45NRTH Evicts Fasterkatt for new Japanther Wet Weather Cycling Boot

$225 for winter bike riding shoes? No thanks. I have Netflix.

Sweet! this might be exacltly what I am looking for this winter! I’m sick of my feet freezing

Or flat pedals and a winter boot (e.g. snowshoe boots)

My question is what does the band Japanther think about its name being ripped off for some shoes?

@Collin,

> 45NRTH “fixed” the issue with a recall giving them a stouter zipper only to suffer from the same thing.

Problem with the ‘new’ shoes with the heavier zipper. Very tight across the top of the foot.

They still work, zipper is (sort of) workable, but not as it should be, and seems to leak.

Wonder if 45NRTH will exchange old shoes for the new ones?

Greg

@Collin S- The problem with the zipper was the severe bend going from the foot to the ankle. The new Japanther has a different zipper that has less stress on the individual zipper links that should make for a more durable zipper.

I know $225 seems expensive, but as Slow Joe said, my Shimano MW-81’s are maybe one of my favorite things that I own. Having warm and dry feet two hours into a winter night ride in the rain (or just when its cold) is priceless.

I have the Fasterkatt version 2 with the stronger zipper. While my pair lasted an entire season, I had to be really, really, really careful about zipping and unzipping those shoes. As others have said, it was also weirdly tight around the ankle.
The zipper was anything buy waterproof – it leaked like crazy.

That said, I really did enjoy riding in them, when it wasn’t wet. They’re warm, stiff, and comfortable on 50-70miles rides around 30F.

If you look at the picture of the Japanther above, you can see that the “waterproof” zipper is separating. In order for a zipper to be even vaguely waterproof, it must tightly seal up once zipped. The Fasterkatt definitely didn’t, and I see no indication this Japanther will be any different.

Not sure why the author mentionned Cyclocross. A cyclocross event is too short for cold feets to be an issue. For the handful of events where it might be needed I just use disposable toe warmers.

Those winter shoes are more helpful to people commuting and training daily in very cold areas.

25 degree night rides- around here it’s 10 degree daytime rides, even if the Japanther can handle 10 degrees, at $225, 2 wool socks, Shimano MT-53 and Gortex shoe covers is a whole lot cheaper and works just as well.

Just remember this is a Minnesota based company so anyone who lives in warmer weather climents these with be prefect for those 65 degree days when you already have on all your warmers and long sleeve thermals.

I ride in Sidi Eagle 5’s with Sealskin waterproof long socks, this seems to work for me riding the UK Lake District all winter and my feet are dry and warm-ish!

Whether FasterKatt or Japanther, 45NRTH’s warranty process and customer orientation is seriously flawed. Not only did they evict FasterKatts, they evicted this customer.

After almost a year of hoops and patience trying to get our FasterKatt’s replaced, the RETAILER where we purchased FasterKatts break ties with 45NRTH. To my amazement, 45NRTH sees this complication as my problem, not theirs. All parties agree defective boots were under warranty, all parties agree they were returned, and parties agree that we were due a replacement pair of boots.

Ready for this? Since our retailer was now out of the picture, I asked 45NRTH to have one of their on-line dealers ship the replacement product to me…they refused! Then 45NRTH said they could not honor the year-old claim unless I took my claim to a local shop (60 mile trip). I understand them wanting to support LBS but to do this at the expense of the customer and LBS? That’s just so wrong!

They could have done something far more streamlined and customer oriented but instead put us through an endless series of bureaucratic obstacles.

Even if their Japanther product is superior to the faulty FasterKatts, their warranty has proven to be absolutely worthless to us. I may be old-fashioned in my thinking but to me, a POOR WARRANTY=POOR PRODUCT …

I picked up a pair of Japanthers on sale after I got sick of my three-year-old Lake’s, which are comfy and reasonabley, but seem to do a better job holding water in than keeping it out. I purchased the Japanthers because they are billed as very water tight. I only have 40 miles on them, but so far they are very uncomfortable at the ankle, as mentioned above. I cannot loosen them enough to stop the pressure point at my ankle as @Graybeard said he could do. I will try to break them in a bit longer and see if I can reverse the tongue so it doesn’t dig in to my ankle bones, but otherwise these are going up for sale. Luck I got a great price on them.