Hunting for Non-Slip Winter Boots

In my adult life, I can remember falling five times on ice in winter. The winter before my first child was born, I slipped on ice downtown. It was embarrassing: I suddenly "sat" down, thankful that my well-padded winter coat provided a soft landing. I noticed worried looks from pedestrians nearby. I reassured them that I was okay, all the while hoping the baby was, too...

Though I can remember falling five times, only twice have I injured myself seriously enough to see a doctor. Once I had a cracked tailbone, another time a fractured wrist. I was a lot younger then, so neither of these proved that serious. Nothing can be done for a cracked tailbone, but I did wear a wrist cast for six weeks after the fracture.

Last winter, I again "sat down" on the ice near our house en route to the mailbox at the end of the street. I didn't hurt myself, fortunately, but I did begin to pay attention to places where the road slopes down towards the ditch. I'm not that young anymore and I've been told I have osteopenia.

I mention these embarrassing details to underscore that I'm not good on ice, and that I'm a little concerned about falling again. To try to prevent this from happening, I've decided to buy the BEST non-slip boots on the market - for those days when ice may be lurking under the snow. I've gone online and discovered that very few women's boots are made with non-slip soles - though a lot of men's boots are. (No surprise there!) I've also discovered that boot soles are rated for anti-slip properties, with 1, 2 or 3 snowflakes, 1 being the best.

The best anti-slip soles, according to a consumer report I read online, are the Sperry Powder Valley Vibron Arctic Grip, which scored 9 out of 10 on a test commissioned by the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Next (at 8 out of 10) was Green Diamond anti-slip technology. I'm not sure which companies sell boots with these soles, but I'm heading out to hunt!

I found the Sperry boots without much difficulty - and managed to find them on sale. I didn't notice any snowflake rating...

I hope they are all they're cracked up to be: I notice that the description states that they are good on "wet ice." I'm not sure what that means. I hope they work when the ice is dry, as well as wet.

Another concern: The consumer report on non-slip boots - which I've linked to above - is two years old... I wonder if things have changed much since then. There should be annual updates on safe sole technology. Falls can affect us all.