45NRTH Ragnarok BOA Boots

Never judge a book by its cover. But the foul weather boots from the Midwestern company 45NRTH challenge that notion with both the name and looks. The Ragnarök boot (Ragnarok from here on for google) is their transition season footwear designed to ease your way into the frozen depths of hell that is called winter in the mid-western U.S. Naming footwear after a series of battles between gods and evil, that will eventually settle a new world order, is a bold move, but these are not 45RTH's warmest winter boots.

The premise is that, before the temperatures dip way below freezing levels, there will be days of cold, rain, snow and combinations thereof, that will challenge your footwear. The Ragnarok is designed to fill the gap and transition you into deep freeze seamlessly. What if the temperatures don't dip below freezing all that often if at all and all you get is wet wet and wet winter? Could the Ragnarok BOA be the ideal Pacific North Wet winter boot?

The littlest brother of a five-boot family, the Ragnarok is built around the latest version of BOA's Li2 fit system. The Li2 from BOA is the lightest and the slimmest profile option from the the company's vast array of products. While not the most robust choice, the decision to go with the Li2 on the Ragnarok was most likely to position the boot with performance-oriented riders who are after better protection from the elements in their winter training boots. Does the Ragnarok make sense for high performance? I have been trying to find that out during the last couple of weeks of unfavorable weather.

The 597g (actual with cleats) size 42 boot, while not feather weight, is not far off most of the Enduro/DH positioned shoes on the market. The Leatt 4.0 Clip comes in at 550gr and the Crankbrothers Mallet DH at 482gr and the older Shimano MW5 at 450grams. If we consider all the material that needs to be layered in the boot's construction to keep feet warm and dry, the numbers on the scale do not seem outrageous.

The construction of the Ragnarok BOA is designed to work comfortably down to -4c (25F). For people hoping to put wide tires on the white stuff, this is probably borderline too casual, but for us Sea-to-Sky folk, this promises a great deal of winter riding comfort. These boots are made for walking and they do that well on all the slippery stuff thanks to the ANTI-SLIP MICROGLASS RUBBER that is designed to generate tiny little spikes protruding from the rubber for traction on the greasiest logs and rocks. The boots are stiff, with all the extra rubber underneath and all the layers that come along with making sure there is a thermal barrier between the feet and the pedal. When I turned them over to install my Time cleats, I was greeted with a note reminding me that a shim is required to use Time, Crankbrothers and Look cleats if I wanted to retain the warranty. Thankfully I had some shims lying around from some Leatt shoes. I think it would be wise for 45NRTH to supply the required shims with the boots if there is a potential for sole failure without them.

Slipping into the size 42 boots for the first time, I was a little worried I requested a size too small. The BOA Li2 system provides two directions of adjustment for the user. Turn clockwise to tighten and counterclockwise to loosen. For a full release, and entering and exiting the boots, you can pull on the BOA to fully release the system. You can then pull on the neoprene cuff to create enough slack to slip into this heavy-duty feeling footwear. On the initial test fit, I was wearing thicker Gore wool socks that I generally associate with winter riding. If I put this warm layer against my feet, most shoes become winter-ready. But the socks were a little too thick to in the Ragnarok BOAs. Into the sock drawer I dove to find some thinner merino Mons Royale Socks. Once in the boots, I was greeted with a roomy toe box and a true-to-size fit for a size 42 shoe. With my big toe millimetres from the toe piece, I dialed in the BOA Li2 that loops through seven holes and two flaps to adjust. After an initial tighten and walk about, I re-tightened the BOA to take up the slack that occurred once the string settled in.

With the TIme cleats installed on the rearward cleat nut and the position somewhere near the arch of the foot, I quickly realized that I needed to raise my saddle to make up for the thicker sole and a further forward than normal cleat position. Once the adjustment was made, the pedaling position felt neutral and the stiff sole provided a great platform to push off. There were no entry or exit obstacles while clipping in and out and I was confident I could clip out in a hurry in slippery conditions.

Snow riding can be super fun if all the stars line up and the texture is right. We didn't get that kind of cold dry snow for our first couple of dumps and riding in heavy wet snow is an exercise in trail salsa-dancing to balance from the hips. Clipping out to dab or even scoot on the slow rolling, sideways slipping ground is frequent. While this can be fun in a unique way, if your shoes are letting in cold and melting snow water, the ride can quickly turn into a race to the bottom to get into warm before the digits fall off.

The 45NRTH Ragnarok kept all the elements out on the slushy rides it embarked in for the past couple of weeks. Paired with my gross weather-favourite TLD Resist pants that wrap over the neoprene cuffs, not a single drop of water made its way into the boot from the top or the bottom. I've never I experienced such comfort in the most challenging conditions so I threw caution to the wind, crossing streams or walking and splashing through puddles on my way. While my feet were not overly warm in the freezing point temperatures, It was comfortable enough to play for hours while staying dry.

When my riding group decided to call it due to cold and wet toes in their "winter" gear, I was happy to keep playing for a few more hours. Walking through creeks on purpose became a game and traction the aggressive soles provided was lovely to have.

If I had to criticize one thing, it would be the cleat spacer I had to use with my Time pedals. The extra height causes a slightly vague feeling on the pedals when things get fast and rough. The feeling of bouncing on the pedal becomes a bit obvious and it can also feel like you are about to unclip even though you are perfectly secure.

As you can see in the photographs, while I did not use brand new cleats, the ones I pulled off my Shimano MW5s were quite fresh apart from the rusty bolts that unscrewed rather easily thanks to remembering to coat them in grease on installation. Never skip this step, especially on footwear that frequently sees water and salt.

45NRTH Ragnarok boots also come with Cleat covers for those who are after a flat pedal performance. While not as grippy as the Shimano 800 GTX or FiveTen Trailcross, the rubber compound does a good job in keeping you on the pedals as long as you have an aggressive enough pedal to work with. OneUp Composite pedals did not have the bite but the Alloy ones worked significantly better in that task.

The Ragnarok BOAs may be the most used gear for me this winter if the weather dishes out the worst. Pairing footwear like this with the right pair of bottoms for keeping all the water out of your feet is crucial however. While you may get away with wearing shorts and long socks, I recommend fully waterproof pants like the TLD Resist, Pearl Izumi or 7Mesh Thunder Pants. If it's cold but dry, non-waterproof options like the Mons Royale could be fine.

45NRTH RAGNAROK BOA is 215 USD (on sale for 157.50 US) / 300 CAD (275 CAD at MEC)