CANADA SNOW Noel Kängor Broddar Review

When I first moved to Sweden, I struggled finding boots that kept my feet warm and from slipping on icy terrain. If you’re new to living in a cold winter climate like I was, then you quickly realize that the icy streets and frozen, wet toes will quickly ruin your experience here. Having lived in a tropical climate my entire life, I didn’t know where to begin my search and if I was buying a quality winter boot – these boots usually cost well over $200 in stores! Thankfully, after living in Sweden for two years, I can confidently say that I have found my favorite everyday winter boots that keep my tootsies warm, offer excellent grip with integrated ice cleats, and look stylish.

The CANADA SNOW Noel Kängor Broddar is my top choice for everyday winter boots. After two winter seasons, I am incredibly satisfied with the overall quality of the boot, especially the exterior body and the soles. The soles are the most intriguing part of the boot because they offer an unique feature: reversible ice spikes. These are the shoes to buy if you want extra security against slipping in icy conditions without having to carry around aftermarket ice cleats. To activate the cleats, you simply use a special included key to flip them over on the soles of your shoes. When they’re no longer needed, simply flip them back to the smooth side.

What’s to Like

• Smooth leather finish
• Easy to clean
• Stylish combat boot look
• Integrated, reversible ice grips
• Quality built insulated boot
• Excellent traction

What’s Not to Like

• The shoes perform best in temperatures warmer than -15 celsius
• Stones easily get wedged in the soles
• High price

FAQ about CANADA SNOW Noel Kängor Broddar

Where can you purchase the CANADA SNOW Noel Kängor Broddar?

If you’re in Sweden, you can find the Canada Snow line at Scorett stores. If you’re outside of Sweden, you can order directly from the brand’s website.

What if something breaks on the boot?

I actually experienced one of the cleats breaking in 2023 and then a zipper on the side broke in 2024. In both cases, I took them back to the store I purchased them (Scorett in Sweden) and both repairs were made free of charge to me, and it only took a couple of days for the shoemaker to do the work. If you’re outside of Sweden and don’t have this service, check with the brand or store that you purchased the boots from to see what options are available to you.

Conclusion to the CANADA SNOW Noel Kängor Broddar

The CANADA SNOW Noel Kängor Broddar is and continues to be my top choice for everyday winter boots. This is my honest and unpaid review – I really like the boots! Let me know in the comments if you have bought these boots.

If you like this content, then you may be interested in these other blogs:

• Tips to Beat the Winter Blues in Sweden
• How to Dress Properly for a Swedish Winter
• How to Dress Properly for a Swedish Spring
• Family-friendly activities in Sandviken, Sweden

Dressing a family for Swedish Winter

I am sharing my top tips for dressing adults and children properly in Swedish winter, including the favorite products we wear daily. Our family of five relocated from tropical Florida in the southern United States to Northern Sweden several years ago, and we were not prepared for everything we had to learn about dressing for Swedish winter. The advice I share with you now is stuff that I wish I had known when we first moved here. 

We wear winter clothing in our region of Sweden (center south, close to Stockholm) from November to April where temperatures regularly dip to -25 Celsius for several weeks! Further north, closer to the Arctic Circle, colder temperatures can reach around -45 Celsius!

At the bottom of this post, I share our favorite winter clothes, insulated boots, and necessary accessories to help you survive the frigid winter temperatures. For tips on beating the winter blues in Sweden, read this blog.

Build Clothing Layers to Stay Warm

The number one most important thing when dressing for Swedish winter is building layers of clothing on your body. Typically, this consists of four to five layers to protect yourself as outlined below. The goal with layering is two-fold:

1. to insulate yourself against the extreme cold temperatures, and
2. to keep yourself dry from the elements.

If water (think: melted snow) penetrates to your base layers, you risk hypothermia, frost bite, or worse.

