Synthetic Down Booties & Slippers

Insulated Booties and Slippers

Down booties, also called puffy booties or down slippers, are insulated slip-on booties for the hours when you stop moving in the cold, worn in place of boots or as warm slippers. The booties in this collection use synthetic insulation in place of down, so they keep their warmth when damp from snow or sweat. The fill sits inside a water-resistant, wind-resistant shell on a rubber traction sole, the booties come in men’s and women’s sizes, and every pair is backed by the Infinite Guarantee.

Synthetic Insulation, Shell, and Sole

Synthetic insulation is the practical fill for footwear: feet sweat, booties pick up snow on every walk outside, and synthetic fill keeps insulating when it gets damp. A ripstop shell resists water and wind, and a protective mudguard covers the lower edge where booties meet wet ground. Underfoot, a memory foam insole adds cushioning and warmth, and a rubber traction sole grips icy paths and packed snow. A drawcord cuff cinches at the ankle to keep cold air and snow out. The water-resistant shell sheds snow on quick trips outside, and longer stretches in slush or standing water will eventually soak through.

Mountain Huts, Ski Days, Winter Travel, and Home

Insulated booties are most useful wherever you stop moving in the cold. On backpacking and mountaineering trips, they go on when the boots come off at the end of the day and stay on through cold mornings. On ski touring and alpine hut trips, they serve as hut slippers in place of ski boots and handle the short walk outside. After a resort day, they warm feet that spent hours in ski boots on the drive home. They fit in a duffel for winter travel, and at home they double as snow slippers, warm on cold floors and steady on a snowy driveway. For the rest of the gear line, browse Gear.

FAQs

Can you wear down booties outside in the snow?

Yes, for short trips outside. A bootie with a rubber traction sole, a water-resistant shell, and a cuff that cinches at the ankle handles snowy paths, icy driveways, and the walk from a hut to the trailhead. Keep them to short walks: the soft upper gives the ankle no support on uneven ground, and a water-resistant shell sheds snow for a while before longer stretches in slush or standing water soak through. Booties without a rubber sole are better kept indoors.

How should down booties fit?

Booties are sized by shoe size, in letter sizes from XS to XL, with each letter covering a range of shoe sizes on the size chart on each product page. A men’s medium, for example, fits men’s shoe sizes 10 to 11, and a women’s medium fits women’s sizes 8 to 9. A good fit leaves room for a warm sock without pressing the toes against the front, since insulation that is squeezed flat loses warmth. If you sit at the top of a size range and plan to wear thick socks, the next size up gives more room, and the drawcord cuff snugs the fit at the ankle.

How do you wash insulated booties?

Start with the care label, and brush dirt and dried mud off the sole and mudguard first. Synthetic insulation needs less care than down and cleans the same way as technical shells: use a wash made for technical outdoor gear in place of regular laundry detergent, whose residue weakens the shell’s water resistance. If the label allows machine washing, run a rinse cycle on the empty machine first to clear old detergent, then wash with an extra rinse. Line dry, or tumble on low if the label allows it, and let the booties dry completely before storing them.

Are synthetic booties as warm as down booties?

Ounce for ounce, down is warmer and packs smaller, which makes it the choice for the lightest booties carried on long trips in dry cold. Synthetic insulation keeps insulating when damp, and booties get damp from sweat and from snow on every walk outside, so synthetic fill holds its warmth more reliably in footwear. Underfoot, the insole and sole do most of the insulating in either type, because body weight flattens any fill beneath the foot. Choose synthetic booties for wet snow, walks outside, and everyday wear.