The North Face Nuptse Traction Booties

Review by Erin Trail

The North Face Nuptse Traction Booties are a warm winter boot that give slipper comfort with reliable winter traction.

Details

• Upper made with polyester ripstop
• IcePick® temperature-sensitive rubber lugs for increased traction
• 700 fill down
• Unisex, whole sizes

Detailed Review

The North Face Nuptse Traction Booties are, at their essence, slippers that you can wear outside in the winter.  They give off retro moon boot vibes, but these boots do what the 80’s version didn’t: keep you warm and dry.

Sizing is a bit hard for me, as I’ve got tricky feet. The North Face Nuptse Traction Booties are unisex and are only available in whole sizes.  My personal complication is that my feet are a half size different AND I have a torn plantar plate, making some shoes harder to dial in.  And as luck would have it, my feet fall within that half size that isn’t available. I originally tried the smaller size, hoping that with the slipper feel, I could go with a tighter shoe, but the toes of my larger foot were firmly against the front of the bootie, making things a no-go.  I went up to the next available size and they are a smidge to big, which results in a bit of heel movement as I walk.

The insole of The North Face Nuptse Traction Booties is pretty thick and cushy.  Unfortunately for me, the shoe seems to be a zero drop (or minimal drop), which tends to make my feet angry.  I was able to pop out the insole and put in my custom insoles, which helped a lot with both the loose fit and alleviated my personal angry feet issues.

I include this information because for some people, a zero drop shoe is not an issue, but based on comments from other shoe reviews I’ve done, I think people do appreciate the flag and workarounds.

I’ve been testing The North Face Nuptse Traction Booties whenever our oddly warm winter has accommodated testing. I’ve worn them while working an outdoor mountain expo, on walks around the neighborhood, and to a seasonal outside holiday light display.

The North Face Nuptse Traction Booties are WARM. These boots are filled with 700 fill Responsible or Recycled down. The result is that these boots are like puffy jackets for your feet. The polyester ripstop also does a nice job blocking out wind and they haven’t retained any water from melted snow.

The IcePick® temperature-sensitive rubber lugs provide confident footing on a variety of surfaces. I’ve worn The North Face Nuptse Traction Booties in dirt parking lots, on packed snow and ice (in the dark), and on snowy + icy pavement.  Each time, the boots have held traction without slipping or sliding.

The North Face Nuptse Traction Booties have also stayed fairly clean.  The first time I wore them, it was a cold morning, but with dirty and dusty ground surfaces.  As a result, the boots were covered in dust after a full morning of walking around the expo.  I was happy to discover that a quick brush knocked all of the dust right off and the boots look as good as new again.

Closing Thoughts

The North Face Nuptse Traction Booties are a fun and functional option for those who like boots that have a slipper feel with outside capable traction. They are PLENTY warm and durable enough for casual use during winter time. They’re also very packable, thanks to the 700 down fill, making them a nice option for winter camping or extended backcountry excursions.  They are available in whole sizes, ranging from men’s 4 to 14.

Erin Trail

Trail Boss of Stoke

Erin Trail on her mountain bike at the World Tri Cross Triathlon World Championship race

Erin Trail on her running at the World Tri Cross Triathlon World Championship race