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Shoes in winter – the right care & the right boots
The winter months with snow, slush and road salt put serious strain on what is closest to all of it, our shoes. In this article the online shop Skolyx helps us go through the most fundamental parts of winter shoe care. We get tips on what to keep in mind when buying winter shoes and take a look at their recently updated range of welted boots.
The winter months with snow, slush and road salt mean serious strain on whatever is closest to all this – our shoes. Here we get help from the online shop Skolyx to go through the most fundamental parts of winter shoe care. We get tips on what you should think about when buying winter shoes and take a look at their recently updated range of welted boots.
Beware of salt
First and foremost: the salt. It is of course practical that there is a cheap and natural substance that can be spread on streets and squares year in and year out, without affecting nature and the environment negatively. But the properties that make snow and ice melt from salt are also properties that make it corrode your footwear frantically. Especially if they are in leather and especially if it is allowed to stay on for a while. That is when those hateful white streaks show up.
That is why the first thing to recommend is that in every situation where you have the chance, remove the salt as soon as you can. Go into the toilet when you have arrived at work and wet a paper towel with warm water and wipe the salt off the shoes. Make sure that you pull downwards and change the spot on the paper often. This because otherwise you easily just smear the salt around so it shows up in a new place once the shoes have dried a little. At home you can have an ordinary dishcloth lying around that you only use to wipe off the shoes when you get home. And if it is salt you are wiping off you are extra careful to rinse it out thoroughly under warm water afterwards.
Preventive shoe care
If it still turns out that you have not got everything off and the salt stains settle in, it often takes more than just warm water to dissolve the salt properly. The housewife's trick is one part vinegar, one part lemon juice and one part water. But at Skolyx you will also find Saphir's snow and salt cleaner which dissolves the salt without damaging the leather. Use a polishing cloth for leather shoes or a brush if it is suede, which you work the liquid in with. Make sure to polish the shoes with a good shoe cream afterwards. Or spray with an impregnation spray if it is suede or nubuck, so the leather gets care and protection afterwards.
Worth an extra effort
Generally you should be more thorough with your shoe care during the winter, since they are exposed to such hard strain. And if you have polished the shoes properly and there are several layers of shoe cream and wax on them. Then they will stand up to the elements considerably better and not take damage the way badly kept shoes do. If you also make sure to use a pair of shoe trees to stretch out walking creases and make the shoes dry in the right way, then your winter clodhoppers have the best conditions for staying nice for a long time. At Skolyx you will find several different variants of high quality shoe trees in cedar wood.
Boots – the obvious choice in winter
When it comes to choosing footwear for the winter half of the year, boots are the obvious choice for most people. But there are more things to think about than a higher shaft. Considering the strain, the leather quality is in many ways extra important on winter shoes, and it is preferable to have boots in full grain calf leather, well embossed grain leather or high quality suede instead of, like cheaper shoes, in flimsier low quality leather or so-called corrected grain. A leather that is covered with a plastic film. Good leather takes a beating and can be cared for and made nice again and again.
The sole
One of the most important things for you not to get cold feet when the cold takes hold is good insulation against the ground. The nice thing about welted shoes is that they not only have a relatively thick insole in leather. On top of that there is a layer of cork between the insole and the outsole that insulates further. You can with advantage also choose boots with a double sole for additional insulation, then there is an extra midsole in leather between the cork and the outsole.
When it comes to the outsole, the material rubber is absolutely to be recommended, since leather soles are insanely slippery if there is snow or ice. But even rubber soles can vary in how good the grip is. And then it is really not necessarily the pattern that is most important, but the rubber compound. Certain popular rubber soles become rock hard in sub-zero temperatures, and then slippery as glass. If there is snow, soles with a pattern can also be counterproductive. This because snow easily packs into the pattern so they become hard to walk in for that reason.
Keep warm
A common question in wintertime is whether you should have warm-lined boots or not. Here the answer is that it depends entirely on what type of use they are intended for. If you are going to have them to be outdoors in sub-zero temperatures for whole days, lined shoes can be recommended. But they get extremely warm if they are worn indoors. For more everyday use where they are outdoors to and from work, or for a few hours here and there, then ordinary leather lined shoes are usually to be preferred. Especially if they have a good insulating sole. Do leave a little room for thicker socks though.
Record-sized boot range at Skolyx
For this season Skolyx has considerably increased the range of Spanish-made Goodyear welted boots, which they have from three different brands, besides their own brand also Yanko and TLB Mallorca. For the Skolyx line they have focused on really good value chelsea boots. A shoe that comes in four variants in different leathers equipped with among other things Vibram's hard-wearing rubber soles. A sole that also has the advantage of coping well with sub-zero temperatures and giving good grip even in winter road conditions. These cost 2 795 kronor.
Yanko is a small step up the price ladder, and it is here that most of the season's boot news is to be found. For example a delicious derby boot in dark brown suede or brown embossed grain leather, on a last with a classic round toe and a double rubber sole with a storm welt. You have jodphur boots in black and dark brown leather, a sibling to the chelsea model that is just as useful. For the one who wants more dressy boots there are balmoral boots with closed lacing in black and dark brown leather, a very elegant choice. Beyond that also several variants of chukka boots and chelseas.
Last but certainly not least you have two chukka boots from TLB Mallorca's highly praised top line Artista. These are shoes for under 5 000 kronor that have specifications you normally only find on much more expensive shoes, such as extremely narrow waists (even on rubber soled shoes like these boots) and tightly cut heels. But above all heel counters in real leather that shape themselves in the very best way to the foot, and more. One of the chukkas is made on the slightly chiselled Picasso last in dark brown leather, the other on the elegantly round Goya last in dark brown suede.
You will find it at Skolyx
You will find all of Skolyx' boots here. On Skolyx' website you will also find a host of other welted shoes and quality sneakers, and shoe and clothing care products as well as accessories. Do not hesitate to get in touch with them if you have questions about shoes and shoe and clothing care. They have a handle on most things and are happy to help.
