The Best Down Booties of 2023

If you’re looking for down booties with a little more structure and tread, look no further than The North Face’s Thermoball Traction Booties ($69). These street-style down booties are perfect for walking outside in a couple inches of snow or bussing up to the ski resort on a chilly morning. There are women’s specific models, too. For all of those reasons, and the design’s sustainability focus, these booties are the peak of our list.

Topped off with the brand’s ThermoBall Eco insulation — a 100% recycled down alternative — these shoes are great for someone looking to get a lot of mileage out of their winter booties without sacrificing warmth. The synthetic fill keeps your feet toasty, even after exposure to snow or water. Plus, the style is efficient and easy to slip on.

The recycled rubber sole means less insulation for the soles of your feet, and with the grip, aren’t ideal for wearing in a sleeping bag. These Thermoball Traction Booties for men and women are built for outdoor use, however, they’re super comfortable indoors too. These booties only run in whole sizes, so we recommend sizing down if you’re in between. 

These warm slipper-style down booties ($65) won not just one but two picks in our book: best budget and most sustainable, thanks to their recycled down filling.

In addition to recycled RDS-certified down, these down slippers also have a cushioned EVA foam footbed and a nonslip sole. They’re super lightweight and very packable, and they provide really good warmth — all for under 70 bucks.

If you need a lower-cuffed bootie, don’t miss out on the Rab Down Hut Slipper.

One top-notch mid-weight and ultra-cozy option is the Baffin CUSH Booty ($60). Perfect for hanging around the house or relaxing on those long chilly plane rides, these booties will keep your feet extra warm. 

What do we love? The PolyWool footbed allows for breathable warmth so your feet don’t get swampy. Even after wearing these for a few hours indoors, our feet were still dry after taking them off. They are also treated with Baffin’s B-Tek Dry technology, making them water-resistant. 

In terms of fit, they run true to size — simply refer to Baffin’s size chart. Due to the fluff of these booties, they look rather large on your feet and run slightly wide. However, once they were on, they don’t feel heavy or cumbersome. 

The Baffin CUSH Booty is ideal for that person looking to maintain warmth in their feet without going to the upper price tier. They are great for getting chores done around the house or sitting by the campfire. 

Surprisingly, there aren’t that many down bootie options on the market, which is why we decided to include at least one down alternative. This is a proper bootie, built for cold-weather travel and camping.

The Outdoor Research Tundra ($89) for guys and gals is an above-the-ankle slip-on bootie that will surely retain its warmth when you step outside onto the deck to look at the stars or pull them on in the ski area parking lot, thanks to that synthetic fill.

And while it’s not insulated with down, a few people on our staff gave this warm bootie a standing ovation — it delivers warmth, a cozy but not-too-snug fit, and durability on the soles.

It was also our top choice for durability. If you want a bootie with a sole that can handle some wear, the Outdoor Research Tundra should make your list, and you can check out the women’s version, too.

If you need something more than fleece baby booties, consider skipping toddler slippers and moving straight on to down booties.

The Sierra Designs Youth Down Booties ($30) have 800-fill down insulation for optimal warmth, especially for tiny feet and toes. The plumes are treated with a hydrophobic finish, so you don’t need to worry about the down losing all of its insulating power if your little one steps in a puddle.

They’re warm, they’re fairly durable, and the size range means they will last your kiddos a few years. A soft brushed tricot lining is included for comfort. The design is also eco-friendly with recycled material and a PFC-free DWR coating.

Instead of finishing the bootie with a cinch or tie closer, Sierra Designs made it easier for kids to put on with a sock-like, slip-on cuff around the ankle.

Topping the design off with a foam midsole, these slippers are worthy for all-day comfort. These youth down booties come in small, medium, and large and three colors.

Ever noticed your feet getting cold when camping? Even with wool socks, liner socks, or multiple pairs on, the air temperatures sometimes win. Enter down socks, the solution to your eternal cold-feet woes.

Down socks are light, fluffy foot layers stuffed with insulation and designed to keep your toes and feet warm no matter the temps outside. The best ones we’ve tested are these from GooseFeet Gear ($69-97).

Even better, you can fully customize these puppies. If you’re only venturing down to 20-30 degrees F, we’d recommend going with the standard 850-fill.

