Customer Reviews SOREL Caribou™

These things are MASSIVE! I already have a small frame and narrow foot but these things were huge. I ordered a size 6 which is a half size bigger than my street shoe and I should have gone up a whole size if it were available.

These are warm and weather proof but SO HEAVY! Walking in them is a serious workout! If you want a heavy duty snow boot, this is it; if you want a boot you can wear around town, not so much.

I found the Sorel Caribou boots to be a very attractive looking snow boot, but that is where my high ratings for this boot ends. I normally wear a size 7, medium and so I ordered a whole size larger than what I normally wear to accommodate wearing a base layered silk sock and a wool sock. I tried on the size 8, Sorel boot, wearing a coolmax ski sock, but to my surprise, I found the footbed of the boot felt slightly snug and tight across my foot. The boot would likely been acceptable to me if I was spending only short periods of time outdoors, but I spend my winter vacations in arctic Norway and need a snow boot to feel slightly loose around my double-layer socked foot. A slightly loose fitted snow boot will keep my feet warm and dry during prolong periods in sub-zero temperatures. Another problem I experienced with these Sorel boots is the top of the inner boot fitted tight around my lower calf. I was unable to fit the bottom of my pant leg into the top of the boot. Maybe, a size 9 in these boots would have been the right fit for me, but I decided to return the Sorel boots for a refund after discovering that the once Canada made and owned Sorel went bankrupt in 2000 and was bought out by Columbia Sportswear. Columbia kept the Sorel name, making Sorel their subsidiary; however, Columbia then outsourced the Sorel boot production to Southeast Asia instead of keeping production in Canada. I was searching for a true snow boot for prolong outdoor use, but instead found the Sorel boot is now made for a fashion statement, which seems to have left out the qualities that once made Sorel the snow boot of choice.

I found the Sorel Caribou boots to be a very attractive looking snow boot, but that is where my high ratings for this boot end. I normally wear a size 7, medium width shoe and so I ordered a whole size larger than what I normally wear to accommodate wearing a base layered silk sock and a wool sock. I tried on the size 8, Sorel boot, wearing a single layered ski sock, but to my surprise, I found the footbed of the boot felt slightly snug and tight across my foot. The boot would likely been acceptable to me if I was spending only short periods of time outdoors, but I spend my winter vacations in arctic Norway and need a snow boot to feel slightly loose around my double-layer socked foot. A slightly loose fitted snow boot will keep my feet warm and dry during prolong periods in sub-zero temperatures. Another problem I experienced with these Sorel boots is the top of the inner bootie fitted tight around my lower calf. I was unable to fit the bottom of my pant leg into the top of the boot. Maybe a size 9 in these boots would have been the right fit for me, but I decided to return the Sorel boots for a refund after discovering that the once Canada made and owned Sorel went bankrupt in 2000 and was bought out by Columbia Sportswear. Columbia kept the Sorel name, making Sorel their subsidiary, however, Columbia then outsourced the Sorel boot production to Southeast Asia instead of keeping production in Canada. I was searching for a true snow boot for prolonged outdoor use, but instead found the Sorel boot is now made for a fashion statement, which seems to have left out the qualities that once made Sorel the snow boot of choice.

I loved this boot. It seemed to be everything I need in a cold weather snow boot. It is comfortable but the ankle did not fit well and was very stiff. Unfortunately I had to return.

This was a very clunky boot. It feels like wearing a ski boot. I am a size 10, and the boot is huge looking. Returning it.

Huge! Bulky even to me 5'7 tall- with size 8! Returning! Can't walk comfortably.

This is an update having had these shoes for just over a year now. I remembered reading one woman complain that the rubber wasn't as high quality as it used to be -- specifically, that her boots cracked after one winter's wear. Having worn mine for part of the 09-10 season, and the 10-11 season so far, I, too, am noticing this cracking. I'm doing nothing out of the ordinary. I don't leave my boots in warm areas when I come inside. I don't run the sides into sharp surfaces. I don't poke, prod, or otherwise pry apart the rubber toe and sole, and yet both boots have now cracked. The main cracks are in the rubber along the top of the foot, but I'm noticing that rubber is starting to peel away from the side of the sole, too. I'm attempting to use ShoeGoo as a fix since Sorel has a one year warranty, but so far it's not really holding. My recommendation? Mark your one year anniversary and make sure your boots don't need repairs before it hits. I love these things (warm! comfortable! heavy but worth it!) and am really sad that they're not holding together better.

was looking for warm winter boots and I love the look of these. They don't fit my foot very well (too long and wide) and they're h-e-a-v-y. I probably should have returned them, but I kept them and wear with thick socks. They are warm and I like the higher coverage.

Heavier than I'd want in a hiking boot but if it wasn't so wide on my narrow foot, I'd love it for keeping warm in deep snow or on short walks. The Zappos descriptions offered as to size aren't quite accurate for the fit of this boot. I ordered my size and the length was right but it was very wide for me. So It is short for the size length but is wide for the size width.

These are great boots for large amounts of snow. However, if you are looking for something to wear to the mall or store, I would look for something else. These boots are very heavy. After wearing for a few days in a row, my back begins to hurt from lugging around the extra weight. When I have worn them outside in deep amounts of snow, I have stayed dry and warm. The weight of the boot is just very bothersome. My only other complaint, a minor one, is I cannot get the liner to stay in one boot when I take it off. I can live with that, though.

The boots are very warm, but I can barely walk in them because they're so stiff. The soles don't bend!

These boots are huge. They were so big it looked like I had cartoon feet. If you plan on being in a blizzard, buy them. If you plan on wearing them for everyday winter, beware - they are hilariously big. I laughed when I pulled them out of the package. It would take me ten minutes to get up or down one flight of stairs. That's all.

This is my second time ordering a Sorel boot and I haven't had any luck. Sorel runs really big in length and width. I am normally a true size 10 and I have a lot in room in my boot. I wouldn't go down a whole size though because I may want to wear a thick sock. The boot looks like it will do the trick to tackle Chicago winters but I am not sure if it is feminine enough. The style is very bulky and makes my foot look huge. I just got them today and I haven't worn them yet so I may return them. I'm disappointed because I want to like them.

They don't make Sorel boots like they used to. I have an older (4 years) pair of Sorel Caribou boots that are wonderful, but I simply wanted another color. The new pair of Caribous I recently ordered, lasted one day before the neoprene tongue ripped out. I compared the two boots and discovered Sorel does not sew the neoprene into the shaft like they used to. On the older pair, the neoprene had what looks like a basting tape around the edge, the new ones are raw neoprene edges sewn onto wool with a single slip stitch, which does not make a whole lot of sense. I hope this boot was defective, but since I did not receive a response letting me know if it was or not, I am assuming it is otherwise, and therefore, I came to the conclusion, the quality of Sorel boots aren't what they used to be.