It's officially snow boot season, and New Balance isn't letting UGG have all the fun.

The running shoe brand has no problem stepping outside of its sneaker-yielding box to churn out some funky silhouettes (See: The ever-contentious New Balance loafer). So it should hardly come as a surprise that New Balance also has a ruggedly charming snow boot.

The New Balance Niobium Concept 3 has a terrain-gripping outsole that's serving space cadet realness. The upper is a tale in two parts, built out with a dual-layer construction, including a removable water-repellent inner boot and waterproof exterior shell.

So if your ideal day off includes rainy trails or nippy camping trips, this is the boot for you.

The Niobium Concept 3 comes from the New Balance's Tokyo Design Studio, responsible for other subversive New Balance releases, including the sole-ridged New Balance 574 derby.

If these tech-y boots look familiar, last year, New Balance teamed up with Snow Peak to create the TDS Niobium Concept 3, another hard-wearing snowboot dipped in signature New Balance flavor.

While the TDS Niobium Concept 3 sports a menacingly icy white outer, the Niobium Concept 3 is an earth-toned wonder that's curiously warm-hued for such a cold-weather-ready boot. But that Martian-esque duality is part of its charm.

Other than that, New Balance's collab with Snow Peak is a bar-for-bar structural match to the new Niobium Concept 3, so snow boot enthusiasts far and wide now have a couple of flavors to choose from.