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BUYER'S GUIDE

Best cycling overshoes 2023 — protect your feet from cold, wet and windy weather while riding

Keep your toes nice and toasty with our roundup of the best cycling overshoes

Riding in cold weather is challenging, and wet and frozen feet don't make it any easier. Your feet, right in the line of spray generated by the front wheel (especially without mudguards), can suffer more than any other body part. The best cycling overshoes, designed to protect your feet from the weather, are a top investment if you're aiming to ride in all weathers, whether you’re a racer or commuter.

The best cycling overshoes

If you're after your first pair after finding out the hard way that you need some by going out in the cold without any, or you're just after some replacements, you're in luck! Check out our top-rated overshoes below, and if you need some more advice before choosing then keep scrolling for everything you need to know about overshoes... 

The best cycling overshoes

Spatz Roadman 3 overshoes — £94.00

2021 SPATZ Roadman 3 Super-Thermo Hi-Viz Reflective Overshoes with Kevlar.jpg

They might look like "Optimus Prime Cosplay" as our reviewer suggested, but Spatz overshoes have such great function that we've forgiven them for their looks whenever we've reviewed a pair! To put it simply, if you ride in wet and cold conditions typical of UK winters, Spatz take warmth and comfort to new levels.

The protection and effectiveness that the Roadman 3 Kevlar-reinforced overshoes offer mean most cyclists won't be concerned about the unusual looks. Improvements on the third iteration include easier fitting, increased toughness and more warmth, according to Spatz. 

They are not cheap at all, but our reviewer said that the Roadman 3 overshoes are hard to fault. The high-visibility elements and extra reinforcement of the toebox area over the previous versions are welcome upgrades too. 

Read our review of the Spatz Roadman 3 overshoes

GripGrab RaceThermo Waterproof Winter Shoe Covers — from £36.68

2022 GripGrab RaceThermo Waterproof Winter Shoe Covers.jpg

Made from 4mm-thick waterproof neoprene with a close fit to keep the water and wind out, these overshoes from Gripgrab will keep your feet toasty without looking quite so out-there as our first option from Spatz.

Our reviewer did say toes started to get cold in temperatures just below freezing, but anything above and you won't need to dig out extra layers of socks underneath them. The fully open sole is fastened with a Velcro strap, and you need to put them on before you put your shoes on, then roll them down over the shoes and fasten the Velcro. 

While thye lack extra, extra warmth for the coldest of days, the RaceThermo provide great protection against the wind and rain, fit well and have lots of great reflectives.

Read our review of the GripGrab RaceThermo Waterproof Winter Shoe Covers 

Spatz GravlR overshoes — £87.49

Spatzwear_GRAVLR-1

Another entry from Spatz, and yep, once again like something pulled from a sci-fi convention wardrobe! We'll say it again though: multiple road.cc reviewers have foud that Spatz overshoes offer quite possible the best winter protection going, and the GravlR is just as good as the road-specific version.

The hydrophobic neoprene repels water, while inside there's a thermal layer for extra warmth. Whereas most overshoes are ankle height, Spatz takes things higher, finishing at the top of the calf. They certainly look, erm, different, but then we cyclists are hardly the height of fashion at the best of times, whatever we like to believe.

Our reviewer said: “The GravlRs give the best protection of any overshoe I've used – or any winter boot, for that matter. On extremely wet days water can still seep in (you can never stop it completely), but what sets them apart from anything else is their warmth, even damp. With temperatures close to freezing and my socks wet, the GravlRs still kept my feet warm."

Read our review of the Spatz GravlR overshoes

Castelli Diluvio UL Shoecovers — £40.00

2021 Castelli Diluvio UL Shoecover.jpg

The Castelli Diluvio UL Shoecovers are made from waterproof neoprene to keep your feet dry, they extend high to make sure your ankles stay warm in most conditions, and they're very stretchy for a close and comfortable fit.

