Customer Reviews Columbia Fairbanks Omni-Heat

First impressions of the boot were good, but with actual use I'm not to impressed, walking in snow and slush I noticed that the boot wasn't as water proofed as I thought it would be, I'll add a spray coat to help with that. The boot keeps your toes pretty toasty which is nice in the recent mid 20's weather I've had.

Columbia should change the name of these boots to something other than Fairbanks because your feet wouldn't survive 10 minutes outside if you were actually wearing them in Fairbanks. Wanted a lightweight yet warm pair of boots for fat tire biking. I live in Anchorage, Alaska so I need boots that'll keep my feet warm in temps down to -20 and I thought these would do the trick. Oh how wrong I was! They are super lightweight and fit perfectly (12W) but they just don't offer enough insulation to keep my feet warm in the extreme cold temps. Went for a bike ride yesterday when it was -15 and my feet quickly got so cold that I had to turn around and head back to the car. By the time I got there my feet were absolutely numb. It happened fast and went downhill quickly as my feet just kept getting colder and colder. I'd say these boots would probably be OK at temps above 10 degrees or so. Not exactly sure of the temp range because I haven't had a chance to test them at various temps but gauging by how fast my feet got cold at -15 I'd have to say 10-20 degrees is probably the low end comfort limit of these boots. Bottom line is I think I'll stick to my Buggaboots when it's extremely cold. They offer twice the insulation (400g vs 200g) and these will just have to be my warmer weather boots because they are comfy and lightweight, they just don't offer the insulation needed at extreme cold temps.

I bought this in March 2021 - Had a Good trip in Alaska and Iceland (Warm, Comfortable, did not get wet (I was using waterproof socks also). However, during recent hiking trip in Kilimanjaro, there was snow storm and rain. Socks and feet got wet and was cold, and it was very uncomfortable after few hours. Lucky it was during last two days and avoided issues. Other issue is Grip/Tractions on rocks/boulders are poor. I slipped few times (Dry or Rain) - fortunately avoided any major injury. It may be a shoe - which is not meant for heavy duty hiking.

It is warm , comfortable and windproof but definitely not Waterproof . I would only recommend this product if you are not gonna wear under rain .

I've had these for a few months, maybe 4 or so. They have held up decent EXCEPT almost same waterproofing a vans or converse. The waterproofing was good for one day, and then water seeped in when it was only drizzling. It almost soaks water in. Waterproof was kind of the main reason I bought these. But the shoe in cold climates does fine as long as there is not excess snow or rain. Does slightly better in snow because the snow takes longer to soak in.

Needed to return them. I wear 14.5 and ordered 15 but they were too tight even with thin socks. Too bad there isn't a size larger. Also they were oddly loose in the ankle

These boots were supposed to keep my feet dry and warm but that's not the case

I like the boot quite a bit. Comfort is great, and it is quite waterproof. My issue is that the suede like material can be a bit cheap. The tongue on the back for pulling the shoe up snapped on both of my shoes within the first month.

These boots are very comfortable. I bought them for work. I deliver 5 gallon water bottles, and for the a few weeks in the winter they were great. After a few weeks my feet became very soggy. It would seem that whatever is used to ventilate these boots is getting clogged with sweat/salt. The boots no longer breathes and I had some seriously funky boot smell going on. I would argue that these are not even suitable for hiking either. The boots will probably shine sitting in an open arena/stadium in the winter.

Right off the bat you can tell that shoe making isn't Columbia's forte. The boot looks nice online and will definitely keep ypur feet warm, but that is where the pros end. The cons are that it is very clunky and not formed to fit your foot. I would shop a size down from what you usually wear. I bought my normal shoe size and where thick wool socks while wearing these boots and they still feel big and clunky. There is no arch support, dosen't bother me, but might others. Lastly the annoying pull tab in the back is a flap of leather that is just small enough to be ineffective. Tread on the boot is adequate, not the best, but not the worst.

The fit is acceptable but they're not waterproof. Moisture comes down through the top, around the tongue or the eyelets.

This boots look good and seem to be of good quality, however in the middle of the shoe seens there is a bump that makes it uncomfortable to the feet. I dont know if it was just the pair I bought or if they are all the same since I returned them and did not reorder another. Also, they are tight on the front side but, I do have wide feet so...

The good: Modern look Performance seems good so far, try it at snow but just at a tube snow play park. It was not tat much snow and around 40F The very bad: The sound the boots does while walking, "squish squish" You could see glue coming out from the welt I sepend some time looking for boots and this where the best option base in my budget, but the noise they make while walking really stress me out. It may be that it's a problem with my boot only, but is already use so I don't think Columbia will send me another.

My shoe size is exactly 12 (11.25" / 28.6CM / Euro 45) and these were a bit too small. Not sure if I will exchange for size 13, as they do not do half-sizes after size 12.

I read many good reviews and hoped for the best. Shoes are warm (haven't tested in snow yet) and definitely light weight, but the soles are very thin. Oddly, so - I can feel pebbles/rocks when just walking. I don't think I'll hike in these. Boots have a wide fit as well so I'm using a 3rd party insert for additional comfort and support. These do not feel nearly as substantial as my previous Bugaboos.

This shoe looks nice and appears that it would be waterproof and warm as described. However, it was at least one full size too small, and extremely narrow. I could barely get my foot inside. If there was a petite size description for men's shoes, this would be one that qualifies.

I have the non-insulated, low cut style of the Fairbanks. The Omni-Heat layer removes at least a half size. I normally wear a 12, unfortunately there are no half sizes in larger sizes, so I have to go to a 13. It feels a little too big, but better than way too small.

Pros: Stylish sneaker-boot look. Grippy soles. Insulated interior. Decent construction. Did I mention they look good? Cons: NOT waterproof. Not water resistant. Run very narrow. Wanted a pair of boots for snow season in NYC and found these. I was skeptical about the mesh upper being waterproof, it looked like material of a running shoe. Anyway, I did a test before taking them out by running a cup of water over the mesh. Put my hand inside the shoe and it felt damp. I thought it was normal. The next day it snowed less than an inch and I thought I'd be safe in these. Wrong. Took my shoes off when I got home and my feet were moist and the insole was wet. Not even one inch of snow.........

I honestly really like these boots, they are super comfortable and I like the look of them however, the left boot makes a really annoying fart noise when I walk. I have tried everything, even spent money on insoles and they still make the noise. It's to the point where I don't where them any more because I feel like the noise got worse in just a couple of months of use.

Even though my feets are narrow, but still the boots are tight even I wear most of the time 9.5 size!

ordered wide and half size larger and the fit was still way too small.