Why is There No Positive Reviews of Sorel Caribou Boot? (CUT IN HALF)

I have a pair that I bought probably 35 years ago - they've had hours and hours and hours of cold hard use and are still great. Sad to see an iconic Canadian brand go downhill.

I am a supervisor with a company here in Utah that provides snow removal teams with winter boots. This video has been valuable for helping me evaluate our current practises. I am anxiously awaiting the comparison video!

Natural rubber on the original boots is superior to the synthetic lower used today. My 30 y/o boot has no sign of cracking. The 100% wool lining is also better. I would never buy another pair of Sorels. Watched friends boots fall apart over the years. Big question is if Columbia produces a genuinely comparable boot to the original caribou, is the consumer willing to pay $400-500 for the pair. I know I am. It would be the last pair I bought. Today's disposable society has destroyed most products. Shame.

This is a great review. I was planning on getting a pair, but not now. If Columbia changed the design, they should be ashamed. People DEPEND on good quality in some climates. People can freeze and lose their feet with crappy boots. If those decisions were made for PROFITS those people have no soul.

Bought a pair in the '70s when I got my first job. Wore them for winter work and play for YEARS, then used them "as needed" when the outside job changed to inside work. Overall, I owned those boots for about 20 years. The only reason I got rid of them was the stitching between leather and rubber failed. The wool booty was real wool and about 1/2 inch thick.

I bought my first pair of Sorels on recommendation by my work supervisor in the late 70s when I had to do a work assignment in Montreal in December. I was a snow newbie from Vancouver and after completing the job it was my overkill winter boot in snowless Vancouver for nearly 30 years. It lasted and lasted but finally had to throw it away after the heel had worn through. I was excited recently to buy another, and wow - what a mistake. As your test showed, I remember my 70s pair I could wear it for hours in the freezing -25c working outside in Montreal and my feet never felt cold. This new pair I was standing around in just below zero here in Vancouver and I couldn't keep from shivering. But now after watching your video, totally makes sense the difference of then and now.

I worked at Columbia when they bought Sorel. For the first few years they were producing Kaufman designs, but the bean counters caught on and started the de-contenting process. I have a pair from around 2002, elk hide uppers and 9mm wool felt liners, thick quality rubber and Vibram soles. I soak the uppers with Huberd's oil every year, the rubber is still pliable.

It would be interesting to see the cross-section of a vintage pair vs newer cost-reduced ones. The thickness of the modern outsole and toe looks ridiculously thin.

I definitely want to see an old boot cut in half. My biggest problem with anything made by columbia is that it always feels like it was made for Amazon HQ employees who want to look outdoorsy, and not actually made for outdoorsman. I'd love to see the tangible quality differencein something pre and post Columbia

When Sorel was made in Canada, they were the best winter boots I'd ever worn. Since the sales of the company, they have become just crappy synthetic boots definitely not worth $150.oo. The original Blizzard boots I bought had a steel toe and were still the warmest boots I've ever owned. They also lasted close to 10 yrs of everyday use in winter. I'll never buy another pair now that they aren't made in Canada and don't have half the quality.

Grew up west of Ottawa in the 70's and 80's. If it was going to be -40, these were what you wore that day. The inner bootie used to be quite thick wool felt, which was nice, because even when it got wet, it was still reasonably warm. We'd take out the wet liner, invert if over a heat register, and perfume the house with wet wool smell. Sure would be curious to see what a pair of that vintage were like in comparison.

The kitty's thinking: "You think I'm not gonna try and steal your show? Guess again, Charlie."

I have several pair of Sorels of various ages. There is definitely a huge variation in build, warmth, and fit, even in the same line. The Canadian-made are definitely superior to the Chinese-and-elsewhere boots. You can tell quality by the sole thickness. (I wear them as deep-cold outdoor work boots.) I put a layer of Russian wool felt in the bottom. Wool charcoals and fragments into ash. Synthetic melts.

Growing up, our basement furnace room had a bunch of 20+ year-old Sorels that we would use regularly for winter chores, snowshoeing or making snow forts. They were indestructible back then and handed down to whichever kid had the right size foot at any given time.

In the 80’s Sorel made a boot called “snow lion” they did not have a heel, great for snowshoes. A heavy cloth upper was tough. The wool, real wool, inner bootiie was thick and we replaced them 5 times. They were only made for snow! The heavy cloth was waterproofed but snow is NOT water. When they wore out.. Sorel had quit making them. I never bought any more Sorels. The snow lion was a great boot..too bad they quit making it.

I had owned a pair of Sorels for almost 30 yrs, winters at 6+ months long where I live and I got a lot of use out of them. They were great. I didn't know Columbia bought them, but 2 years ago when I replaced them I didn't even consider Sorels because when I picked them up in the store I could tell immediately they were cheapo knockoffs of the ones I was replacing. Even though the price tag for them was shocking. I found a pair of store brand boots for 1/3 the price of these Sorels, have actual wool blended liner, a thicker liner, thicker rubber, and a shank. They have kept my feet toasty warm for 2 winters now. I think you hit the nail on the head when you surmised they've become a fashion brand. 100%.

Thank you for this I had a pair of Sorel‘s when I was a kid and they were the best boots ever and then I bought a pair a few years ago and was like “huh”

More German or European boots, please! Subscribers from overseas will appreciate!

I was considering cutting the Sorel Caribou boots I did a review on in half. I gave them to my brother in law instead. These boots are OK to -10c and not colder than that.

Those boots at 1:55 are the boots that made Sorel's reputation. Most pairs of those people wore a whole through the bottom on the ball of the foot because the rest of the boot was invincible.