Whereas the Diluvio Pros, below, are made from 4mm-thick neoprene, the Diluvio ULs are 3mm thick, as are the Diluvio C (£45) and the Diluvio 2 All-Roads (£45).

First things first: do the Diluvio ULs keep the water out? This might make or break the deal, particularly for UK readers. The good news is that water doesn't get through the neoprene at all and the seams are sealed. Fabulous; we're up and running!

Read our review of the Castelli Diluvio UL Shoecovers

Castelli Pioggia 3 Shoecovers — 44.19

2021 Castelli Pioggia 3 Shoecover Unisex.jpg

'Pioggia' is the Italian word for 'rain' and that tells you what these overshoes are all about. They're made from a polyurethane-coated fabric that won't let water through. And when we say that it won't let water through, it really won't. Believe us, water doesn't soak through here.

The waterproofing extends to the front seam which is internally taped to prevent leaks and the zip is waterproof too. Well, it's about as waterproof as zips get; virtually nothing gets past it.

The polyurethane-coated fabric used for the main body is very stretchy so you can get a close fit all round and it moves easily with your ankle as you pedal. It's lined with a thin fleece layer to provide extra warmth.

Read our review of the Castelli Pioggia 3 Shoecovers

Lusso Thermal Toe Covers — £12.00

Lusso Thermal Toe Covers 1.jpg

These Lusso Thermal Toe Covers offer impressive warmth, are really well made, and are small enough to easy fit in a jersey pocket when the day heats up. The price is great, too.

Toe covers themselves aren't that complex a product, most are just a piece of neoprene with a hole for your cleat, but that hasn't stopped Lusso spending a lot of time on the details.

The upper part of the cover is a Windtex thermal material, which for its lack of bulk is surprisingly warm. Riding in near freezing temperatures with the Lussos covering the vents at the front of your shoes, your toes are noticeably warmer than parts of you that are exposed to the wind.

Read our review of the Lusso Thermal Toe Covers

Spatz Legalz GLO UCI Legal Race Overshoes — £69.90

2023 Spatz 'Legalz GLO' UCI Legal Race Overshoes with High Viz Reflective Detailing - 1.jpg

Another entry for Spatz, and these ones are not only UCI-legal but also just ankle-high, so don't look quite so out-there as Spatz' other offerings. 

Our reviewer found them to be excellent as did our reviewers of other Spatz overshoes, praising the durability and warmth great down to about freezing temperatures. 

They're not cheap, but these overshoes really are an investment and should last you years so long as you're careful not to catch the neoprene on anything. They're also dead easy to clean, too. 

Read our review of the Spatz Legalz GLO UCI Legal Race Overshoes 

Sportful Speed Skin Silicone Booties — £29.16

Sportful Speed Skin Silicone Bootie.jpg

Sportful's Speedskin Silicone Booties — overshoes to you and me — keep the wind and water out brilliantly but only really work on milder days because of their lack of insulation.

The Speedskins started life as a time trial overshoe, developed more for controlling airflow over the bumps and buckles of your shoes, but with the addition of taped seams and a silicone coating over the Lycra they are some of the most weatherproof overshoes around.

The material is near-impenetrable by both wind and water – riding on wet roads caused them no issue at all. They finish quite high up your calf so that cuts down on a lot of the spray hitting your tights and soaking down in through to your socks that way. That's something that inevitably happens when you are riding in persistent heavy rain, but no overshoe is immune to this.

Read our review of the Sportful Speed Skin Silicone Booties

Castelli Diluvio Pro Shoe Covers — £32.00

Castelli Diluvio Pro overshoes.jpg

Castelli's Diluvio Pro Shoe Covers are full-on winter-ready booties – warm, waterproof and with a svelte-yet-thick fit around the shoe that very likely come from input from Team Ineos; Castelli credits the team with asking for a warmer overshoe for training in cold and wet conditions. They're expensive, though, and for such a high-wear product that might be an issue.

