Extremely well made, extremely well designed, extremely good at the job, extremely expensive.
- Brand: Fox
- Product: Union All Weather Flat Shoe
- Price: £219.99
- From: Fox Racing UK
- Tested by: Benji through the wettest winter of all time
Pros
- Total winter game-changer
- Dry feet every time – way better than waterproof socks
- Great traction and feel on flat pedals
- They dry out pretty quick too
Cons
- Very expensive
- Still need thermal socks
- Understandably hard to take off!
Techno Wellies from Fox Racing. Seamless waterproof upper. BOA Fit system. ‘Tuned’ midsole. Ultratac compound rubber outsole. High neoprene collar helps keep moisture out of your shoes, especially when paired with overlapping riding trousers (collar extends about 10cm over the ankle). D3O insole with two arch support insert options (low or high, I prefer the low).
Let’s despatch with the niggles first…
£219.99 is a heck of a lot of money. I probably wouldn’t have paid that much for these before trying. But I certainly would pay that to keep hold of them. They have transformed my winter riding experience this past few months.
The other niggle is that they are comically difficult to remove. You may well ‘boot’ yourself in the head when the shoe finally pops off your foot. Having said that, they do get significantly easier to remove after a while. Partly due to your removal technique improving, partly due to the shoes softening-up a bit. And it is this tightness that contributes to the shoes excellent performance on the (sopping) trails.
On a tightness-related note, unlike a lot of cycling shoes (that seem to come up small), the Union All Weather Flat shoes do run true to size. If you wear size 43 trainers, buy size 43 Fox Unions.
This true sizing also means you can run suitably non-thin socks with these shoes. Don’t try them on wearing thin/cycling socks. Wear relatively thick/warm socks. Because you will need them. Much like the aforementioned wellies, the Fox Union All Weather Flat shoes aren’t at all insulated or thermal. The first ride I did in these (yes, in thinnish socks) I ended up with incredibly cold feet. You need to wear them with suitable wintry socks. Which is fine. It makes them fit better and also makes them slightly easier to get off in my experience; thick socks act a bit like a ‘slip liner’ when tugging your hoof out the shoe.
The shoes are holding upo incredibly well after four months of using them multiple times a week. The cuff and pull-tabs show no sign of ripping. The BOA dials and ‘string’ are running fine. The sole shows no signs of coming away from the upper.
The Ultratac sole from Fox is becoming one of my favourite rubber soles. Sufficiently grippy when paired with decent flatties (DMR Vaults or Race Face Atlas usually) yet still showing very little sign of ‘pin digging’ damage. And Fox have struck a nice balance in terms of thickness of sole/midsole. Not too thick and Frankenstein-booty and not too stiff-as-a-planky. Good foot feel from the pedals. Also, fine to walk around in.
These Fox ‘high tops’ have superceded my previous favourite foul weather flattie footwear (the Leatt 7.0 HydraDri Flat) for a few reasons. They feel and grip on pedals better. They’re are better at keeping moisture out. The BOA system is nicer to use after foul rides with cold fingers. They appear to be better made (the Leatts have suffered with stuck zips, rusty poppers etc).
Overall
If a product doesn’t really have any weaknesses then it’s hard to complain about the price. If £200+ is what it takes to perfect the winter flat shoe then dang it. It is what it is. I’d certainly advise buying a pair of these costly boots instead a Yet Another Expensive Jacket (that won’t really work). If you stomach/stump-up the cash, these will become one of your essential bits of winterwear. (I don’t think I’ve ever listed four ‘Pros’ in a review before). Recommended.
