Trying to keep your feet warm and dry during winter rides can feel like a Sisyphean task. Do you go for waterproof socks, overshoes, oversocks, toe warmers or a combination of the above? What if conditions are warm and wet, or cold and dry? Will your preferred solution be durable? What about passing the fashion police test? Graham Hatt is fed up of having permanently cold, wet feet and decided to take on winter with a pair of Shimano’s WM702 boots. 

For the last 18 months, I’ve been using a pair of Shimano XC7 mountain biking shoes for all of my gravel riding and they’ve been fantastic. They fit my relatively narrow size 47 (UK 11) feet really well and provide stiffness exactly where it’s needed. I’ve even completed rides of over 200 km in a single outing without giving them a second thought, which really says a lot about how comfortable they are. But when it comes to winter cycling shoes, I haven’t had the best experience. I used to favour a particular Italian brand that previously made excellent cycling shoes, but when I bought a pair of their winter boots, they fell apart within a year. That experience completely undermined my confidence in the brand and made me want to look for an alternative.

I’ve gone through a couple of recent winters with my XC7s, using a combination of waterproof socks (worn together with liner socks) and neoprene overshoes with a degree of success, but the rainfall in the UK this winter has been extreme and I’ve had cold, wet feet on more occasions than I care to remember. I’ve also grown really tired of fighting to get my overshoes on at the start of every ride (stressing every time about whether this is the day the zips finally fail on me as I struggle to pull them up). My relationship with my overshoes has deteriorated over the past winter, in line with their condition, and they are now quite tatty and sad, which really isn’t a great look. Another frustration is that with relatively long feet plus slightly baggy overshoes, I also get toe overlap (where my toes catch on my front wheel when steering around something).

When I started researching winter bike shoes, I realised that Shimano’s MW702 boots were essentially a robust, fully ‘winterised’ version of my XC7 trail shoes, which sounded like the perfect solution. The MW702s have the following features:

• A Gore-Tex liner, raised cuff and gusseted tongue for waterproofing
• Additional fleece lining insulation
• A single Boa dial to tighten and a neat Velcro cover
• A nylon midsole, with a slightly softer 7/12 stiffness, versus the carbon fibre reinforced midsole of the XC7 (9/12 stiffness)
• The ability to add optional extra toe studs if needed

This all translates to a boot which is a complete pleasure to wear and, so far, has exceeded my expectations in terms of comfort, weather-proofness and warmth. The Boa dial has lots of spare cable, which enables the boot to open up very wide, making it easy to get them on and off.  I haven’t noticed any reduction in the stiffness of the sole.

When you compare the MW702s alongside my well-worn and trusty XC7s, the sole moulding appears to be exactly the same, which is reassuring as the XC7s have proved to be hard-wearing and grippy off the bike.

When I first put them on. my wife made a rather derogatory comment about how they look and I can see her point. They are definitely ‘function over form’, but they have a no-nonsense sort of appeal. When I first wore them, I couldn’t quite break the habit of wearing a pair of waterproof socks, but I’ve since ridden them with regular socks instead and realised that they are fine at temperatures down to 5 degrees C.  It feels as though they are roomier than my XC7s, allowing thicker socks to further improve their comfort on days where temperatures are close to freezing.  After experiencing how well they work, I’ve definitely warmed to their looks.

I was surprised to find that the manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Price (RRP) is pretty similar for both the XC7 and MW7 - £239 for the former and £219 for the latter. The MW7s have the feel of a premium boot without any obvious ‘cost engineering’. I suspect the extra cost of the Gore-Tex liner and insulation is offset by the lower cost nylon midsole and having only one Boa dial.  

The boots have led to an unexpected sartorial question about whether tights should be worn over or under the cuff.  I’ve tried both and I think in wet weather, when you want water to run off your tights, it’s pretty obvious to wear tights over, but if it’s just cold, maybe it looks better when they are under?  It’s a first-world sort of dilemma which I’m sure many people will have very strong views on, so I think I’ll dodge that question for now.

In summary, my initial impressions of the MW7s are very positive. The boots have really delivered in terms of performance and in eliminating a couple of significant irritations which were beginning to get in the way of enjoying my rides with my previous winter footwear set-up.

I’m pleased to say that since receiving these boots, the weather has improved significantly in the UK and with any luck, spring is on its way, but that does leave a bit of a gap in terms of testing their long-term durability, which is a key requirement when investing in this sort of kit. I need to wear them through a full winter before I can give a view on this, so I’ll come back and update this review in 12 months’ time.