Shoe covers are an essential piece of winter cycling kit, no question. You need them to do their job, and you need them to do it well. Happily, the Diluvio Pros are brilliant performers for the cold and wet winter months, featuring a 4mm-thick neoprene fabric that is as adept at insulating your feet as it is protecting them (and your shoes) from water ingress, from road spray and rain.

Read our review of the Castelli Diluvio Pro Shoe Covers

Caratti Neoprene Windproof Toe Warmers — £5.00

Caratti Neoprene Windproof Toe Warmers-1.jpg

Caratti's Neoprene Windproof Toe Covers are the perfect riding companions as the transition between seasons takes place. They cover the vents of your summer shoes first thing in the chilly morning and slip easily into your jersey pocket if things warm up a little.

Toe warmers have quite a few uses. This time of year, they are a nifty solution for those early morning rides when you know that the temperature is going to warm up while you are out, or when things are really brutal – think snow and freezing temperatures – they can be an extra layer above or beneath a pair of traditional overshoes.

The 3mm neoprene construction offers some impressive windproofing and even if you do get wet feet they hold in a lot of heat to stop you getting cold toes.

Read our review of the Caratti Neoprene Windproof Toe Warmers

Lusso Windtex Stealth Over Boots — £35.00

Lusso Windtex Stealth Over Boots.jpg

The Lusso Windtex Stealth overboots offer a large working temperature range across a myriad of different weather conditions. And don't let that Windtex name fool you – these booties will also keep the rain at bay for way longer than you'd expect of a fabric this light and thin.

Read our review of the Lusso Windtex Stealth Over Boots

Galibier Mistral Toe Covers — £9.60

Galibier Mistral toe covers 2.jpg

The Galibier Mistral Toe Covers bring together strong protection, warmth and water resistance. They also come with an impressively low price.

I used to be a huge advocate of overshoes when the temperature drops, but I haven't regularly worn any for a year, instead using toe covers in all but the coldest conditions. They have one big advantage: you can just leave them on your shoes, so you don't need to constantly struggle into a set of thick overshoes because it's a bit cold outside.

Read our review of the Galibier Mistral Toe Covers

Madison Sportive PU Thermal Overshoes — £19.99

Madison Sportive Aero overshoes.jpg

Madison's Sportive PU Thermal overshoes are a great option for wet weather riding, with the added thermal benefits providing some much-appreciated insulation at times.

Although described as a mid-weight overshoe by Madison, they don't struggle when the temperature gets down to low single figures.

Featuring a fleece lining that fits snugly to your shoes in tandem with an unvented, taped waterproof top layer, these overshoes are surprisingly warm in all conditions bar freezing or below.

Read our review of the Madison Sportive PU Thermal Overshoes

SealSkinz Sealskinz All Weather LED Overshoes — £43.99

SealSkinz Neoprene Halo Overshoe - heels

SealSkinz LED Overshoes incorporate a powerful LED light in the heel, a clever idea that I'm surprised has never been done before. Don't discount them as being a gimmick, they really do work well and are ideal for regular after dark cyclists.

Read our review of the SealSkinz LED Overshoes

Sportful Reflex 2 Windstopper Booties — £23.60

Sportful WS Bootie Reflex

These Sportful WS Bootie Reflex overshoes employ Gore's Windstopper fabric and serve to keep your feet warm and keep out most of the rain and cold out.

They're not 100% waterproof, but on typically showery days they'll keep most of the rain out and it needs a decent spell of prolonged rain before saturation occurs. They cope just fine when it's not raining but the roads are slick with water.

Read our review of the Sportful Reflex Windstopper Booties

GripGrab Arctic Overshoes — from £45.98

GripGrab Arctic overshoes

The Grip Grab Arctic Overshoes are great for those properly cold days we sometimes get in January and February. They provide excellent insulation and very effective waterproofing. With 80% neoprene, these were always going to be warm, but we're also impressed by their ease of fit and adjustability.

