The Giro Blaze might just be the best winter cycling shoes for wet weather

There are a variety of ways to beef up the warmth of a pair of the best cycling shoes. They only work to a point though. It doesn't matter how much cladding you add to the outer surface, you've still got a highly vented shoe optimised for warm weather riding. Not only that, but you probably didn't buy your warm weather shoes to fit bulky winter socks. That's why, if you ride in the cold, you will do yourself a big favour by adding a pair of the best winter cycling shoes to your closet. 

Cold is not the same as cold and wet though. One thing that's missing from the options in our list is a focus on wet weather. With that in mind, the smooth outer of the Giro Blaze caught my eye. Many brands claim to handle this kind of weather, but it's rare that they actually do. With a healthy dose of skepticism, I've spent time testing the Giro Blaze winter cycling shoes in tough conditions. If you are also looking for something to handle cold, wet, riding this winter, keep reading to see if the Giro Blaze warrant a purchase. 

Design and aesthetics 

As mentioned above, the outer of the Giro Blaze winter boots are smooth and mostly devoid of details. What you can see is a lot like an integrated overshoe. Starting at the outsole there is a layer of woven material that stretches over the inner design of the shoe and provides water resistance. Woven fabrics tend to already offer some ability to shrug of mild rain but this is a membrane outer as well. It's both waterproof with a 10,000 GM2 rating as well as breathable with a 10,000 GM2 rating. The inner surface features a low-pile fleece and taped seams. 

Even with the smooth outer, there are a few details to notice. The front features a generous rubber toe cap that curves up from the sole all the way over the top of the toes. You can find a similar rubber coating on both sides of the heel as well. Up the centre of the rear, where the rubber leaves an opening, is a strip of reflective material that also protects the seam from water intrusion. Over the ball on each side of the ankle is a dense square of padding. The most obvious detail though is the waterproof zipper that starts just behind the toe box and angles towards the outside of the ankle. 

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Open the zipper and you'll find a secondary shoe. It's reminiscent of any of the low-top flat pedal mountain bike shoes that Giro also makes. The difference here is that there's no outer coating for protection. It's all synthetic Primaloft insulation and a highly vented design that helps transport moisture away from your foot towards the outer shell. The inner faces are all the same low-pile fleece material found on the inside of the cover and most of the surfaces are only lightly insulated. The outliers being the heel, ankle, and tongue which all feature dense Primaloft insulation. 

The system for keeping the inner tight against your foot is a speed-lace design. Instead of a traditional lace there is a thin, non-elastic, cord that joins at the ends. Covering that join is a pull tab that lets you stretch out the lace while you push a slider against the togue to lock it in place. Once you are comfortable, tuck the extra on top of the tongue and zip up the outer. 

For the outsole, Giro has chosen nylon composite instead of carbon. This tends to be the trend for winter boots, even at this price point, so it's not much of a surprise. Most of it is also covered with rubber lugs that are thick and chunky without much separation. Giro refers to the rubber as "Ice Grip" but the lug design won't be a solid partner at biting into the surface. If that's your need, there are a couple of spots for studs on the toe that should help. The cleat attachment supports a two-bolt design and there's roughly 20mm of fore/aft adjustability.   

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Performance

There are some road cyclists who won't spend more than a moment considering the Giro Blaze boots. They exist on the Giro website under the "mountain bike shoe" section and, unlike competition from both Lake and Fizik, they are only offered with two-bolt cleat compatibility. It's unfortunate because these are an excellent option for riding in the rain and they actually do better with a road bike than the bulkier Lake boots. I'd call them a gravel boot if that helps open the audience a bit wider, perhaps one of the best gravel bike shoes? 

I think for most people who ride through bad winter weather, that's not the biggest detractor in the marketing. Rain, and the inevitable mud that comes with it, are conditions that often call for a change of pedals but there's another hitch. The Giro Blaze specs don't inspire great confidence in their ability to handle rain. 10k/10k waterproof/breathability is proudly displayed on the outside of the heel but those numbers aren't that impressive. For materials that do list specs in that format, Gore-Tex does not, it's relatively low. 

If you've looked for winter cycling shoes in the past but overlooked the Giro Blaze for those reasons, take another look. Although I do switch to SPD pedals during the winter, I also tend to ignore almost every claim of water resistance in winter boots. Like gloves, they all fail no matter what the ratings are. The Giro Blaze has proven to be one of the best I've tried though. Even riding through heavy rain with no mudguards, I came home with dry socks. 

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I contribute this as much to the design of the ankle, and the outer, as the quoted waterproof specs. What I mean is that the smooth outer keeps rain from collecting in any of the creases that tend to show up on other boots. When water sits on a surface it tends to find a way through but even if that's impossible, it will sap warmth. The other advantage of the outer design is the taper to a narrow, thin, ankle. 

Even beyond crevices that allow water to sit, ankle designs are the biggest culprit when it comes to failed water resistance in shoes. There's a big hole at the top of every shoe. No matter how well you waterproof the low part, if you haven't protected that point of ingress, you'll get wet feet. When there's a bulky, short, ankle it's difficult to effectively seal. This was an issue that I mentioned in my recent review of the Fizik Artica GTX and it is what I very much appreciate about the Giro Blaze. 

Outside of wet weather performance, the Giro Blaze is a capable cold weather partner. The insoles are on the thicker side, and covered in fleece. The thick insulation at the back of the heel is a notable addition in a spot sometimes forgotten. The fit matches what I wear in other brands and is consistent across Giro products. In short, there are a collection of details that should be a given in every capable winter cycling shoe but aren't always. 

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Verdict

If you ride in terrible weather often, winter boots are necessary and the Giro Blaze shoes represent an option with very few downsides. They are capable in the cold and better in the wet even compared to materials that carry higher waterproof ratings. The CX146 Lake boots are more capable in both wet and cold but they also carry a hefty weight penalty and tend to rub the cranks. The Fizik Artica GTX Tempo winter boots might be a little warmer, and they are definitely more adjustable, but they aren't as great in the wet. 

That leaves the Giro Blaze as an excellent wet weather winter cycling shoe. The only downside is that there is no choice of an outsole with 3-bolt cleat mounting. No matter how great of a shoe this might be, if you aren't able to easily switch pedals you aren't going to be able to take advantage. For everyone else, the Giro Blaze should be on your short list of best winter cycling shoes. 

Tech Specs: Giro Blaze winter cycling shoes

• Price: £209.99 / $250
• Sizes: EU 40-50 (no half sizes)
• Weight: 419g per shoe (Actual, size 44)
• Colours: black