But if you’re going to be in more extreme temps — below 20 or even dipping below zero — you can add 25%, 50%, 75%, or even 100% more overfill to keep your feet and toes extra toasty. You can also easily customize the shell fabric and liner fabric deniers (fabric thickness) and colors — this down sock even has the most color options we’ve seen, so there’s plenty of room for customized style.

Make sure to add on a pair of their Waterproof Over Booties ($49) for extra protection if you’re planning to wear them around camp or in the elements.

Sierra Designs Down Booties ($70) won us over almost immediately out of the box. On the coldest morning we’ve had so far this winter (in Colorado), it was 15 outside and (due to a 58-year-old heater) not warm enough inside.

We slipped our feet into these, and they did the job. We also love the pillow feel of the insulation from top to ankle to bottom. In short, these down booties provide plenty of warmth, and their nonslip sole is perfect for that après stroll around any ski town.

All in all, Sierra Designs Down Booties also offer a lot in terms of sustainability. They’re made with a 100% recycled polyester shell, with a PFC-free DWR.

The cons? They may run a bit wide (don’t worry, the cords at the cuffs still seal in warmth). And some reviewers wish they had a bit more insulation on the sole.

Among the most lightweight down booties (not including down socks) on this list, Western Mountaineering’s Flash Booties ($77) are meant to deliver high warmth in a small and lightweight package.

The Flash Booties have 850-down-fill as well as a foam insole and reinforced sole like the brand’s Standard Booties.

Aside from having a thinner shell material (maybe not as durable), the Flash Booties performed just as well. If you’re looking for budget-friendly, warm, and lighter-weight booties, these could be for you.

These booties didn’t win a specific category, but they’re easily some of the best down booties you can buy at a reasonable price.

Western Mountaineering makes two models of down booties, but the Standard Booties ($110) are hard to beat. They offer high coverage, feature a high fill power for maximum warmth, and are amazingly lightweight at 6 ounces per pair. For all of those reasons, this bootie remains at the top of the charts.

The Standard Booties contain 800-fill European-sourced goose down and are finished with a foam insole and nonslip Toughtek outsole. The elastic draw closure is simple yet effective, and we found these to be highly durable.

We love that the outer shell fabric of these Booties also has a DWR finish for water repellency and durability in cold, moist, or wet weather.

These are some of the most durable booties we’ve ever tested. The Prism Bootie Slippers ($60) from U.K. brand Montane also have quite a bit of insulation and are toasty warm. That’s thanks to the insulation, a fleece lining, and an insulated sole. And they’re pretty packable, too.

The Prism booties easily pack into a stuff sack and have a cinch cord at the top of the ankle to lock in heat for your feet. One con is that these are made with a synthetic filling, so they aren’t the warmest we tested. But in every other aspect, they’re wonderful.

In terms of specs, these booties have PrimaLoft Gold 55% recycled insulation, a brushed microfleece lining, a PrimaLoft Gold Grip Control 90% recycled insulated sole, and a Hypalon rubber sole.

Like most booties we’ve highlighted here, they’re also versatile. We’ve worn these booties winter camping but also just around the house and traveling as well. The fit is snug, and folks with larger feet might find they run small. They come in unisex sizing and two colors.

At a great price but not as warm as other choices on our list are these “hot socks” ($65) from Rab. The Hot Socks are similar to Rab’s booties, except these are made with recycled synthetic insulation instead of recycled down.

And while they’re labeled as socks, we found them to be more of a bootie style, as they do have an insulated sole. They’re also super packable.

We love that they have a lot of the elements of a traditional down bootie, including a taller height and insulated sole that’s wrapped up in a lighter, more sock-like package.

If you’re looking for a no-fuss, insulating layer for your feet and don’t want down, these down-alternative socks are worth looking into.

We couldn’t not include these wicked-light down sleeping socks. But these are really only necessary for high alpine and extreme cold environments (think ski mountaineering or mountaineering and hut-to-hut traverses, or professional guides and emergency rescue teams). You’ll have to drop 400 bucks if you want a pair.

The North Face Sleeping Socks ($400) offer both a little and a lot at the same time. By far, they are the warmest socks on this list with the highest fill — at 1,000 — available. They’re finished with a light but protective 10-denier nylon aluminum coating.

If 1,000-fill cloud down is worth it so you won’t have to worry about frostbite ever again, then The North Face Summit Series Sleeping Socks should be on your list. They’re the only ones we’d want if we were venturing anywhere above 5,000 m for an extended period of time.