Shimano vs Northewave winter boots

The wife loves me AND listens to me. She got me a pair of Shimano MW80 winter boots for Xmas. Only trouble is they’re too small and Wiggle won’t have them back in stock until mid March!

So the options:

1/ Return for refund and buy something else
2/ Return and swap for NW Celcius that are in stock. Opinions?? Have heard a few negatives about them.
3/ Try to find a shop with them in stock and see if they’ll do a swap anyway – OK, so they’ll be pissed off that they weren’t bought there first but it’s not as if they’d be losing out – the 45’s I’d be returning are also in demand from what i can see. And they’ll make a sale on a pair of cleats too, and there’s a box of left over choc’s as a sweetener too!

Anyone accidentally got a pair of 47’s that are too big?

i can tell you the shimano ones will kep your tootsies warm but they aint waterproof as they claim!

northwave shoes are good but with shimano you usually get more for your money.

Northwaves are a bit slim. I’d go with option 1. Echo Epo’s comments, Shimano ain’t that warm or waterproof

i have the mw80s and they certainly keep my feet from getting frozen, i was really suffering before i got them, i cant imagine i would want a warmer boot, but your feet can still get cold but not frozen after 3-4hrs.

I would say that upto the ankle they are waterproof, however as with most boots, if its raining the water WILL run into the boot, nothing short of duck taping them to your legs will stop water getting in. Also the ankle ‘seal’ isnt all that so if you stand in a puddle over your ankle you could get wet feet.
I dont tend to ride in the rain so this isnt really an issue for me but i do ride in some serious slop and i’ve not had wet feet yet.

The important thing for me is that they are not too heavy or bulky compared to some, I really like them and would buy them again.

Only trouble is they’re too small

also had a pair of MW80 for xmas and found them too small, infact they came up very small, had mine from chainreaction though , only problem i have now is sending them back to ireland at a cost of £16.65 !

swapped mine for a pair of Spesh Defrosters today (OK, not a swap but bought these and the wife will get a refund on the Shimanos)

Not 100% convinced – they don’t seem very insulated but are claimed waterproof with a thermal inner lining to trap heat and at least had a size big enough that I’ll be able to get a decent wool sock in there too. Trying first thing tomorrow am so will soon see.

celcius are great

the difference is that the footbed curves in at the big toe and makes th boot feel smaller

I double checked against a specialised footbed and the NW was the same if not longer

in use they are great

I’ve had some MW80s for a couple of weeks and loving them. Not had to use in serious wet yet but perfect for this freezing weather, and settling in well comfort wise. I hose them down with the bike after riding and haven’t had any evidence of leaks. I had to buy one size too big to get a good fit.

I’ve had my NW Celcius since 2005 and am really happy with them. Some stitching came undone last year but got them fixed at the local cobblers for a few quid.

My mate has Defrosters which tbh look a bit thin and not as well insulated as the NW.

When these eventually die will get a new pair of the same

went out on the road for a couple of hours this am early. It was cold, like 0C cold. Had 2 pairs of ordinary bike socks on to see how they’d stack up. By the end toes were cold but not numb as they have been with the ordinary shoes on so have to say the defrosters did their job ‘to a point’

Fingers were also cold despite being in my best winter gloves which gives a measure of how cold it was (normally not an issue)

I reckon with better socks (like my merinos which were in the wash or even a fleece ski sock) they’ll be perfectly acceptable and for super cold weather these plus an overshoe will be good enough.

Thanks The Wife!