NEW GEAR!

Who remembers Polar Vortex 2014?  

I certainly do. I was camping and traveling via dogsled on the lakes between Minnesota and Canada during one of the coldest weeks of the year. The highest temperature was 5 degrees F!  You can read about my Boundary Waters dog sledding trip here: My Dog Sledding Adventure (An Overview)

My wonderful makeshift tent while dog sledding

How has the weather been in your area the past few weeks? Here is Springfield, IL the weather has been relatively warm. If it weren't for the leaves changing color, I may not have known we've moved from summer into fall.  It’s only a matter of time before winter is upon us. The time to prepare for Polar Vortex 2015 is now and that is exactly what I have been doing.

My office

On Monday, the postman brought me a box with an amazing new piece of gear in it, a pair of NEOS boots.  Even though Monday was a beautiful day, I just had to try out my new boots. I walked around in them for 15 minutes before my feet started overheating. They have a temperature rating of -20 degrees F and the best feature of these boots is the fact that they aren't even boots…they’re overshoes!

Almost ready for winter!

You may be asking yourself “What’s so great about NEOS?” and the answer is comfort. You can put NEOS over almost any pair of shoes and they instantly transform into “boots”. I first tried them with my Keen sandals and then I tried them with my trail runners. On both types of footwear the NEOS felt as snug as a bug in a ­­­­minky dot rug. Hehehe, my sister will appreciate the minky dot reference. My sister is a quilter and 99% of the time she uses minky dot fabric for the backing since it is one of the coziest materials you can use for quilt backing.

Minky Dot Fabric

NEOS Navigator 5 STABILicer

There are a variety of overshoes to choose from. I ordered the Navigator 5 STABILicer. With these on my feet, I will be prepared for any situation due to its 32 replaceable spikes and built in gaiters. In a moment’s notice, I can unroll the tops of the overshoes and have an added 5 inches of protection. My life can be very unexpected at times so I am grateful for the extra 5 inches... Its hard telling when I'm going find myself in knee deep snow! Since I've only worn them for 15 minutes, I cannot not give a complete review of these NEOS but I can give you a quick Pros & Cons list.

Pros:

Comfortable while wearing with variety of shoes styles.

Has 32 replaceable spikes built in for added stability on icy surfaces.

Has a built in allen wrench pocket so you will always have your tool with you if you want to take off the spikes.

The Velcro closures make putting on the overshoes a quick and painless task.

Cons:

I was surprised how heavy they felt when added to the weight of my trail runners.

When undoing the snaps for the built in gaiters, one of the plastic closures broke off.

Lacks a built in pocket to place the spikes after you take them off.

Quick release closures on the necks of the gaiters need to be replaced since they won’t keep tension.

Difficult to pack due to stiffness of the material (but I’m hoping they will become more flexible after a few uses).