Lake MXZ302 Winter Cycling Shoe review

I’ve now had the Lake MXZ302’s for 4 years.  I figure I wear them 150 days a year – commuting on average 4/5 days a winter, plus 3-5 hour weekend rides all winter.  Commuting puts them to the slush and repeated buckle use test, with less challenging riding.  Weekend rides put them to the test on cyclocross hiking and warmth over long periods of time.

First, they’re really good shoes.  Anyone can nitpick for details, but delivering a solid product is tough.  These are true winter shoes, work well north of the 49^th parallel, and with a good set of wool socks cover most weather you want/need to be on a bike in.  I’d tell the fine people at Lake this, but I can’t find any working “contact us” link on their page – so hopefully this makes it through the grapevine somehow. 

These are a real winter cycling boot (as opposed to a California winter shoe or something along those lines).  These have done duty in Calgary, Alberta for many sub zero days.  They’re fine to low enough temperatures that it’s probably time to pick up the skis/snowboard/XC skis instead of riding…  The insulation is good, the infrared reflective insole seems to add warmth, etc.  I’m a warm person, and people always want to know “what temperature they’re good to”, which is tough to warrant for anyone else.  Below -20C, not many people ride, or for that long.  They cover my commute.  -10C and single speeding around the city to coffee shops to tell tall tales about summer riding while building snow skills, they’ll do an hour or two between stops.  In the plus or minus 0C range, they’re good for hours.  Traction from the Vibram sole is as good as one would expect for a winter shoe.  Winter can always be slippery, when I slip in these, it's more that the conditions are tough than a better tread is needed (unless crampons are a tread option).  I've always found there's enough cutout space for cleats plus snow plus still being able to twist out of a pedal.  The wearing of the outside leather seems terrific, it's tough stuff.

What could be improved?  The top flap closes with Velcro, the flap with the two yellow crescent shapes on it.  Velcro loses effectiveness.  The little clip buckles like on an XC boot (Salomon has good ones) could help.  A little more “tread” on the BOA ratchet circle/a larger circle for handling with gloves.  The rear reflective piece integrates with the leather on the heel cup surface, and underneath is stitched and glued to the plastic heel cup.  The plastic heel cup eventually shears through the stitching that attaches the leather/reflective piece.  Better stitching, or rows of it, or some other way to dissipate force buildup would help.  I get them re-stitched and re-glued each year when they fail.

What would be on the wishlist?  Besides the reflective insole, an insole that maintains actual contact separation would be great, especially under force of pedalling.  Convection, conduction and radiation are the processes of heat transfer.  I picture something like the latest ThermaRest Neolite pads, but with a sturdy non-collapsible structure, to maintain air space (sturdy foam?  micro-cylinders?) to more completely remove conduction through the ball of the foot.  Further, some type of moderate breathability (aside from the convection comment).  These encapsulate the feet without breathing much.  Great till sweat sits in.  Some Gore Tex or other wonder fabric panels, or all, or layered, or however it could work, I believe would help this shoe perform.  Letting some breathability happen may release some heat in the moisture, but other construction mentioned herein may offset that.  In the long run, letting some heat go may keep comfort higher overall too.  Another fabric might also help take the heft down a bit (weight isn’t a primary concern with this type of product, but these aren’t light).