Fizik Terra Nanuq GTX Shoes
Test Locations: Washington
Test Duration: 9 months
Reviewer: 6’, 165 lb / 183 cm, 74.9 kg
Size Tested: EU 43.5
Blister’s Measured Weight per shoe (EU 43.5): 523 and 526 g / 16.5 & 16.5 oz
Upper: Ripstop Nylon w/ GoreTex Koala membrane & neoprene gaiter
Closure: BOA
Sizes Offered: EU 36 to 48; half sizes from 37.5 to 46.5
Pedals Used: Shimano XTR Trail, HT X2, HT X3, HT T2
MSRP: $300
Intro
Living in Western Washington, I spend a lot of time riding in conditions that are cool and wet but not truly cold throughout the winter months. Getting your riding gear dialed for those sorts of conditions can make or break a day out in them. There’s a fine line to walk between staying warm and dry, but not so warm that you sweat a ton and get soaked from the inside. But the hardest part for me has been finding gloves and shoes that keep me comfortable without being so bulky that they compromise my feel on the bars and pedals, and make it harder for me to ride the way I want to.
We’re planning a more holistic look at bike and apparel setup for wet-weather riding soon — stay tuned for that. For now, we’ll focus on the latest shoe I’ve tried in my quest for my Goldilocks winter option, the Fizik Terra Nanuq GTX.
Features and Construction
I’ll start with a little background info on my quest for my ideal winter shoe: there are a ton of super warm, waterproof options out there that seem designed for fat biking in Minnesota and the like. I’m sure that extra insulation is welcome in colder temperatures than I really ever ride in, but for my purposes, those sorts of shoes are too warm and, maybe more significantly, too bulky with super thick soles that compromise stability and feel on the pedals too badly for aggressive descending.
On the flat pedal side of things, I still really like the Five Ten Trailcross GTX. They’re waterproof but not insulated, which is a rare combo, but also have a relatively high-volume fit that leaves some room to dial in the desired level of warmth via sock selection. Wearing those with fairly thick, warm wool socks works great for me in cooler temperatures.
Finding a clipless variant that I’m similarly into has been harder. I reviewed Fizik’s Terra Artica GTX a couple of seasons ago and essentially found it to be a good shoe that just has a different combination of features and fit than I’m personally looking for. The Terra Artica GTX has a stiff, fairly rockered sole — great for pedaling efficiency, not so great for stability and descending performance — and a somewhat narrow toe box that doesn’t accommodate my wide-ish forefoot very well. The Terra Artica GTX’s moderate insulation felt promising for my needs, but I struggled with my toes getting cold due to them being cramped and losing circulation. If I had narrower feet and wanted a more XC-oriented shoe, I think they’d be great; they’re just not the right option for me, personally.
Fit
I’ve been testing the Terra Nanuq GTX in an EU 43.5 — my typical size there, and the one that most closely aligns with my usual US 10 on Fizik’s size chart. (They call the EU 43.5 a US 10.25, for what it’s worth.) The fit has worked well for me; if anything, I’m closer to sizing down than going up, but I think the 43.5 is probably right.
As I mentioned up top, the Terra Artica GTX that I tested a while back fits most of my foot well, but the toe box is too cramped for me and leads to cold toes due to a loss of circulation. I’ve had no such issues in the Terra Nanuq GTX, in the same EU 43.5 size. The Terra Nanuq GTX is a little higher volume pretty much everywhere, but its much wider toe box is the biggest difference in their fit — a change that’s very welcome in my case. I’d rate the Terra Nanuq GTX as being slightly wider / higher volume than average for a more gravity-oriented shoe (which are often roomier than more XC-oriented options) but not a huge outlier by any stretch.
I tend not to like shoes that use a single BOA dial in isolation for the closure in general, but haven’t had similar complaints about the Terra Nanuq GTX. I usually want to run things looser in the midfoot but snug the shoe up over my instep more; an instep strap, a second BOA dial over the instep, or just regular laces let me do that better than one BOA closure for the whole shoe tends to. But I think the neoprene gaiter of the Terra Nanuq GTX adds enough support up there for it to not be an issue for me. It also probably helps that the lower portion of the upper (the region with the rubber overlay, mostly) is pretty stiff, so I can crank the BOA dial fairly tight without pinching my forefoot much width-wise. I’ve got a wide forefoot (and an especially prominent fifth metatarsal base) so it’s easy to make that part of my foot feel uncomfortably cramped in shoes that fit well elsewhere. Folks with really low-volume feet might have a harder time getting as snug a fit in the forefoot as they’d like since the somewhat stiff upper limits how tight you can crank the BOA dial down, but I’ve had no such issues.
