Northwave Flagship GTX winter gravel shoe review: Northwave's most expensive off-road shoe

My winter cycling shoe testing has continued into February, but lately, I’ve headed off-road to mix things up. I’ve been putting the Northwave Flagship GTX winter shoes through their paces. These are Northwaves absolute flagship off-road winter shoes and the Italian brand has gone to town on them. 

The shoes sit in Northwave’s MTB lineup, but I’m testing them out to ride gravel, and a bit of everything on a gravel bike truth be told, road, light MTB trails, gravel tracks, you get the picture. They feature a two-bolt cleat mounting so if it’s off-road, or on for that matter, and you want to use an SPD-style two-bolt cleat they will fit the bill.

Winter shoes and boots are often pricey, and the Flagship GTX certainly uphold this tradition with a rrp of £386.99 / $472.99 / €429.99. They are tied with the Veloce Extreme road shoes, worn by Pippo Ganna on the road as the brand's most expensive offerings. The clue is in the name here, Northwave gives its top-tier boots the 'flagship' name and it would appear the brand has made zero concessions concerning the construction of these shoes. Northwave is committed to winter cycling shoes and has the most winter shoe offerings of any brand that I know, there are several road and MTB options to choose from, but we are going in at the top today.

Yes, they are pricey, and have a big spec list which we will get into, but are they any good? Well, I’ve been heading out in classic cold and muddy British winter conditions to put them to the test. 

Head to our best winter cycling shoes guide for more cold weather, winter cycling options 

Design and Aesthetics 

Some winter boots, for me, don’t look particularly cool at times, they are a little chunky, and whilst they are first and foremost designed to do a specific job in testing conditions, they sometimes make me miss clean white cycling shoes on a summer's day. 

The Flagship GTXs look purposeful and stylish though, they feel techy and high end and I like the overall look and feel, it's more suited to off-road riding I feel from a purely aesthetic point of view. Out of the box, you can’t help but think ‘Yeah, these things are proper’. 

They come in a single colour black, and in my opinion, lose a little bit of winter boot bulk thanks to the soft and less prominent neoprene ‘easy collar’. Shoes with a taller collar and a strap tend to end up looking bulkier for my money. These shoes are closer in looks to a regular cycling shoe, especially with the double closure dials a lot of winter shoes tend to eschew, just with a taller, raised collar. There’s plenty of strength and structure, but it’s a more appealing proposition to me. On a side note, Northwave also produces a road-going Flagship model, with a similar design, but the GTX version has a textured neoprene collar compared to the road versions' smooth one, primarily for looks. 

The shoes are black, with reflective silver ‘Northwave’ and ‘Gore-Tex’ wordmarks on the outside of each shoe. Gore-Tex refers of course to the liner the shoes use. On the inside heel, the brand and model name are printed in black. 

There are two pull loops to help you get the shoes on at the front and rear of the ankle collar. They are reflective and extend down the ankle collar and front of the shoe, to help boost visibility. However, the front strip is largely hidden by the shoe's upper.

Image 1 of 3

In terms of design, there are several features to unpack here. Let’s start at the sole, These shoes use a Michelin carbon fibre sole, that Northwave has given a 14.0 out of 15 rating on its in-house stiffness scale. If you're confused at this point, Michelin produces soles for various types of shoes as part of its 'Soles by Michelin' programme. The brand's hyperlight XC carbon soles have been used, and are manufactured from unidirectional carbon fibre. The carbon fibre also has some sort of rubbery, protective coating, I assume to provide protection when riding and walking off-road so the soles don’t get too beaten up, a rubber tread on top takes care of walking duties though along with two replaceable front studs. The tread is very narrow at the midfoot and just behind, but the fabric sole of the shoe itself is wide, and pretty rigid, your feet still feel supported, something I felt was lacking in the DMT WKR1 winter shoes. I asked Northwave about this, and they explained the narrowness is primarily to save weight. 

The shoes also feature Northwave Arctic insoles, which use a thin layer of aluminium sandwiched in the insole to improve insulation and are topped with a thin fleece layer. They aren’t heavy-duty, but it’s another nice touch. I unintentionally completed a cold ride without an insole in one shoe after removing it to photograph and unsurprisingly I could feel a difference in warmth.

Northwave has used a Gore-Tex Duratherm Kelvin liner to provide insulation and waterproofing. According to Northwave, they were the first brand to employ Gore-Tex in cycling shoes in 2004 and currently offer 10 shoes that make use of Gore-Tex material and liners.

You guessed it: the Flagship GTX uses the top-level Gore-Tex Duratherm Kelvin membrane, which offers the maximum amount of thermal insulation and the best breathability. When used, it should contribute to dry, comfortable feet that don’t overheat when working hard, which I also found to be the case when I recently reviewed the Gorewear Gore-Tex Trigger winter gloves.

Not as many winter cycling shoes get the dual dial treatment, but Northwave has continued the top-spec theme by fitting two of its own SLW3 dials which are available to buy as spares, the same as can be found on its flagship Veloce Extreme road offering which feature in our best cycling shoes guide. Turn the dials clockwise to tighten, and lift the angled ‘fin’ above them to undo. I see the dials receive criticism in some quarters for being a little fiddly, they never cause me much issue, to be honest. There aren’t the multidirectional adjustments some Boa dials provide, but it’s a first-world problem.

