Last winter, I found myself in need of a pair of snow boots for the first time in years. Moving from the Bay Area, California to Northern Indiana will do that to you. I am not much into shopping, in general. I get tired easily when shopping at stores, and when I shop online I am easily overwhelmed by choices. So, the process to choose boots went something like this:
1. Find boots with free shipping, in my size, and reasonably cute.
2. Order.
And that was how I ended up with these boots
Pretty cute, they fit, and shipping was free.
However, one thing I forgot to factor in was warmth. And the second was comfort. They weren’t very warm at all (in spite of what the listing said!), and they had no support at all (flat footbed), and, as such, weren’t comfortable on my foot at all. I suffered through the winter (I didn’t realize these two factors in time to return them), and put them away.
Of course, we had more snow this winter. And oh, have we had snow. So, in an early snowfall, I pulled them out again. It didn’t take long to remember how my feet were cold when I wore them, and how they weren’t comfortable. In fact, after just a little bit of time, they moved from “uncomfortable” solidly to the “cause pain” category.
As a result, I had to order new boots. Or go shopping for them. Being that it becomes very difficult for me to leave the house after I get home from work, I opted for the online shopping. I also opted for some friend input, and posted on Facebook, where I received over 15 suggestions. After looking at all of those plus many more, I finally decided on Timberlands.
A few short days later, they arrived. I quickly put them on, but wasn’t thrilled. They weren’t uncomfortable, but they felt slightly tight. On my narrow foot, that’s rare. I wore them out, and my toes were cold the entire time. I didn’t like the mid-rise height much at all. So, I returned them. Unfortunately, that meant I had to start searching again.
This time, I refused to let it occupy hours of my time. I went to Amazon, and sorted by price. BearPaws were inexpensive, but the amount of arch support looked minimal. I happened upon ULU boots. Cute, only $60, in my size, and they looked like they had support. So, I ordered them.
They’re cute. My feet are warmer. They’re quite comfortable (no foot pain, even when I switched from my running shoes). They were inexpensive. Here’s to warmer feet, and another year (at least) with no shopping for boots!
Addendum: On the inside of the shoe box, it directs to the ULU website for information on the leather care. There no longer is an ULU website. I may need to get new boots next year, as I’m sure this leather will probably take a beating. But at least I didn’t spend $150 for a pair of boots with a short foot life.
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