Well, the time has come for my first review. I want to let you know that any opinions expressed on this site are my own.

I was looking for a good pair of snow boots to survive my first winter in eight years. Living in Southern California I got very used to waking up every day, and knowing that I was going to pretty much be fine temperature wise with whatever I decided to wear that day. I knew it would even out at about 77 degrees in Los Angeles area. I never gave my footwear a second thought. We were in a drought after all.

I knew we were moving to Denver right at the start of winter. We moved in the weekend before Thanksgiving. I still thought my California boots would be fine. My parents had given me a gift certificate to REI, and I was really holding out for something necessary. Within days of arriving in Denver I quickly realized snow boots were necessary mostly because of the ice on the sidewalks. I loved the look of the North Face Shellista II Mid Boot. I was looking for three things: (1) comfort; (2) waterproof; and (3) fashionable, of course. When I got the package in from REI – I admit I experienced a bit of shoe love.

They were a bit stiff at first, but the rubber eventually broke quite well. The grip on the bottom is fantastic. I did wear these boots quite a bit this year. I went snowshoeing, hiking, and shoveled the driveway quite a few times this winter. I will say that these boots did fulfill their promise. They kept me warm, dry, and they look darn cute too. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on them. I wore them on a road trip from Denver to Boise. We pulled off a rest stop in Wyoming, and I notice three women kind of staring at me. One of them surreptitiously  walked up behind me, looked down, and audibly whispered to her friends “those are North Face.” I laughed inwardly. I  would have gladly told her where I got them, if she asked.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the boots had a small crack in the rubber in the back. I was a little disappointed because of North Face’s reputation. I know they will still take them back at this point because I’ve only had these boots for six months. On the one hand, I could just superglue the crack shut, but on the other hand, these were not cheap boots. I see these boots as part of my winter closet for a few more years. Aside from the crack, these boots have been really good to me. I can almost say that I survived my first Colorado winter, but I’ve been told to hold off on that proclamation until May or June.

You can buy the boots here

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