Recommend some walking boots?

[Crackle]

I totally take the point of the expert advise of the LOS. But, I don't really think I need professional advice do I?

What kind of walking will you do. Mountaineering, 4 season, fell walking etc... Each boot is designed for a purpose.

Boots will come with different rands, different levels of support, different, soles for different conditions, different stiffness and different fabrics.

Each boot will have a different fit. Italian boots, typically pinch my feet. Zamberlan are too wide for me etc....

Will you wear gators, do you want to use walking crampons for snow (if we ever get any).

Do you have any feet problems, what's your gait like (where do you wear shoes out first).

These are the kind of things a good shop will find out from you before helping you select a boot. If you know 'em now, fair do's, go anywhere. If you don't: Well do you need specialist advice or not?

 

[PaulB]

Get a pair of Brasher boots. They do half sizes, so get your size plus a half. Great boots with none of that breaking-in business (for me anyway).

What he said^. You can spend all the time in the world checking out these boots or those boots; the second you put Brashers' on, your feet will tell you to buy them. My first pair did 74 Munros and countless other hills and mountains and my present pair still look good after 32 Munros and many other climbs.

 

[domd1979]

Being veggie certainly makes things a lot more simple on the walking boot front, as there's only a small number of options for non-leather boots!! I got mine from www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk

Altberg look to be the business though - http://www.altberg.co.uk/Web/index.jsp - made in Yorkshire (and they do veg boots as well as leather).

 

[PaulB]

Being veggie

I got attacked by a load of your lot last night. They were beating me up with huge carrots, sticks of celery, courgettes and chucking cabages at me. The police reckon they were a group of vegelantes.

 

[wafflycat]

I have Brashers - the equivalent of these

http://www.brasher.co.uk/catalogue/products/hillmaster-r-gtx-hillgtxwn

I've had them nearly fifteen years and they are still going strong, almost as good as new. For me - comfortable, I've never had a single blister when wearing them. Ever. I've walked mile after mile in them. They've seen use in the Scottish Highlands, Norfolk coast, various national trails, walking in Austria...

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I haven't got a recommendations on walking boots but thought I'd post as I feel left out. How about some nice brown ones?

 

[Cubist]

What he said^. You can spend all the time in the world checking out these boots or those boots; the second you put Brashers' on, your feet will tell you to buy them. My first pair did 74 Munros and countless other hills and mountains and my present pair still look good after 32 Munros and many other climbs.

First time I put a pair of Brashers on (£125 leather Goretex) my feet shouted "Take them Off". Mrs C had just bought me them for Christmas. Fortunately the expert outdoor shop she bought them from agreed that Brashers don't fit all shapes of feet. I swapped them for a pair of Meindl Borneos.

Lowa have been making dual skin goretex leather boots for various militaries around the world. They are exactly the same as Meindls as far as I can determine. They are measured in Millimetres and have different width fittings. I used to wear them as patrol boots, and can quite honestly say they are the comfiest boots you will ever put on. I know of about thirty or more colleagues who agree, and all buy them. Find them used (surplus) in various qualities, from virtually unworn to brand new at :
http://www.baaron-son.co.uk/acatalog/Lowa_Military_Boots.html

Oh, and by the way, I found a bamboo-carbon breathable windproof showerproof cycling jacket in TK's I bought it 'cos it was lovely and cheap, and about the fifth of the usual price. Am I really a twat?

 

[purplepolly]

Fortunately the expert outdoor shop she bought them from agreed that Brashers don't fit all shapes of feet. I swapped them for a pair of Meindl Borneos.

That's the other thing, a decent shop will always tell you to try them round the house for a couple of weeks and bring them back if you're not happy, so it's not necessary to get it entirely right on the day. Admittedly home is hardly the lake district but going up and down stairs a lot gives a good idea of the fit.

 

[yoyo]

I recommend Brashers - have boots and sandals. Both have taken me on the South Coast Path, the South Coast most of the way from Poole to Dover, Switzerland, France and Austria.

Now that I know what I am looking for I would certainly buy a pair in TKMaxx if the price was right.

 

[porteous]

I like old fashioned Zamberlan (The lightweight traditional boot is about £100 ). Lots of good advice here, the most important being DON'T buy unless you walk around with both on for 5 to 10 mins first in the shop. If they don't feel really comfortable then don't buy them.

Oh; and make sure you try them with the socks you will be wearing when you go walking.

AND wear them in a bit round the house. The family will laugh, but it really helps.

 

[papercorn2000]

I haven't got a recommendations on walking boots but thought I'd post as I feel left out. How about some nice brown ones?

Red shoes are faster.

 

[Intelligenthamster]

I swear by Brasher's. Not cheap, but I gave my original (second-hand) pair some serious abuse- hiking up frozen slate tips in Wales and saltwater caves in Gibraltar- and they stood years of it. Bought my second pair new last year and they remain the only boots other that have never given me a blister- and didn't even need much breaking in.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

I've had Scarpas for the last twenty years with no problems.