much better and they’re not as soaky-uppy. Basically just a normal five ten with at least a nod to UK winter. Still very happy with my old guide tennies but they’re discontinued now- very clumpy but excellent weather resistance.

I think I’d try the Vaude if I was buying winter shoes this year?

I wear flats, ether on mtb, road, work you name it.

Start of rant.

I have yet to find any flats shoes designed for the British winter. There’s boatloads for spds, that look like they’d be amazing combined with a flat sole, especially the Sidi or north wave shoes.

It is bloody frustrating that I have to use the almost bonkers stoopidly small sized endura overshoes on my 510’s to stay foot dry when mtb ing during the winter.

I search online frequently for a flat winter mtb shoe that hasn’t been designed by a moron who lives permanently somewhere that doesn’t actually get wet and muddy.

Rant over.

The new but delayed 510’s with a gore tex liner don’t look that promising either.

@northwind is right about the freerider eps. I have the high version, and while they are comfy and toasty warm in the dry, a splash of water comes in through the tongue gusset. The Vaude Moab looks a better choice.

I can’t comment on the winter bit yet but I’ve been riding ION Raid 11’s all year so far, I love them so much I’ve ordered a second pair while they were down to £50.

Following similar frustrations I’ve been looking for ages for a decent winter flat shoe as really suffer with cold feet. I’ve just bought a pair of Decathlon waterproof warm snow/hiking boots which definitely won’t satisfy the fashion police (not that a man in his 40’s cares) but my initial testing is quite positive. Sole has some tread on it so not as solid as Five Tens but didn’t loose my footing at any point on a lap of the North Red at Whinlatter. I’m out for a Peaks night ride in a few hours so will report further, but I reckon it might just be the best £25 I’ve spent for winter riding…

I have the Vaudes and love em. Plenty waterproof if you wear something to stop the water going in down the top.

Anyone know where you van find the Vaude Moab’s?

Ah fun enough i have been trying to find them myself and have been given the name Dave Tonks, he is the owner of Action Outdoors based in Essex, he is the being vaudes mail order retail partner for the uk. He should be able to help you his email is sales@actionoutdoors.co.uk or 01473 211647.

for grip, comfort and style nothing comes close to fiveten for me. however im so over how fast i wear holes in them!! also looking for a good alternative…

Awesome thanks man

I’ve had the 5-10 FR EPS and Impact Pro. I find the impact pro far superior. Less feel but lots warmer, tons of protection and no need to use seal skins as a result, especially if wearing trousers.

After about 10 pairs of 5.10’s I’ve just bought some Ride Concept Hellions, so far I’m impressed, done about 4 rides from -3 and frozen to 5 degrees and sopping wet, feet stayed warm and they dry out a lot quicker than Impacts. I’m especially liking the 3do inserts in the insole.

In answer to the person who bumped the thread –
https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/s/vaud–moab/?searchparam=vaud%20moab&iBfResetSorting=1&userInput=vaud%20moab

How do the Vaude Moab fit? I am usually UK 11 or EU 45.5 ish

Winter shoes? If it’s really wet (now) I just use my trials boots with flat pedals.

Works for me.

Specialized 2FO jobs are very quick drying (and nice to pedal in), and knee length thermal sealskins take care of the cold and wet bit. Job jobbed :-)

Talked to the the guy from actionoutdoors today and said Vaude are fully out stock of Moab stx until August this year.
He said the big lockdowns last year have really slowed up production and is the reason for shortages across all outdoor activity sectors.
Really nice guy just between covid and brexit, it was a difficult time.

I’ve just bought a pair of Decathlon waterproof warm snow/hiking boots which definitely won’t satisfy the fashion police (not that a man in his 40’s cares) but my initial testing is quite positive.

How stiff are the soles on those compared to the 5 10s? @barrywalker

I didn’t actually make a recommendation earlier, because my old recommendation (Guide Tennies) are discontinued and I hadn’t really tested my new shoes enough, but, I am really very plesaed with my Columbia Fairbanks Omniheats. They’re probably quite a bad UK walking shoe, wrong sort of tread for plugging through bogs, but they’re properly good on the bike. Sole isn’t super grippy but the tread pattern works excellently with my pedals (Horizon comps) and the pedal feel is good. Nice high top. Reasonably good for pushing in snow but as I mentioned the mud grip is more bike shoe than walking shoe.

Today’s the first time I’ve had them really properly soaking wet and they did soak through (not entirely sure when, I knew it’d be soggy so I had on dexshell waterproofs and woolie boolies) but didn’t get cold when they did. Less than a 2 hour ride but absolutely soaking wet and half-frozen slush everywhere, which when you add fatbike tyres means you might as well be hosing your feet down. No problems at all- my feet (which have bad circulation) stayed comfy and they didn’t have that horrible “full of water” feel that some wet shoes get.

Downside- I won’t be riding in them tomorrow, they’re not fast drying, in fact 5 hours on and you’d think I’d just come in from the snow. But tbf I don’t sacrifice performance in today’s ride that’s actually happening for a theoretical tomorrow ride that might not.

All in all, incredibly happy with them. I actually have 2 pairs, one for the bike and one just for wearing.

@jimmy748 did you need any super warm socks with them or are they really that good?  I’m really struggling to find comfortable warm shoes for flat pedals. I’m using some ECCO gore tex shoes at the moment but they are a bit small with thermal socks under (I bought them years ago just as a comfortable wet weather everyday shoe). They are warm ish with enduro socks but just a bit snug. I could buy another bigger pair but they are £150…

@oceanskipper They’re not too bad, certainly I don’t notice them flexing when I’m on the bike. Tread it a bit more aggressive so not quite as much grip on the pedal but again I’ve not had any issues with my Burgtec pedal combo and slipped feet. I can however do a 2-3 hr ride in the peak and still feel my feet at the end (even in the snow the other weekend) and to be honest that makes any areas of reduced performance worthwhile. They also dry on a radiator/Aga overnight and are ready to ride again the next day. Definitely worth a try for £25!

@oceanskipper I’ve found them warmer than Impacts or normal Freeriders but below 2-3 degrees I wear a thin pair of socks and a pair of Northwave merino socks on top (below 0 degrees with a layer of tinfoil between the socks) I think with just Woolieboolies (must get some more) they would be fine. The 3DO insert gives an extra layer of insulation between your foot and the big metal heat sink aka pedal.

@barrywalker, were these the ones?

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/men-s-warm-waterproof-high-snow-boots-sh100-u-warm/_/R-p-311993

@goby No, it’s these:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/men-s-warm-waterproof-snow-walking-shoes-sh100-warm-mid/_/R-p-133825