On test: Lake MXZ301 Winter MTB shoes

The Lake MXZ301 (Image credit: James Huang)

Lake's winter mountain bike shoes are sufficiently water-resistant that their use extends beyond just the coldest months, as James Huang found:

Just call me Imelda. These days my collection of cycling footwear seems to have gotten a little out of hand (although it likely pales in comparison to another CN contributor's army of $5 strappy sandals… you know who you are!). On any given day, I'm more likely to pull a pair of shoes out of the closet at random with some sort of cleat bolted on to the bottom than not, and I've already arrived at a trailhead on at least one occasion having packed the wrong shoes (Time ATAC cleats do not work in Crank Brothers pedals, in case you were wondering). In spite of the confusion, though, some shoes are still more appropriate in certain situations than others, and this statement is no more applicable than with Lake's MXZ301 Winter MTB shoes.

For those of you who have not experienced a Midwestern winter, let me fill you in: they're cold. They're long. They're often wet and perma-slushy, and the sun can disappear for weeks on end. Did I mention they're cold? Riding through one of these is difficult to say the least, and while proper clothing makes the experience much more tolerable, protecting your extremities is a perpetual battle. Heavy gloves and hats are no-brainers, but shoes are a bit trickier as they are not only pieces of apparel, but also pieces of equipment. And let's face it: heavy socks tend to cut off circulation to your feet (unless you deliberately wear shoes that are a bit big) and booties sometimes don't work well in off-road situations and they've invariably a bit of a chore to put on.