Warm, dry and not sweaty. Is that too much for cyclists to ask from their footwear?
It seems one company has the answer and they’ve put it through the ultimate test by taking them to the wettest place on earth.
I always thought the wettest place on earth was wherever in the UK I chose to go hiking for the weekend. However, it turns out, the wettest place in the UK, the Lake District receives up to 5,000 millimetres of rain per year. Cherrapunji receives 9,300 in a month!
That’ll stop me complaining.
(Runs off to find something new to complain about…)
GEOX took a team of testers to Cherrapunji in India and put their shoes to the test.
What better way to promote waterproof shoes?
Their more recent campaign sees one unlucky man getting rained on for 7 days straight.
The YouTube video is really worth a look.
After you’ve stopped chuckling at a man being followed around by a cloud of rain for 7 days (is there anything better than laughing at other peoples misery?) then you may also want to take a look at the shoes (mens and womens).
At around £100 a pair, these shoes are not ludicrously expensive, nor are they particularly cheap.
The closest comparative casual shoe product with waterproofing I can think of, is the Teva Range. At £65, they are more affordable, but they don’t claim the same level of waterproofing.
The range certainly looks good and the lengths they’ve gone to demonstrate the features, seems to suggest they’ll stand by their product.
I’ve not yet personally tested one myself but I am intrigued.
My least favourite sensation on the bike is riding with soggy socks and cold feet. If this can be solved with a pair of shoes that will look good on and off the bike then I’m interested.
After all, I probably end up replacing shoes more frequently due to getting them soaked whilst on a ride, why not spend a little more and get something more permanent?
The proof will be whether they can also provide good breathability.
Of course, those of us less concerned about looks off the bike, have more options, which we explore in our clothing tips for autumn rides post.
I’ve asked GEOX if they can send us over a pair to test. In the mean time if anyone has tried these shoes then please leave a comment below with your thoughts.
I’ve not tried these, but I find that the biggest problem with any waterproof footwear on a bike (I currently use Northwave Goretex boots which are great on a cold day, but not so much fun in warm, wet conditions) is that eventually the rain kicking up off the road runs down my legs and my feet get soggy from the inside! At least the Northwave boots then act like a wetsuit, so my feet do stay warm. 🙂
There’s an idea for a future product test for you… Are there any waterproof trousers out there which are comfortable enough for a longer (30 mile round trip commute in my case) ride? All the ones I’ve tried just end up leaving me soaked in sweat and/or uncomfortable to the point where they are of no real benefit unless I cycle so slowly that the length of trip becomes impractical.
Good question, must admit, I’ve only used waterproof trousers for short journeys of between 3 – 7 miles. Even then I don’t find them that comfortable but they narrowly beat being soaked! Will see if we can get some waterproof trousers in for review.
Hi Chris –
One tip I was once given was to put overshoes, or the top of your boots, underneath your trousers – that way the trousers cover the gap at the top of the shoes and though water might still find a tiny hole somewhere – your feel should stay drier!
Michelle
I thought these were cycling shoes! Gah!
Still waterproof shoes should good but I can imagine these must get pretty sweaty, will be interesting to see the reviews.
Full length mud guards go a long way to keeping your feet dry on a bike as most of the time your shoes get soaked from spray. The other ball ache is the rain running down the shin and into the shoe soaking the socks .
Water will always find a way.
A very- VERY!! – expensive option I acquired last year (ex-boyfriend bought them, hated them, gave them to me – thank God he has small feet and/or I have large feet) are quite great with the waterproofing, but are not for the English climate – possibly not for Scotland either:
http://45nrth.com/products/softgoods/wolvhammer
in my experience, completely waterproof (went through ice last year and feet stayed dry), but also really, really, really warm (the 0 to -25 is F, so the C rating is -4C to -18C). I don’t actually put them on until 7F/-13C if going out longer than 20 minutes. As a result, I haven’t had any sweating issues, but just really cozy feet.
I have a pair of geox and was using them for my cycling commute. They are nice shoes, good looking and comfortable. They can slip off the pedals when it’s a bit damp because they have very little grip. As for the waterproofness, they were fine until one very wet night. The sort of night when it’s teaming cats and dogs. On that night there was so much water splashing up & coming down I got completely soaked, from head to toe including my shoes (which took a week to dry out). So, sorry but they aren’t as waterproof as you might think. My Ortleib panniers however were fantastic & all my work things arrived home nice & dry
Thanks Jane – excellent feedback – perhaps GEOX will be listening and will come up with something that has a better grip for us cyclists 🙂
Will be interesting to see if the geox membrane performs as badly as Gore-tex. I’ve been using Gore-tex + leather shoes by a high-end brand (Mephisto) the last few years but not happy as my feet get very sweaty, rain or no rain, cold or not, even if I’m not doing any activity and just sitting in my office all day.
Can anyone with this combination of Gore-tex + leather confirm similar issues? Many medium to high-end brands seem to have jumped on this bandwagon and do shoes with this combo, like Caterpillar, Merrell, Ecco, Clarks, etc., just spot the nice looking leather shoe that has a tiny metal “Gore-tex” tag.
It seems to me like single-piece leather uppers (i.e. without seams where water might penetrate) are a better solution than synthetic waterproofing like Gore-tex, eVent, etc. as all these membranes do are add an extra layer to impede sweat whereas leather is waterproof anyway (barring seams).
For similar reasons I’m not convinced about Gore-tex in serious wet-weather hiking shoes. Give me leather waterproofed with nikwax any day, I’ve found that to be less sweaty.
I’m in the market for some that I can use for my sort commute from Kings X to the West End. Haven’t been soaked yet but it’s coming soon. Was thinking of going for some low cut walking shoes with Gor-tex.
Also just bought some cycling jeans from Levi for same journey, supposed to be water resistant and good cut, reflective turn ups etc. Will see how they are. £60 cheaper than the Rapha version.
Ok, so I bought a pair, and disappointed with their claims to non-sweatiness. Just walked around for about 4 hours at a leisurely pace, no cycling, no rain. Even after leaving them overnight to dry the result is this:
http://goo.gl/ry8jJY
(dark at the top of the insoles is still wet due to sweat)
This is the pair I bought:
http://amphibiox.geox.com/amphibiox2013/en_GB/collection/product/men/fiesole