Now seems the right time to discuss this, whether Gore-Tex shoes are a worthwhile investment for winter running. My view has been that they are not. The GTX shoes I’ve owned have been heavy and stiff, and the scenarios in which their waterproofness helps are rare. I run in snow, sure. And your feet can get wet and cold if the temperature is hovering around freezing, but that’s just not a common circumstance and for the few times it comes up I can live with cold, wet feet.

It’s worth saying that I run warm. I’m not prone to cold feet as many people are, so the solution for cold feet maybe isn’t as valuable to me as to you.

The stiffness of GTX runners also becomes a problem for me, because I find ice/snow conditions typically demand more agility, not less. I don’t want to stomp around in heavy, uncomfortable shoes.

There is a premium to be paid for these shoes too, usually $15-30, and while I’m fortunate to be able to manage that added cost, my closet is already crowded AND I’m not inclined to add limited use footwear.

Maybe I’ve just had the wrong shoes, or maybe I’m not thinking of the right scenarios. Do you have Gore-Tex shoes for winter? What do you like about them? And what do you think makes them worth having?