How to Build Clothing Layers for Proper Body Insulation

1. Start putting on base layers, preferably a wool or wool blend product, for both your top and bottom. Wool is a natural breathable product that is also water-resistant and sweat-wicking, keeping your body dry.
2. The next layer will be your normal clothes, like jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and thick wool socks.
3. Building on that layer, should be a sweater with a high neck. 
4. Finally, you will put on your outerwear which protects you from the elements like snow or rain. the jacket should be lined on the interior and have a watertight exterior, ideally with some wind blocking element like a hood with a fur Edge. You can also add looser-fitting waterproof and insulated pants that go over your normal pants. Of additional importance is a scarf or buff to protect your neck, an insulated hat that covers your ears and forehead, and insulated gloves. Depending on your level of activity outside (like wintersports), you may want to consider wearing a second buff or ski mask to cover your nose and mouth. 
5. Your boots should be insulated and waterproof. As it is common to come across slippery ice in these conditions, we recommend adding slip-on ice spikes to your shoes as you go outside or buying shoes with these incorporated into the soles [Ingrid’s winter boot recommendation].
6. Bring a spare layer in case of accidents. Our rule of thumb is to add an extra layer, like extra gloves or hates. If you are too warm, then remove one. It’s a lot nicer than being truly uncomfortable as your body temperature plummets. 
7. Wear reflectors and a small battery-operated light to increase visibility in the dark (the sun rises after 9a and sets before 2p at the highest points of winter!). Fortunately, reflective strips or fabric are typically incorporated into children’s clothing at the factory; however, adult clothing may not have this feature. You can pick up both of these items at nearly every store in the winter season.

Adjust Clothing and Footwear for Colder Temperatures

Walking to the store at -10 celsius is a totally different activity then walking or ice skating on a frozen lake at -20 celsius. The wind and sun can be especially strong on a landscape of ice, and your footwear may not be rated for standing on solid ice for long periods of time. From personal experience, I realized quickly that I needed additional protection from the cold when walking on our frozen lake in Västerås. 

Below is a list of the insulated boots with temperature ratings to help you plan your outdoor winter adventures.

FAQ about Dressing for Swedish Winter

What kind of warm clothes should you use in Swedish winter?

You’ll need to wear several layers of warm clothing during Swedish winter. First, wear wool or wool-blend base layers on your top and bottom and thick socks followed by a long-sleeved shirt and pants. Next, you’ll add a thick sweater with a high neck and accessories like a scarf or buff, hat, and gloves. Your outer layers should include a waterproof jacket and waterproof snowpants followed by low-temperature rated winter boots. If you’re not used to the cold, you may want to bring an extra pair of mittens to go over your gloves and extra pair of socks, in case you need more insulation around your toes.

For young children, we recommend that they wear a one-piece insulated snowsuit rather than a jacket with snow pants. In our experience, it made getting dressed and undressed go significantly faster.

Where do you buy winter clothes in Sweden?

Our favorite stores to shop for winter clothes are Stadium and for winter boots are Scorett. Both of these stores have locations all over Sweden, and offer limited repair services if parts of the purchase are damaged like a zipper going off track or a small tear in a snow suit. Scorett works with brands like Canada Snow and Polar, both of which offer cold temperature ratings on their boots (to as low as -40 celsius).

Conclusion to Dressing for Swedish Winter

I hope my tips for dressing adults and children properly in Swedish winter was helpful. Like I said, learning to dress properly in the northern climate took some learning and adjusting, but it’s totally doable. Certainly, it makes experiencing the beautiful season a lovely time.

If you like this Swedish content, then check out these related blogs:

1. Family-friendly Activities in Sandviken, Sweden
2. 1-Day Travel Itinerary to Gävle, Sweden
3. Tips to Survive the Winter Blues in Sweden
4. Cost of Eye Glasses in Sweden
5. Cost of Preschool in Sweden
6. Canada Snow Noel Kängor (Winter boots) with reversible ice cleats

Disclosure: Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can provide compensation to me at no cost to you if you decide to purchase a paid plan. Thank you, if you do. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This site is not intended to provide financial advice and is for entertainment only. Read our affiliate disclosure in our privacy policy.

