The Snowfox is a winter boot that was highly anticipated in the barefoot community and by me, so I was very excited about their release. This year’s winter conditions, which brought us a major shipment of snow early in the winter, allowed us to test the Snowfox a lot in the conditions for which they were made – snow.
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1. General
- Brand: Be Lenka
- Model: Snowfox
- Colour: black
- Tested on: woman, medium-wide feet, 26.3 cm long and 10 cm wide, low instep, skinny ankles with narrow heel, fin-shaped foot (see my how to measure guide and foot type) – wearing size 43 and on kids
| Made in EU | Adults | Leather | Ship worldwide |
2. Material characteristics
2.1 Upper
The kids and adult Snowfox models have a very similar design and material composition. The only differences are in the range of colours and the design of the sole, which is more robust in the adult models.
The upper is made of a combination of smooth leather, textile and suede in different colours. Adult models are available in black, kaki and brown and kids models in black, pink and blue. My youngest son chose blue colour and my daughter and niece chose pink.
Pink is the most delicate of all the colours, so when used in mud, it can stain more quickly and be the stains can be harder to remove than in darker colours.
The edging is made of smooth leather, which is of good quality in the adult models, while all three kids models quickly showed signs of wear in this area. The wear in the light grey edging of the pink model is more noticeable than in the blue model.
The round laces allow a very good fixation of the shoes to the different calf widths and make it very easy to put on and take off the shoes. Their disadvantage is that they tend to untie very easily, so the laces have to be tightened extremely tightly each time they are used.
I don’t mind tighter tightening, but it is more difficult with younger kids who are not able to tie their own laces tightly enough to prevent them coming undone while walking.
2.2 Lining
The interior is lined with a combination of natural and synthetic wool. The shoes also come with a removable insole made of a combination of merino wool, alu foil and latex on the bottom side. Our feet stayed warm even when we were out in the snow for longer periods in temperatures as low as -15°C.
The Snowfox also has a waterproof membrane built in. The boots never got wet inside for the kids or for me and worked perfectly even in wet snow.
2.3 Sole
The Snowfox kids and adult models have a different sole, which is more robust and has deeper lugs in the adult model. The sole thickness is 4 mm (without lugs and insole), but the overall sole thickness is greater due to the deep tread, which is noticable in less intense ground feeling. The sole has excellent traction in snow.
The kids models have a sole with lower tread, so I was concerned that the sole would not be the most suitable for use in winter conditions. However, surprisingly, my kids did not have any problems with slipping. The sole worked perfectly for us.
Both types of sole can be rolled, but the greater firmness of the materials means that more force is required to do that. They are less flexible in the longitudinal direction, where in the adult model greater sole flexibility is achieved by means of longitudinal notches in the sole profile.
Also check my video for the close-up and to see how they look on my feet.
3. Sizing information
3.1 Length
The Snowfox model is available in sizes 25-35 as the Snowfox Kids model and in sizes 36-43 as the Snowfox adult model.
Internal lengths are given in the size chart, but kids models are approx. 3 mm longer than these values. My kids wear shoes that are approx. 17 mm longer than their feet, but the extra length does not cause them any problems. This also gives them room to grow in the shoe and room for thicker winter socks. But my son couldn’t wear ski socks in the Snowfox model, because the smaller kids sizes have a narrower shaft.
The adult models are a little shorter due to the thicker wool lining (approx. 2 mm in my size). With my foot length of 26.3 cm I wear a size 43, which is perfect for my foot length in this model. There is enough room for my toes not to touch the end of the shoe when walking and I can wear them with thicker socks without any problem.
See post How much space do we need in shoes if you want to know more about that.
3.2. Toebox shape & width
The Snowfox model features the updated Be Lenka toebox shape, which has a milder slope towards the pinky toe. This shape is more universal than the original shape and more suitable for different foot types.
Boots will be the best fit for foot types 2, 4 and 5, but other types can have a relatively good fit too. For foot types 3 and 6, you should choose a little more space in front of the toes.
More about different foot types you can read in the post What is my Foot Type?
The shoes are suitable for wide feet and also have ample space above the toes. At my 10 cm wide feet, I still have a bit of width to spare, so I can wear thick socks without a problem. The Snowfox also fit well on feet with bigger circumference over the metatarsals joints.
3.3. Fit around the instep, heel and ankle
Snowfox adult models can be adjusted well to different heights of the instep. They are suitable for both low and high instep, but with very high instep you may have a snug fit in the midfoot. The shaft opening is bigger, but the laces allow a good fixation for all calf widths. In the case of low volume feet with skinny calves, the laces can be a little longer.
The Snowfox kids models are best suited for low and low to medium height instep and kids with high instep won’t fit well in this model. Also, the shaft opening is narrow in the smaller sizes, so the model is not suitable for children with chubby feet and calves.
4. Comfort
The Snowfox lining feels very warm and soft and it is a pleasure to wear them. I have no complaints here.
5. How and when to wear them?
This is the type of boot that can be paired well with a variety of winter clothing. I love to wear them with warm leggings or under ski trousers. However, they also look nice with jeans.
Snowfox is also wearing my eldest son, but the adult models have a rather feminine design. In the future, I would love to see some more ‘masculine’ designs that could be worn more easily by boys in larger adult sizes.
6. Price & where to buy
You can buy Be Lenka shoes on their official website. The price for the Snowfox Kids model is 109€ and the Snowfox adult model 189€.
7. Shipping info
Be Lenka ships worldwide and the shipping time is fast. Shipping costs depend on the shipping country and the method of delivery. Free returns for some EU countries. Be Lenka does not accept any returns/exchanges outside the EU.
8. Shipping info
The Snowfox is exactly what I wanted from my barefoot snow boots. They are warm, soft, water-repellent, easy to put on, provide good foot fixation, have good traction and plenty of space for toes. They have quickly risen to the top of the list as one of my favourite snow boots so far.
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