1. The Sole Actually Grips

Turn one over and you will see the difference straight away. My old boots were nearly flat underneath. These have a proper non-slip rubber sole with deep, chunky grooves running in every direction.

It is made to grip on wet, snowy and icy ground, and you can feel it biting the first time you step outside.

👉 See the non-slip sole up close

2. I Stopped Holding My Breath on the Frosty Path

You know the feeling. Little steps, arms slightly out, eyes on the ground, waiting for your foot to go.

The first frosty morning in these I walked the whole length of the garden path at a normal pace. When I looked back, there was my tread pressed neatly into the frost, every groove of it. That is when I believed it.

3. Steps and Kerbs Do Not Frighten Me Any More

Going down steps on a cold morning was the part I dreaded most. The back garden steps, the kerb outside the post office, the slope down to the car park.

With a deep grippy sole under me and a firm, steady base, I put my foot down and it stays put. I still use the rail, I am not daft, but I am not frightened any more.

👉 See why they feel so steady

4. Wet Pavements, Wet Leaves, Wet Shop Floors

Ice is not the only danger. It is the slimy leaves in November, the shiny wet paving slabs, the supermarket entrance where everyone has walked the rain in.

These grip on all of it. I do my shopping now without that little knot in my stomach every time the floor looks wet.

5. I Feel Planted, Not Wobbly

There is good stability support built in, and a cushioned sole that softens every step, so I feel balanced and sure rather than teetering.

My daughter noticed it before I did. She said I was walking "like you used to". I did not realise how much I had been shuffling.

6. No Balancing on One Leg to Put Them On

Here is one I did not expect. Hopping about in the hall doing up laces is its own little risk at our age.

These simply slip on. The stretchy panel at the side opens, your foot goes in, and you are ready. No laces, no bending down, no wobbling on one leg by the front door.

7. Warm Feet Are Steady Feet

Cold, numb feet are clumsy feet. You cannot feel the ground properly when your toes have gone.

These are lined all the way round with thick soft fleece and they are windproof, so my feet stay warm and I can feel every step. Rain sits on top and rolls off, too.

8. My Daughter Stopped Ringing to Check On Me

Every frosty morning last winter, the phone would go at nine. "Have you been out? Be careful, Mum."

This winter she has stopped. She has seen me in them, and she knows. I bought my sister a pair too, because she worries about the ice even more than I did. That peace of mind, for both of us, is the real reason I am writing this.

9. Less Than the Pairs That Let Me Down

I added up what I had spent on boots that did not keep me steady, and it came to well over two hundred pounds.

These were £39.95, half price in the autumn sale, in black that goes with everything. They are the only ones I trust on an icy morning, and I would have paid a great deal more for that feeling.