Mukluks (Mukluk Boots)

Women's Boot Guide

Soft Boots for Dry Cold

The mukluk is engineered for a specific climate: the dry, deep cold of the Arctic, where snow stays powdery and temperatures sit far below freezing. Sealskin and reindeer skin give a boot that weighs little, so hunters can move very quietly across snow, and the soft construction flexes with the foot instead of fighting it, the opposite approach to a rigid mountaineering boot. Breathability is the decisive feature. Hard work in heavy clothing makes feet perspire even in severe cold, and in an impermeable boot that moisture has nowhere to go: it condenses, soaks the insulation and can freeze, turning sweat into a frostbite risk. The mukluk's air exchange lets the moisture escape outward continuously, keeping the inside dry through a day's travel. Fur linings of rabbit, fox or raccoon add still-air insulation, and decoration, pompons and beads, marks pairs made for wear beyond the hunt.

Variations and the Modern Mukluk

The name covers a family rather than a single pattern. In the Inupiaq language the u makes an oo sound, so the spelling maklak is used with the same pronunciation, a reminder that the word names the bearded seal the skins came from. Another type, sometimes called an Inuit boot, originating in Greenland and the eastern part of Alaska, is made by binding the skins with animal cartilage and has a centre seam running down to the foot of the boot. Modern makers have found utility in the design as well, pairing the soft, breathable upper with a rugged contemporary sole, and the term mukluk is now often used for any soft boot designed for cold weather, including designs similar to high-top athletic shoes. At the gentle end of the family, one kind of mukluk is knitted with a soft leather sole and worn primarily by ballet dancers in place of leg and foot warmers, proof that a boot built to breathe and flex adapts to any work done on cold floors.