Gear review: Steger Ojibwa Mukluks

December 17, 2:41 PMMinneapolis Outdoor Recreation ExaminerMarie Malinowski

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Steger Ojibwa Muks: Da bomb in arctic footwear 

An optomist I am not, but the recent cold trend that has us in a chokehold gave me a chance to gear-test the Steger Ojibwa Mukluks my husband gave me for an early Christmas present. You know what? I likey.

These are both cool and warm. Is that possible? Yes. The Ojibwa Short are made of moose hide and are rated to a frigid -20 degrees. They’re soft and designed to stretch a bit after you wear them so order your Muks down to the next whole size.

The flexible rubber soles provide great maneuverability and traction in the snow and icy sidewalks and the moose hide laces, which are sewn into the back seam, can be laced as tight or as loose as you want.

For those of you that do winter backpacking, you know that the biggest challenge is to keep your feet warm and dry without being weighted down by heavy and clunky boots that can’t fit into snowshoe bindings. These are the Thoroughbreds of winter boots.

The Muks also come with removable liners and insoles for extra warmth and comfort, though you need to wear them for a few weeks to stretch them enough to insert the insoles. A heavy sock is not necessary. I wore a mid-weight wool sock and slogged for an hour in calf-deep snow and my tootsies remained warm and dry.

Christmas is coming at warp speed but if you get on it, you can see a big smile on the face of your favorite outdoors lover on Christmas morning and then go take a hike.

The best part? All Steger footwear is handmade in Ely, Minnesota. Check out their online catalogue of muks and moccasins.