That said, I wish the gaiter opened up just a little wider to make the Terra Nanuq GTX easier to take on and off. It’s not too bad on my feet, but the throat of the shoe feels a bit tight even with the zipper and BOA closure wide open. I’ve got a moderately high instep and not great (left) ankle and (right) forefoot mobility due to past broken bones so I’m not a very forgiving test subject for such things, but I imagine some folks will also find it to be at least a moderate annoyance.
On the Bike
I’ll cut right to the chase: the Terra Nanuq GTX is the best clipless winter shoe I’ve tried to date for my particular wants and needs. But that, of course, doesn’t mean they’re the right option for you, so let’s dive into what they do (and don’t do) best.
Making a waterproof, insulated shoe is inevitably going to involve some compromise to descending performance, but the Terra Nanuq GTX does a great job of keeping those compromises to a minimum. One of the things that I’ve struggled with in winter clipless shoes in particular is that putting enough insulation between the cleat plate and the bottom of your foot for the cleat plate to not feel like a huge heat sink that quickly makes the ball of your foot go cold makes for a thick-soled shoe that feels tippy and not very stable on the pedals when descending aggressively. The Terra Nanuq GTX doesn’t magically circumvent the laws of thermodynamics there but offers enough insulation underfoot for me to not notice the cleat plate in temperatures down to around freezing without feeling like I’m wearing Robert De Niro’s shoes from The Irishman.
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Would it be great if the soles were thinner? Sure. They’re still thicker than most regular gravity-oriented shoes, but non-winterized clipless shoes almost universally feel like they’re sapping heat directly out of the bottom of your foot in cold temperatures and I haven’t had that sensation in the Terra Nanuq GTX. I haven’t ridden them in temperatures much below freezing, so can’t vouch for their performance if things are truly frigid, but that’s enough for my purposes.
The gaiter on the Terra Nanuq GTX also does a good job of covering and sealing the ankle without hindering mobility too much. As per usual for winter shoes, the Terra Nanuq GTX doesn’t 100% seal the ankle opening and works best if you’re wearing pants that overlap with the gaiter to prevent water from running down your leg into the shoes, but it seals off well enough to handle regular spray, and the upper is truly waterproof so long as you don’t submerge them up to the zipper on the gaiter.
The Terra Nanuq GTX, unsurprisingly, is not particularly breathable, but I’ve found their level of insulation to be pretty ideal for me in temperatures ranging from about 30 to 50° F (-1 to 10° C). It’s enough to keep my feet warm without getting so hot and sweaty that I feel like I’m wetting the shoes out from the inside; the fleecy lining probably helps them absorb a bit of moisture without feeling like the inside of the shoe is all that wet.
If things are much warmer than ~50° F / 10° C, I’m pretty happy just wearing regular shoes and letting my feet get a bit wet. I really only care about waterproofing as a means to keeping my feet warm in cooler temperatures, rather than for keeping them dry in and of itself, and the Terra Nanuq GTX covers that range nicely.
Off the Bike
The ankle gaiter and stiff-ish upper on the Terra Nanuq GTX are a bit more noticeable when walking around than they are on the bike, but I haven’t minded much for relatively short hike-a-bikes. The deep, open tread pattern offers a lot of grip in loose, wet soil but softer rubber and a more flexible midsole would help when scrambling on wet rocks in particular. I haven’t particularly wanted the midsole to feel softer on the bike, and softer rubber would presumably come at the expense of some durability, so I think the tradeoffs there are reasonable. A mid-top clipless shoe is never going to be the ideal tool if you’re trying to use them as an approach shoe, and for what they are, the Terra Nanuq GTXs do fine.
Durability
I’ve got nothing to report on the durability front — the Terra Nanuq GTXs are holding up great so far, and even still look nearly new if I give them a thorough cleaning. Before I tested the Terra Artica GTX I’d worried that the fleece lining on those shoes (and the Terra Nanuq GTX uses similar materials) would get matted and gross pretty quickly, but those worries were unfounded. All indications are that the Terra Nanuq GTXs should hold up for a long time, which is great because they’re my personal favorite winter clipless shoe to date.
Bottom Line
Making a waterproof, semi-insulated bike shoe is inevitably going to involve some amount of compromise when it comes to fit and on-pedal feel (particularly while descending aggressively) but I really like the line that the Terra Nanuq GTX walks there. I’m not about to confuse them for a truly great gravity-oriented shoe on the way down (the Specialized 2FO DH and Shimano GE9 are my two personal favorites there, though I’ve started spending time in the Fox Union BOA and it’s making a strong early case for itself). But the Terra Nanuq GTX comes closer than anything else I’ve found in a waterproof clipless shoe, they fit me pretty well, they’re truly waterproof, and their moderate insulation is just about ideal for the not-that-super-cold temperatures I’m mostly using them in. If you’re doing a lot of riding in similar conditions, they’re worth a look.