The True Weakness of Kuoma Winter Boots: My Experience with the Achilles' Heel of Their Quality

As summer comes to an end, the sight of the upcoming season makes us think about what to put on our child for the next season. We look for something that is both comfortable, warm, and non-slippery. My personal experience tells me that it's almost impossible, because all the boots I've bought for my daughter in previous seasons have always had some flaw, but this time I decided to take my time and look for something that would be suitable for my daughter, as she attends elementary school and walks on foot, which requires her to dress and undress quickly.

I remember the last time I bought winter boots from Kuoma, which she herself refers to as 'Finnish boots.' Despite the fact that her feet used to get cold in them in the past, this time I decided to give Kuoma another chance, as the boots are now easier to use and don't have anything complicated, they simply put on easily, without the need to adjust anything or worry about them being too tight or slippery. In fact, her son can put them on easily without needing to wear socks, simply puts them on and is ready to go.

Finnish boots: They are shiny boots with an outer fabric and a lower part with a resistant wear-resistant coating of black color. The different Kuoma models are very similar to each other, but not exactly, as some have stickers and others do not. Our last Kuoma purchase was without stickers, but this time we bought the ones with stickers, as our daughter said she preferred the ones with stickers, as they feel more comfortable. Although the sticker itself has no purpose, as it is not even necessary to adjust the footwear, because the footwear is already wide enough for the leg to fit in without problems and does not need to be adjusted, as it does not slip.

Advantages:

They have been built very well, all the seams are straight and the fabrics are of good quality, there is no sign of glue, no loose threads, in short, there is nothing to criticize. Even after a year, the boots look new, even the tip has not shifted.I love how easy they are to put on and take off. It's as if they were designed for children to get used to doing it themselves. My daughter is a bit slow (while untying the cord, while putting on socks, while putting her leg in the shoe, she spends a lot of time), but with Kuoma, it's done very quickly, because there are no problems with this clothing - the heel is wide, there are no zippers, the leg fits easily into the shoe, and she doesn't even have to bend to put it on.Kuoma boots are truly light. Winter clothing is usually heavy and cumbersome, and walking with it is difficult for children, but with Kuoma, there are no problems, because they almost weigh nothing.They fit perfectly to a high heel and a wide leg. For us, this is very important, because our daughter has trouble finding clothes that fit her feet, which are quite wide, and Kuoma boots fit like they were made to measure, like they were specially made for us.Kuoma boots do not slip. The sole is wide, but light, flexible, and with small grooves. This is very important, because children usually run and don't think about maintaining balance on slippery paths, and this well-thought-out sole helps us avoid falls.Disadvantages:

They are very expensive. I bought them in a children's clothing store with a discount for 4900 rubles. At full price, they are even more expensive, in the range of 6,000 rubles. I'm glad there are always offers and discounts. But, however, they are expensive, especially because children's legs grow quickly and we always have to buy new clothes. My husband always tells me that I'm spending too much money on clothes and that each degree of temperature for the child has its own clothes. But there's nothing to do, dressing and shoeing a child today is a costly luxury.They are full of artificial insulation materials.They get wet in the rain. Many people say that their children can walk in the rain in Kuoma boots and that their legs remain dry, but I don't agree, because my daughter has the same problem as I do, that when she goes out into the street with snow and water on the sidewalk, her legs always get wet.What surprised me most about Finnish boots is that, despite their many good qualities, there is a fundamental problem that ruins everything: in Kuoma, the feet freeze. If we walked more than 20 minutes, even in the coldest weather, my daughter's fingers always froze and the entire sole of her foot, including the heel, was cold. And not only that, but we tried all sorts of tricks to keep them warm – we put a wool lining, a thin lining, a thermo-socks, wool socks, regular socks with a bit of synthetic, and even thermocollars. Nothing worked – at less than -5 degrees, my daughter's feet froze in the Finnish boots. And to make matters worse, my daughter didn't just stand still, but moved actively.Their Achilles' heel is the sole. I think this is the source of all the problems, because it's very thin for a winter boot, and at the end of the season, the skin on the heels of both soles was very worn out, considering that we didn't use them that much, as for long walks we had some mohair-putas.Midsole height: I measured the midsole with a centimeter and got exactly 23 cm. My daughter wore size 35, as she has a calf of 22.3 mm, and has an excess of 7 mm, which is ideal for wearing Kuoma boots with winter socks and still having room to put on a sock. I looked at the 34s in the store and they were small, as the midsole measures 22.1 cm.

Conclusion: So, the Kuoma winter boots were useful to us as a second pair of boots for going to school and other short walks, as they are very light, comfortable, put on quickly on our wide calf and with a large shoe, and also take off easily, do not slip, and the child is stable in Kuoma even on open ice. Unfortunately, the winter boots are cold, the legs freeze. I still haven't found a satisfactory explanation for this fact, why the legs freeze in Kuoma. If I thought before that it was all due to the child's lack of physical activity, now I'm starting to question this theory, as my daughter runs a lot, walks a lot, but her legs still freeze. I dare to suppose that it's all due to the thin and intelligent midsole, made of artificial materials, which tends to slip at the back. In my opinion, the midsole is the Achilles' heel of Kuoma. Having a long experience with this shoe, I think I have the right to ask: why didn't the manufacturer warm the midsole, make it thicker, more solid, if I can put it that way? In some way, this year, the Kuoma winter boots are no longer an option for us, as my daughter has grown up, the ease of putting them on is no longer a priority, now what matters is the warm quality of the winter shoe. However, I will recommend Kuoma, but with a big condition: only as a second pair of winter shoes, because they won't protect the child's legs from the cold and aren't suitable for long walks. Although we don't need to buy Kuoma for this winter, as we found shoes that are very similar to Kuoma, but have a thick wool sole and a solid midsole, from a Russian manufacturer, and are much cheaper than Kuoma boots: they are our Nordman boots.