MATTER: Lake MXZ304 Winter Boot First Impressions
What a novel experience: totally warm feet while riding in the winter.
Lake have come a long way since Andy Hampsten’s heroic performance in the Gavia in the snow during the 1988 edition of the Giro d’Italia. Photo Credit
The cold-weather is just starting to take hold in many parts of the world, and with it the eternal challenges: keeping hands and feet warm while riding. As detailed in my writing on Castelli’s Elemento Lite winter jacket and Polare 2 winter bib-tights, core and legs are now pretty simple to keep warm, dry, and comfortable down to about -15 Celsius. Hands and feet remain the challenge areas, each posing their own idiosyncratic nuances.
At the time of this writing I’ve just come out of my first winter ride in Lake’s brand new medium-weight winter boot, the MXZ304. This boot builds on years of iterative innovation, following Lake’s early entry into the winter boot segment more than two decades ago:
In 1997 Lake invented the first true winter specific cycling shoe with the MXZ300. The Lake winter boots were developed and tested with input from extreme winter endurance cycling legends John Stampstad, Rocky Reifenstuhl and Mike Curiak to name a few. Their input gave shape to the Lake winter boots that we know today.
Preceded by the MXZ303, the 340 takes a bit of a different approach to the boot game, drawing from a shift we’re seeing filter across the market, driven by fat biking. Boots are shifting from amped-up cycling shoes, adapted for winter use with some form of insulation and protection (like Lake’s initial MXZ300, Shimano’s winter ‘boot’, etc.) to a new format: hiking, mountaineering and snowboard-style boots adapted for pedaling.
It’s hard to find photos of the OG MXZ300 boots, from dial-up internet era. These from before 2006 some time. Photo credit
Lake, for example, has such a boot, their ‘extreme cold’ MXZ400. This boot is in the same ‘ultra’ category as 45Nrth’s Wolvhammer and Wolfgar boots; I’d consider these monsters ‘all-day’ and ‘expedition-appropriate’ options. for temperatures around -15C and colder.
I have no interest, personally, in ‘ultra’ boots, as I no longer opt to ride outside when it’s colder than -15C. I’ve done that plenty….more than plenty, for one lifetime. I don’t need to ride outside in the winter, I want to, so I get to choose which days I go out. On the weekends, if conditions are good for snirt or fatbike, I’ll ride down to -15. If it’s going to be colder than that I ride inside and have more time to do other things, like hang out with my family.
For the cold days I’ve been using Lake’s all-conditions MX145 boots over the last year, with Castelli Pioggia 3 booties. This combo has been good some of the time, but since the MX145s are only minimally insulated around the toe, I’ve been cold often. Instead of getting into a pair of the MXZ303s last winter, I waited for the 304 to be released, and received them just in time for my first snirt ride of the winter.
Impressions out of the Box
The MXZ304 is a big boot, eclipsing anything I’ve ever had for cycling. Looking at them, you’d expect a lot of heft; I did. Nope. The boots are surprisingly light for their size; I wouldn’t call them heavy by any boot standard. Cool.
Next, the boots are built atop an interesting Vibram outsole. The midsole/shank is some variety of ‘plastic’, and significantly more flexible than the carbon fiber shanks I’ve become accustomed to over the years. Combined with deeply-treaded Vibram rubber lugs, the heel surface being slightly canted down on the outside edge, the boots are very comfortable to walk in. I put this down to the deformation of their lugs and flex of their soles.
Boot construction is clean and comes across as really well refined. Equipped with the biggest BOA dial I’ve ever seen and a flap over the BOA cable, the boots have the most robust tongue you’re likely to find on a cycling boot. It seems to be about 3/4” thick, and is very rigid. A loop is placed on the toe-area for hooking gators to, and the heel pocket is deep and very nicely contoured.
I was surprised to find the insoles a step up from the Syksol Thermosols found in the MX145s, but in hindsight I shouldn’t have been. While the website indicates the Thermosols are included, the 304s have something better! These footbeds feature metallic, reflective felted material on their underside and top, with a closed-cell plastic layer in the middle, for air insulation. Awesome! In contrast to the Thermosols, these insoles are flat - no real arch support to speak of. One might wish to install an arch support underneath; I’ll try this for my next ride and see if it’s an improvement.
Cleat placement it what I’d call ‘totally normal,’ nothing to report.
The boots are not chunky wide, as they are built onto a relatively narrow shank. This will look odd, but their last extends out from their insoles more than with other boots and shoes I have; don’t size yourself based on insoles.
Sizing
I think Lake. . . is managing a commonly held misunderstanding around ‘what’s good’ and ‘what we need’ with the way they are building out their toe-box, volume, and width (read ‘last’) of their winter boots. In other words, I think Lake is helping redefine ‘winter fit’.
Scott was in his new MXZ303s in 47 Wide (right), and my 304s in 47 Wide are on the left. Scott tried mine on, and confirmed they are wider. This reflects Lake’s update to their winter last: it is now wider. Scott’s wide foot fit both boots easily.