Externally a strip of hard-wearing material runs around the outside of the shoe PU upper, particularly at the heel and toes, it seems super tough and durable and also contributes to the slightly aggressive, off-road aesthetics for me.

Image 1 of 2

Performance 

There are a few key areas to test when looking at winter cycling shoes, warmth and waterproofing being the main two, and the driving factors for people shopping for winter cycling footwear I feel. 

These are off-road shoes, and that potentially means a lot more mud and water. I've tested the shoes in plenty of thick, boggy mud and freezing water, with me both riding and carrying the bike through some very deep, muddy sections and they kept my feet completely dry. It was muddy, wet and deep enough for me to have that ‘any minute now’ feeling, waiting for the moment cold water started penetrating the shoes, but it didn’t, a nice pass for the shoes there. 

I also used them for low-intensity road riding, and off-road gravel in temperatures just above freezing, my latest ride was at around 3C / 37F. They kept my feet warm and comfortable whether I was riding or walking in the mud. I experienced the occasional slightly nippy feeling in my toes, but altogether it was a very pleasant experience, and I'm confident I could throw these shoes on for grim winter weather and they would just look after me. They are also roomy enough to allow for thicker socks etc if you want to wear some winter socks to boost comfort.  

As usual with winter shoes, the weak spot is the ankle opening or cuff, which usually provides enough room for water to penetrate down into the shoe. This might be from soaking bib tights that run off down into the shoes or splashes off the road, which I experienced once in my testing or from rain. You could fit a roomier overshoe over these shoes, but if you're really off-roading they may suffer when walking. The other option would be tucking your bib tights over the collar, which I found difficult to achieve with these particular shoes. Something I feel would suit off-road winter riding would be to wear some waterproof socks to ensure protection. This is the only weak spot on these shoes, my testing proved they kept water at bay everywhere else.

Riding on the road with them feels pretty normal, aside from the tall collar, they feel like regular shoes for the most part, which I like, as I mentioned earlier, they just don't feel overly bulky but there's a tonne of protection, again, perhaps a hint to where the extra spend goes.  

The carbon Michelin sole is indeed stiff, after coming from a spate of nylon-soled winter shoes, I could feel that extra rigidity when walking at first. I tested this specifically and hiking up short steep climbs on or off-road is just fine, certainly not uncomfortable, if anything I like the feeling. Ultimately these shoes are designed with performance in mind and not hours of walking with your bike. For comfort when walking off-road look at the Northwave Hammer Plus, a very comfortable MTB/gravel shoe. 

Cleaning the shoes has been pretty easy, thanks to their waterproofing I could quickly rinse the worst of the mud off once you get home and keep the shoes largely dry inside. I did find the SLW3 dials a bit harder to undo when covered in mud, and I got mucky hands as a result, no biggie though. Once dried, I then used a wet wipe and cloth on the uppers, and a toothbrush and diluted wash spray on the lower, tough material strip to get them looking neat enough for my photos. It only took about ten minutes, but I can confirm the shoes cleaned up well. However, I suspect they would remain dirty for prolonged periods if used weekly in winter, especially in Britain or other wet/cold countries. 

Fit in winter shoes can be tricky I find, shoes often end up being a bit more voluminous thanks to the higher incorporated ankles on shoes. An exception would be the DMT WKR1 for me, which comes up a little small. Northwave has a useful sizing guide for the GTX, with helpful measuring instructions to get things right. I tested a size 43, which works out at my regular UK 9.5 shoe size and got on very well with it. I think winter shoes end up being warmer if they provide a little more room for your feet. I had room for thicker socks and could tighten the shoes down securely. They felt perfect for winter riding all told. The toe box has a slight taper, but the shoes certainly aren't narrow in my opinion. If you do have wide feet, perhaps check out the Lake CX146 my colleague Will recently reviewed.  

Image 1 of 2

Value 

These are expensive shoes, but there haven't been any concessions when it comes to their construction and it’s relatively easy to see what contributes to the high price. There’s the carbon fibre Michelin sole, top-line Gore-Tex liner, dual closure SLW3 dials, winter-specific insulated insoles, the list goes on. If you want to make a discerning purchase and invest in a quality product, I think you will be happy. 

For context, the shoe below this one, the Extreme XC GTX is $121 cheaper and gets a slightly lower tier Gore-Tex liner, a single lower spec SLW2 dial, and a non-Michelin, less stiff sole with a carbon insert, but there are plenty of design similarities. That's the nice thing about the Northwave winter shoe line, it has more options than anyone else. 

You may need or want a less expensive winter cycling shoe to abuse in the cold months, but if you really desire top-shelf materials and design I think this is a fairly good proposition value-wise. If I was investing myself, I would be happy that I was buying a good-looking, hard-wearing, quality product, with plenty of available spares that would last for a long time. 

Image 1 of 3

Verdict 

I've only been impressed with the Flagship GTX, it's a beast of a shoe, hardy, tough and durable and represents the pinnacle of what Northwave can put into a winter shoe right now. I have felt properly protected wearing them, to echo my initial thoughts, they are proper.

I will continue to use these shoes long term so I can truly test if they stand up to years of winter use which would reinforce their good value, buy well, buy once price tag. 

If the price is offensive, and I appreciate these are expensive shoes, Northwave has a big range of other winter shoes to choose from.