Read our review of the GripGrab Arctic Overshoes

Velotoze — £14.99 - £16.99

Velotoze Tall Cover

Like a swimming cap for your feet, these divide opinion and can make your feet very sweaty indeed. These are, however, very, very waterproof.

When placed directly onto the shin, they prevent water from seeping down into your socks and also offer complete windproofing. When worn on top of oversocks, they form possibly the ultimate deep winter combination.

They're also surprisingly robust for what is essentially a thick balloon. They are the most fragile covers in this list though.

Read our review of the Velotoze shoe covers

Everything you need to know about cycling overshoes

Put simply, overshoes are made from a weatherproof fabric designed to sit snugly over your shoes and keep the rain and wind out, preventing your feet from getting wet and cold. They broadly fall into two camps: those that are waterproof, and those that are just windproof.

Neoprene is a popular material for waterproof overshoes, and has the advantage that when water does finally get inside, your feet don’t freeze; the dampness stays relatively warm in there. Nylon and polyurethane are other popular materials, used sometimes in combination with neoprene, with a waterproof layer to add extra protection.

Sportful WS Bootie Reflex

Cycling overshoes aren’t perfect by any means. Ride in heavy rain and your feet will get wet sooner or later, but you can delay that from happening with good quality overshoes. The biggest chink in their armour is water getting in around the leg openings, soaking down your tights, and through the cleat holes in the sole. Overshoes with good weather protection, including taped seams, a Velcro strip around the ankle, waterproof zips and a taller ankle will delay the onset of wet feet.

Overshoes typically have a rear opening with a zip to seal them up, making pulling them on and off easy. For insulation in really cold weather, you want to keep the soles of your shoes as well covered as possible because a lot of heat can escape there. Some cycling overshoes have much more sole coverage than others – it's something that's worth checking before you splash the cash.

Caratti Deep Winter Waterproof Overshoes - underside

Sizing is very important. It’s always worth trying on overshoes with your own shoes in the shop. Differently designed shoes with various buckles and ratchets can work better with some overshoes.

Typically black (to hide all the dirt) though other colours are available, some overshoes have generous reflective details to boost your night-time visibility — some are better suited to commuting for this reason.

As well as keeping the wet out, the best cycling overshoes provide another layer of insulation, and some have a thicker material to provide more warmth on really cold rides. Generally speaking, the thicker the overshoe, the more it's going to keep the cold out. A trick some cyclists resort to on really awful days is two wear two pairs of overshoes for even more protection, although that will have an effect on flexibility around your ankle.

Toe covers are handy for days when it’s not cold or damp enough for full overshoes. Typically made from neoprene, they're ideal if your shoes are well vented, and are very useful in the autumn. Another use for them, and one we’ll admit to have resorted to on more than a few occasions, is wearing toe covers under overshoes for a double layer of protection.

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Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

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12 comments

Avatar
wtjs | 12 months ago
0 likes

Or, as I keep writing, just use Aldi waterproof socks with any old footwear of your choice. Problem solved

Avatar
Pilot Pete | 1 year ago
2 likes

I have a few 'top tips' regarding the Spatz which makes them nigh on perfect.

1. a mate said they were an absolute nightmare to put on. He was putting his winter boots on first!

Put the Spatz on after your socks but before your shoes/ boots. Pull the 'boot cover' area up your leg, put your boot on and then pull the cover back down over your boot. Much easier!

2. Wear thick socks, such as wool/ merino hiking socks with a thick sole. BUT, make sure the top of the Spatz reaches higher up your calf than the sock top. Put your leg warmers/ bib tight legs OVER the Spatz, not under them - so that involves really thinking about your dressing sequence! - Socks, warmers/ tights with the legs pulled up to just below the knee. Then the Spatz, again pulled up your leg, then boot/ shoe, Spatz down over the boot then leg warmer down over them.

