Pros: Funky contemporary neoprene boot. Light and comfortable. Designed for women with sculpted shape offering excellent ankle support. Good grip on all sorts of mucky terrain. Really warm. Easy to pull on and off. Great all-rounder.
Cons: Slight “pinching” at the back of the ankle when new — eases with use. Light colour neoprene can stain quite easily and is harder to keep clean than a traditional rubber boot. Feels like it may be a bit too warm in the middle of summer.
Price: c. €100 (shop around for the best deal)
The Arctic Adventure from The Original Muck Boot Company is a stylish neoprene wellington boot designed especially for women. It is a comfortable, functional and contemporary boot that comes in a range of colours and patterns.
On a practical front these are very lightweight and comfortable, and do a great job of keeping your feet both warm and dry in all sorts of conditions. They are excellent out in the field watching wildlife, but are equally at home in the garden, walking on the beach or down muddy woodland tracks. Their sleek, contemporary design even lends itself to the occasional trip into town, if urban welly wearomg is your thing.
They are a snug fit, and I had a slight issue with pinching at the back of my heel initially. You have to take care with your sock selection. That aside they are an excellent all round boot. If you’re looking for a good-looking, high performance wellington designed to fit the female leg these are well worth a closer look.
Pick up a pair of Muck Boots Arctic Adventure boots from Amazon:
Muck Boot Arctic Adventure Ladies’ Boots: Full Review
First impressions
I was very excited on opening the stylish boot box. First impressions were good, despite the review pair arriving in a girly “Dusky Pink and chocolate” — which would probably be my least favourite of the colours on offer. These stylish boots are also available in maroon and black, purple and black, all black, hot-pink and black and also in two patterned designs, so there’s plenty of choice.
Despite initial reservations about the colour, The Arctic Adventure Muck Boots looked funky and comfortable.
Slipping my feet into the boots I was struck immediately by how light and comfortable they were. They were very easy to put on and, crucially, also to take off. That sounds like a really obvious thing, but I’ve owned far too many wellies that were a real pain to take off. Not so with these Muck Boots — so brownie points to the designers on that score.
Out in the field
I couldn’t wait to get out and about and try the Arctic Adventure for real. My initial delight began to ebb during that first outing, when the new boots started to pinch the back of my ankle, just above the heel. The boots are a really snug fit around the ankle, which offers superb support for walking, but there isn’t a whole lot of wriggle room for fabric, so you need to be careful in your sock selection, and try not to tuck thick layers into the boots around your ankles, as the extra bulk can cause uncomfortable pinching.
On each subsequent wear the boots got more comfortable, as long as I wore the right socks, and the snug fit and support, especially around the ankle, meant that I could keep walking for longer without any discomfort creeping in. My instinct at first was to wear thick boot socks… which I think was part of the problem with the initial discomfort. With 4mm of neoprene and a thermal fleece lining there’s really no need — ordinary “grade” socks work just fine.
Warm and dry
The neoprene upper and thermal fleece lining on the Arctic Adventure keep your feet wonderfully warm and dry all day, whatever the weather is doing. They are perfect for lengthy excursions outdoors, when you know you’re going to be on your feet for a long time, and the grippy soles lend themselves to walking across many different types of terrain.
They are ideal for a wide range of wildlife watching activities: from walking through damp fields, to fording streams, to trekking down the local beach or along a muddy woodland track. Anywhere, in fact, where keeping your feet warm and dry is paramount. This being Ireland I had plenty of opportunity to test the boots in cold, wet and muddy conditions. My feet stayed warm, dry and comfortable no matter what challenges the Irish climate threw our way.
Muck Boots rate the Arctic Adventure with a “comfort range” of between -30°C to +20°C — but I cant help feeling they’d be a bit on the toasty side at +20°C. Not that we see too many days like that here in Ireland….
Conclusion
I’ve been using the Muck Boots extensively over several weeks, and even the questionable colour is starting to grow on me as they wear in. Whether I’m walking the tide-line of a windy beach in search of marine wildlife, checking my muddy chicken coop for eggs, or working in the garden the Arctic Adventure boots have quickly become my footwear of choice. Whenever I’m heading out I simply don’t want to leave the Muck Boots behind. My feet have never had it so good.
Pick up a pair of Muck Boots Arctic Adventure boots from Amazon:
Acknowledgement
Ireland’s Wildlife would like to thank Belstane Ltd., the UK and Ireland Distributor for The Original Muck Boot Company, for sending the Arctic Adventure boots in for review.
NB. Ireland’s Wildlife has no specific affiliation to any optics or gear manufacturer and all reviews on the site are completely independent and objective. If you’re an optics or gear manufacturer and would like to submit your product for review on the site please drop us a line using the contact form and we can take things from there.
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