I have a friend.
Yep, a whole live breathing one.
Aside from being stunningly beautiful (her company raises my street cred’ unbelievably) she has also saved my butt on numerous occasions. Therefore, in the midst of a three week and ongoing cold snap, resulting in inches of frostbite inducing snow coverage, when she called for help, I couldn’t – and wouldn’t - say no.
There was a catch however.
Two in fact. One good and one bad.
Bad news first – the help she needed was to undertake an outdoor task. The wind chill factor put the day somewhere between -1 and -3 degrees. The task was also going to take about 5hrs... My enthusiasm registered lower than the wind chill factor.
The good news – my new Bugathermo heated boots had just arrived, like the night before!

Pulling these thick leather black boots from their box, my first concern was the tread – I’m due to go travelling soon and have no wish to break bones pre-trek and odd’s weren’t great in the current ice age. The tread however was impressive, matching perfectly the quality of the boots overall. These things were both beautiful and mean! In fact, whilst perhaps not quite qualifying in appearance alone, the quality was darn right sexy – and there was more “phwoar” factor to come.

First however there was a moments swearing. Already late in the evening, I checked the heating element charge instructions. Oh, did I fail to mention this (geek love) addition? These boots have a heat element in each toecap, along with three settings – high, medium and low. One nifty little charger, four hour wait and warm tootsies were to be mine! Ah, except for the lack of a UK charger... American, yes. European, yes. UK – the country of residence of my ice capped toes – no. Thankfully I have a resourceful team and an adapter was quickly found.
Up and charging and yep, instructions to match the boots, four hours later these little groovers were ready to rock and roll, or at least pose and stroll.
I pulled them on – close on the toe, comfortably loose on the heel – and I’d received a size up from my usual.
Holding down the button on the side of the boots, it sprung to life in vibrant red – high setting. I waited for the burn.
At this point I should qualify that my toes were genuinely painfully cold. There was no burn... In fact, I was unaware of any sensation except the quiet realisation over the space of about 15 minutes that the chill was easing from my feet. Forty-five minutes later I had to turn to setting down to “Low” as my feet were more than comfortably warm! I kept them on for the remainder of the evening – very sexy with my PJ’s!

The next morning I got up, pulled the boots back on and stepped out to go meet my friend. The World around me was chaos. Ice and snow covered everything and yet it was raining cats & dogs. It was quite surreal as I slipped and slushed the fifteen minute walk to the train station. Stepping in and out of puddles, sliding slightly on thick ice hidden beneath rain rippled pools of water, I found myself seriously hoping these boots lived up to their waterproof specification. Electricity ... water ... one fried Alex. The journey was without incident. My feet were beautifully warm and I found the thick soles incredibly comfortable to walk in.
Arriving at my friend's, I showed the boots off to those gathered and received many comments of admiration. This is from people that spend time in the Ukraine, Finland, husky-sleighing near the North Pole etc. They understood the importance of good quality boots and warm feet!

Again, I wore the boots for some 8+ hours and they worked faultlessly. My only comment – and I offer it as guidance, not as a criticism – is that the sizing is small! I wasn’t wearing thick socks and can slide my feet comfortably into size 5 – 6. These were a size 7 and at the end of the day, my feet – those now toasty toes – felt a little pinched.

The non-mark tread should perhaps also be mentioned – although I did notice that whilst the tread is exemplary in snow and ice compared to my usual hiking boots, it’s a little scary on things like wet Tube platforms.

Now, here’s the thing. These boots retail at some £260.00 No small fee in anyones life. However to give you an idea of how impressed I have been in them, they get 9/10. They’re absolutely worth their money – whether worn with heating element on or off, and just as a pair of really good quality winter boots.

For more details see www.columbia.com

They are available from the Columbia store at 170 Kensington High Street, London and retail at £260