Waffle Stompers for Walking on Ice

Merry Christmas! Today I found out that if I wear my waffle stomper boots, I am pretty darn sure footed when crossing the icy streets around here in Spokane, WA. Waffle stompers are what in junior high we used to call hiking boots, or any boots with large tread that resembles waffle irons.

"Give an ant a chance" was the motto we used to have, regarding the tread that boots ought to have. These are my current waffle stompers. I got them at Walmart for about $35, in the boys' section. They are waterproof steel toe Herman Survivors.

I'm a desert girl. Before we moved here to Spokane in 2010, my experience walking on ice and snow was confined to the twenty or so times I had been snow skiing at Mammoth Mountain, Lake Tahoe, Big Bear, Aspen, and one dreamy time in Switzerland. The boots we city slickers brought to the slopes for "apres ski" wear were usually attractive but impractical furry or suede boots with slippery souls that were not at all safe for walking on ice.

The last pair of "snow boots" that I bought were London Fog Eve style boots. They leak water onto my socks, their tread is treacherously slippery on ice, and they were twice as expensive as my awesome waffle stompers from Walmart. I wore my fancy London Fog 'apres ski' boots as house slippers for a few days, but they aren't even warm enough for that.

I have elastic-on cleats for walking on ice, but today on the ice in my waffle stompers, I felt more sure-footed than even when I wear my cleats. I am very pleasantly surprised. To be fair, the ice today is frozen treaded snow that has some texture to it, not slick black ice. I will still put my cleats on when we have slick ice from freshly fallen rain.