Beat the Winter Blues in Sweden

I’m sharing my 7 tips to beat the winter blues in Sweden as an non-native resident, and hope they help you during your time here. If you know me, you know how much I love living in Sweden. I love the quality of life, the nature, and the four seasons, especially winter.

As beautiful as winter in Sweden is, it also comes with a lot of darkness and it can be restrictive because of the extreme cold temperature (-20C and below!) and ice conditions. As someone who grew up in the “sunshine state” of Florida, living in such an opposite environment for three months of the year takes physical, mental, and emotional adjustments.

I’m not a doctor so this isn’t medical advice. I am someone who moved here as an adult from a tropical climate and it’s honestly taken my body and mind time to adjust to the seasonality of this beautiful country. I know that I’m not alone in this after discussing it with friends who also relocated here from warmer climates.

7 Tips to Beat the Winter Blues in Sweden

1. Start a hobby or learn something new.

You’ll likely experience more quiet time over the dark winter months simply because it’s a slower time of the year (outside of the Christmas events!). Rather than sitting inside with just your thoughts, pick up a hobby. I will list below the ones that I’ve personally tried when trying to beat the winter blues!

2. Have fika weekly with friends, in-person or virtually.

Fika in Sweden is a daily ritual where you take a coffee break and have a sweet treat. It’s a great way to take a break and interact with friends and co-workers, and very much appreciated by all.

3. Experience winter sports like downhill skiing and ice skating on a rink or a frozen lake.

In our town, once the ice is at least 10 cm thick, they take a ATV with a snow plow to clear a 5-kilometer loop on the lake. It’s such a cool experience to see your town from a new perspective. We like to pull our youngest along on a sled or even use the stroller. There are also really affordable places to ski near most cities in the middle half and north of the country, if you’re interested in learning.

4. Go outside at least once a day.

Going outside is important to help your body adjust to the cold and also capture a bit of the sunshine before the sun sets.

5. Take extra vitamins like B12 och iron.

I had a blood test done during my first winter in Sweden because I was constantly exhausted, and I had never felt so drained of energy previously living in the tropics. I was a tired mom that was low on iron, though surprisingly B12 levels were fine. Now that I focus more on these metrics, I find I have more energy.

In chatting with other friends that moved to Sweden from tropical and sunny climates, they say they’ve experienced the same thing. Below are the actual vitamins and supplements I take, and I feel like they’ve made a positive impact on my life during this time of the year.

6. Make your house cozy with extra lighting.

In our area, we have about 3 hours of daylight on a good day at the peak of winter. Installing extra lighting gives you that additional glow that mimics the sunlight. We installed undercabinet lighting and motion-operated lights in our closets to brighten the darkest places inside.

7. Give yourself time to adjust.

Last but not least, give yourself time to adjust. Our first winter here, I naively thought that life would continue as normal. In hindsight, I felt very isolated in the remote village we lived in. Despite doing all the tips I mentioned above, I still felt sad and alone. Now, two years later, my body has learned a bit more of what to expect and I’ve settled into a healthier routine that seems to help me best during this season.

Conclusion to Beat the Winter Blues

I truly hope these tips help you beat the winter blues. As I write this post, we’re in early March, the snow has just melted, the sun is shining, the birds have returned, and temperatures are above freezing during the day. I feel my energy returning, like the energy to write a blog, and relish in the coming warmer months. 

If you like this blog, you may also like these posts:

1. Cost of Eye Glasses in Sweden
2. Cost of Preschool in Sweden
3. Sandviken, Sweden: Family Travel Itinerary
4. Canada Snoe Noel Kängor (Winter Boots) Review | Reversible Ice Cleats

Disclosure: Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can provide compensation to me at no cost to you if you decide to purchase a paid plan. Thank you, if you do. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This site is not intended to provide financial advice and is for entertainment only. Read our affiliate disclosure in our privacy policy.