Kodiak Surrey Boots

The calendar says that it’s spring even though it’s -7 outside. It’s supposed to warm up to +11 on Wednesday but we’ll be back below zero on Friday, March 27. This weather sucks. The only upside is that all this cold, crappy weather gives me more excuses to wear my Kodiak Surrey boots, which I picked up back in the fall.

While they aren’t my only winter boots, they are my primary pair and I’ve worn them for the bulk of what I believe is Toronto’s coldest winter on record. During that time they’ve kept my feet dry, warm and thanks to having "waterproof leather with sealed seams," "waterproof membrane construction" and a "felted wool collar." They are even sort of stylish, as I’ve seen similar, but much pricier, boots highlighted in a couple fashion magazines.

Kodiak’s blue-collar roots remind me of Sorrel however, unlike my previous pairs of Sorrell boots (yep, multiple pairs), my Surreys never cracked or leaked or made me think that I’d made a mistake in buying them.

Also unlike my Sorrels, these boots didn’t require any breaking in and never made my feet bleed. For short-time comfort, I give them a four out of five. They faired a bit worse in long-term comfort, more like a three. If I wore them for multiple hours (longer than four), my feet usually felt tired and even a bit sore. Thankfully, I don’t often find myself wearing winter boots for hours on end. And if I did, I would probably invest in a pair of Dr. Scholls inserts.

These boots have “slip resistant rubber tread” that worked wonderfully as I’ve yet to fall, or slip badly, while wearing them.

If I could change one thing about these boots it would be to make them a bit taller. At their current height, they did sometimes let in snow, though to be fair, snow normally isn’t a regular issue in Toronto. It turns out that Kodiak does make such a product; I just didn’t see it in stores.

My Surreys are in great shape and should easily last me through another winter but if something bad does happen to them, I think I’ll pick up a pair of Kodiak’s taller Reily boots. They’re also $50 cheaper, I guess because they have less leather on them?

Overall, I’m quite pleased with this purchase and do recommend Kodiak boots. They are high quality products that clearly demonstrate their Canadian heritage. And at $200, they are also nicely priced.