I sized my 304s exactly the same as my MX145s (read my review here), after examining Lake’s sizing chart. For reference, I wear a regular-width 46 in the MX237 Supercross shoe, which works well for me with an extra insole installed to take up extra volume. In the MX145 I have a 47 Wide, which feels great despite being a little wider than I need, as the uppers conform really well to take up extra volume. I can use a thick sock in them comfortably.
The Sport last of the MX145 is listed on the chart as measuring 115.76mm in WIDE, while the Winter last of the MXZ304 measures 114.2mm in WIDE. However, the MXZ304 toe-box is built taller than the sport last, resulting in a fit that is in fact wider, despite what the numbers say.
So, while riding I’m able to move my forefoot side to side while wearing a medium-heavy sock, if I try. This might sound problematic, but I don’t think it is. I suspect I’ve simply become accustomed to a fit in my cycling shoes that is wrong for winter boots. Full-snug is what I want for when I’m riding hard, in whatever discipline, so I have total control over my pedals, and crisp feedback into my feet to feel traction and maneuver the bike. But that sort of snug fit is a problem in the winter, even if a boot is well-insulated. Lake knows this, and is managing a commonly held misunderstanding around ‘what’s good’ and ‘what we need’ with the way they are building out their toe-box, volume, and width (read ‘last’) of their winter boots. In other words, Lake is helping redefine ‘winter fit’. This is also why Lake have intentionally built the boots so they are harder to tension around the forefoot than we’re used to; this helps ensure we don’t restrict blood flow and get cold.
Performance
My MXZ304’s cuffs sit away from my shins. Hence, the idea to run a snug cuff over them as a seal when I’m not wearing pants (most of the time). TBC!
Wow, so different, and on so many levels.
Installing my feet into these was a little harder than expected, as it’s difficult to get the tongues open enough; the same applies to removal. There’s probably a learning curve to this, and it’s not something I care much about. The boots’ uppers are very ‘structured’, so I found it challenging to get the BOAs to tension the forefoot as much as I wanted to on the first go. This is surely a matter of breaking in, but also my low-volume foot. I’ll see how this changes by adding an insole, and as the boots break in. I have to wonder whether the Lake folks actually intentionally make it hard to tension the forefoot, to help us avoid restricting circulation. Overall, it was easy to get the boots fitting comfortably for riding.
Walking in these boots is really comfortable and natural-feeling, and I get ZERO heel lift. The heel pocket is extremely effective. Their lugs are compliant and make for a ‘soft’ feeling underfoot.
Scott’s MXZ303 cuffs fit close to his shins. These boots are more ‘snirt’ style than the 304.
Pedaling is a new feeling altogether. The high cut and very stiff cuff doesn’t ‘lock’ against my shin, but leaves a gap. This means my range of motion isn’t really restricted, but It feels different. What feels totally novel is how pedaling heels-up translates into the shins actually driving the pedals, versus the bottom of my foot pushing down into the boot’s insoles. This is fascinating. Could it be intentional, to offload some pressure from the feet, allowing for more blood flow? Maybe. Either way, it’s cool. And it’ll take a while to get used to.
Geometry, with respect to stack height of the boots in relation to the pedals, seems on-par with all my other shoes and MX145s. So no saddle adjustment required. The boots are narrow enough overall not to require special adjustments - like longer pedal axles, axle spacers, or cleat adjustments to achieve crank arm clearance. This is great, especially for those who’d normally get heel rub on their frames. I don’t anticipate the 304s will prove any more problematic on this front than any typical SHOE, as their heels are not really wide at all. The boots’ tongues don’t sit flush against my shins, which means spray can drop in. This is likely because these boots are built with pants fitting over them in mind - mainly for fat biking. The MZX303 sits more snugly against the shins.
Warmth was consistent from start to finish. I wore the boots in the car to drive 40k to Wakefield, had breakfast inside, then rode. My feet felt the same this entire time, through the 3 hour ride. After, we had some more food inside, and my feet remained unchanged through the next 2 hours. So that’s about 6.5 - 7 hours in the boots total, neutral-feeling the whole time. My socks came out damp, as they would from my winter boots I walk around in.
What’s Next?
My first ride wasn’t a COLD day, but there are plenty to come. I’ll continue to ride snirt through winter, and will determine how the boots do down to around -15C. If anyone is keen to learn how they might do at colder temps, walking, I could be convinced to walk to work and around town in them around -20C and colder. I usually walk about 2 hours daily; let me know!
Given the gap in front of the shin I mention above, I would like to experiment with a cuff seal and see how that works. I have the VeloToze one in mind, but will likely source something more generic.
If you’re thinking about new boots to take you down to and around -15C, check out the old MXZ303 and the new MXZ304. The 303s are still available through retailers in North America, at a minimum. Based on the side-by-side comparison Scott and I did, the 303 could be a great option for a rider with a narrow-regular width foot (in the WIDE spec), who will do most of their riding with tights, not pants. For those with wider feet and/or wanting more warmth, the 304 looks like the ticket, particularly well suited to use with pants, as when fat biking. I’ll adapt mine for use with tights, one way or another and follow up with another piece that covers more insights and depth.