I have used this method for the 6 years that I have been using Spatz. Paired with a goretex lined winter boot (no holes in the sole or vents in the top) I have found this combination to be unbeatable -  I can ride for 6hrs and have warm, dry feet. I have NEVER achieved that with any other overshoe/ boot.

Putting the warmer/ bib tight leg OVER the Spatz and having your sock top BELOW the top of the Spatz means you get a seal with your leg and NO capillary action sucking moisture from a wet leg warmer down inside the overshoe into your sock/ boot/ shoe. 

Sure, my sweaty legs on a long ride will cause my sock to get a bit damp, but I only notice this when removing my attire post-ride.

In my opinion the Spatz are absolutely unbeatable. Yes they are expensive, but you get what you pay for - I've had several pairs of ankle overshoes which have simply left my feet wet after about 1.5hrs+ of riding - even less time if it's pelting down, and they were all £30+ a pair. The Spatz keep my feet warm and dry even when the rest of me is soaked through. They simply are the best, by far and thus far have worked out at just over a tenner a year and they are still like new.👍

Avatar
stomec | 1 year ago
0 likes

I use overshoes for daily commuting in winter for the cold and rain.

In my experience anything with a zip is a big no-no - breaks within a year usually.

My best ever buy was GripGrab winter overshoes with velcro - lasted 3 years until finally the velcro straps fell off.  Also worked with standard SPD cleats which was a bonus.

https://www.gripgrab.com/collections/shoe-covers/products/ride-winter-road-shoe-covers

Avatar
Simon E | 1 year ago
1 like

It seems all of these are designed to be worn with 3-bolt SPD-SL / Look type cleats. Using them with SPD shoes will see them wear out really quickly, particularly if your riding involves even a small amount of walking.

I am currently using BBB Hardwear neoprene ones for winter duty over MTB SPD shoes, as they have a suitably large cleat cutout. I believe Galibier make some with SPD-friendly ones too.

Avatar
HaveLegsWillRide replied to Simon E | 1 year ago
1 like

Maybe that's why I keep wrecking them on my commuter (SPD pedalled) bike! After wrecking a couple of pairs of spendy covers from a winter's worth of clipping in/out at lights & short carpark walking, I'd decided cheap & cheerful is the way to go

Avatar
stonojnr replied to HaveLegsWillRide | 1 year ago
3 likes

I use Dhbs overshoes with SPD pedals they last 2 to 3 winter seasons before wearing out,its salt corrosion on the zipper that breaks them first.

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matthewn5 replied to HaveLegsWillRide | 12 months ago
0 likes

Do yourself a favour and get some SPD winter boots, they're absolutely miles better than stuffing around with shoe covers and SPD pedals. I got some Northwave Celcius Goretex boots last winter, popped in some lambswool insoles, now I have toasty feet right down to about zero degrees, and waterproof with it.

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Legin | 1 year ago
0 likes

Spatz are superb, best overshoes I've had in 40 years of riding.

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Awavey replied to Legin | 1 year ago
0 likes

so they should be for the cost

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chriseebee replied to Legin | 1 year ago
0 likes

I really really wanted them (Gravlr) to fit, but way too narrow on the calf for me... 🙁

Avatar
maxdabrit replied to Legin | 1 year ago
1 like

I really wanted to like my Spatz Roadman 2 which I used for cold winter riding. Problem is that they don't breathe at all. The sweat they create accumulates and ultimately made my feet just as cold and damp as riding without any covers.

 

Avatar
ejocs replied to maxdabrit | 1 year ago
0 likes

It's true that they don't breathe and they're pretty wet inside when I remove them after a ride, but I've never noticed dampness or a chill during the ride itself. My feet run very cold, but the Spatz keep me perfectly comfortable in temperatures that would easily defeat any other overshoe I've encountered.

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