Waterproof shoes – More expensive means more water-resistant?

Did you know that not all boots, not even the most expensive ones, are waterproof? Many people have this misconception, but today on the EscapeShoes blog we’ll clear things up and show you how you can be sure that you’re buying truly water-resistant shoes. To learn more, click here!

Today’s EscapeShoes post will serve to clear a myth, which we’ve been questioned about many times by our customers, and that we’d like to clarify even more after the publication of our previous post of Sonia Oliveira’s interview about her waterproof Timberland. And this question is, if a pair of shoes is more expensive, does that mean that they’re more water-resistant? In truth, this question appears more throughout the autumn / winter season, which is when there’s more rain and also the time to use boots.

And what’s the answer? To sum up, no. Only because a pair of booties, sneakers or boots are more expensive than what we’re usually accustomed from a certain brand, doesn’t mean that those shoes are more water-resistant than others. The prices depend many times on the type of material used to make them and, sometimes, that may mean that the material is water-resistant, but it can also be because it has even better quality or durability than normal.

For example, the majority of UGG Australia shoes aren’t water-resistant, since they’re made of sheepskin. However, there are some models that are truly water-resistant. To show that an item has in fact this feature, the brand places a sticker on the box itself, with a drawing of a water drop in the centre. That’s exactly the case of the UGG Australia Meadow Chestnut boots.

However, there may be some cases of when you immediately know that a pair of shoes is waterproof due to the type of material that they’re made of, like wellies that, by norm, are made of rubber. Brands like Hunter and Cubanas Shoes are famous for their rubber wellies characterized for its being waterproof and durable.

And how do we know if a pair of shoes is waterproof or not? It’s exactly during those situations that product descriptions are more important than ever, since there you’ll be able to see if there’s any indication if the specific item has that feature. At EscapeShoes, we make a point of indicating at the end of the description, on the technologies, if the model is in fact waterproof, even though sometimes it’s also possible to find that information on the model’s name itself.

Speaking of technologies, there’s a special one in particular that renowned brands like Merrell and Timberland have a preference of incorporating in their models due to its guarantee and success in the market. That is of course Gore-Tex, which basically consists of a membrane that is included between the upper and the lining to keep water out. To learn more about this technology, we recommend that you read our post about what Gore-Tex is and what does it do. This technology usually appears in shoes designed for outdoors activities, such as the Timberland Euro Hiker Brown and the Merrell Siren Sport Espresso Mineral.

However, in addition of Gore-Tex, Timberland and Merrell have their own technologies to make their shoes more water-resistant. In Merrell’s case, it has its M-Select DRY, also a water-resistant membrane that keeps feet aired at the same time. On the other hand, Timberland has Splash Blaster, in order to guarantee that your shoes are water and stain resistant, no matter of where you are, even on wet and muddy surfaces. Therefore, you can be sure that any of these technologies offers the best care and wellbeing to your feet, to enjoy your favourite physical activities. As examples, we show you below the Moab Rover Mid Expresso with M-Select DRY and the Zip Trail Oxford Olive Taupe with Splash Blaster.

To end this post, I just want to ask: have you ever been through the experience of ending with wet and cold feet? Then, make sure that never happens again with your very own waterproof shoes! Timberland and Merrell offer a huge variety of water-resistant shoes, and you can still see other models of this kind available at EscapeShoes. Don’t spend another rainy winter without one of these models in your wardrobe!