Boots have split

Geoff Berrow said:

Leather, waterproof and a very solid looking
Vibram sole. Anyone tried this boot?

No, but I have a high regard for Vibram Bifida soles, if that's what
it's got.

Daytona

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I know I should have listened to the guys who suggested waterproofing
suede boots and not to worry what they looked like. But I didn't and as
a consequence they have both split at the bend. So, since they have had
it anyway, I dubbined them up and gave them a try. What a vast
improvement in performance!

But, looking round for new boots it seems to me that for an item which
will be wet and covered in mud for a lot of the time - I have now come
to the conclusion that it makes sense to buy something which is
waterproof and mud coloured. So going for just brown leather, my local
Millets (only shop in town...) only have Brasher, HiTec and Peter Storm
in stock. Had Magic with me so couldn't try any on but the Peter Storm
looked the most impressive. Leather, waterproof and a very solid looking
Vibram sole. Anyone tried this boot?

Make your choice based on how well they fit YOUR feet. Everything else
is a secondary consideration.

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person Geoff Berrow <[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

I know I should have listened to the guys who suggested waterproofing
suede boots and not to worry what they looked like. But I didn't and as
a consequence they have both split at the bend. So, since they have had
it anyway, I dubbined them up and gave them a try. What a vast
improvement in performance!

But, looking round for new boots it seems to me that for an item which
will be wet and covered in mud for a lot of the time - I have now come
to the conclusion that it makes sense to buy something which is
waterproof and mud coloured.

Yep, indeedy. Grey/Blue/Red suede/cordura or Nubuck or whatever is just
a cr&p idea, unless you do your walking mostly in lounge bars. A triumph
of form over function (unless you have red/grey/blue mud round your way,
of course).

Quoted message said:

So going for just brown leather, my local
Millets (only shop in town...) only have Brasher, HiTec and Peter Storm
in stock. Had Magic with me so couldn't try any on but the Peter Storm
looked the most impressive. Leather, waterproof and a very solid looking
Vibram sole. Anyone tried this boot?

No, but I tried a pair of HiTek ones today (15 miles - 50% roads - first
time out). The sole is not Vibram, but seemed to grip OK. Comfort wise
they (at £32, from the outdoor shop in Bridgnorth .. reduced from
£39.99) are superior to the Scarpa Rangers (at 4x the price), which are
still biting the top of my big toe on one foot only. No pseudo-Goretex
membrane either (good!). The mud washed right off, but that's because
they're still new and shiny.

I have destroyed two pairs of Brasher (Nubuck .. FMB1 and FMB2) in
record time - even with Nikwax they seem to rely on the membrane to stay
waterproof, once the membrane goes (which takes about 3 barley seeds)
they become mobile puddles (especially the Cordura panels on the FMB2s).
Haven't tried their actual leather (Hillmaster etc.) boots. Comfort on
the FMB1s was good, but the FMB2s (same size - free replacement from
Brasher) were a tad too narrow. The FMB1s did what yours did, split at
the toe crease after 8 months / 687.8 km.

I'm coming to the conclusion that cheap & cheerful (HiTek, Peter Storm,
Hawkshead, etc.) walking boots are probably a better investment, at
least for me, than expensive ones, as long as the sole is reasonably
grippy. I don't worry about the foot-bed, since I usually stick a
sorbothane insole in anyway. Certainly for £32 I figured I couldn't go
far wrong.

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can
Contact recommends the use of Firefox; SC recommends it at gunpoint.

GSV Three Minds in a Can said:

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person Geoff Berrow <[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

I know I should have listened to the guys who suggested waterproofing
suede boots and not to worry what they looked like. But I didn't and as
a consequence they have both split at the bend. So, since they have had
it anyway, I dubbined them up and gave them a try. What a vast
improvement in performance!

But, looking round for new boots it seems to me that for an item which
will be wet and covered in mud for a lot of the time - I have now come
to the conclusion that it makes sense to buy something which is
waterproof and mud coloured.

Yep, indeedy. Grey/Blue/Red suede/cordura or Nubuck or whatever is just
a cr&p idea, unless you do your walking mostly in lounge bars. A triumph
of form over function (unless you have red/grey/blue mud round your way,
of course).

Quoted message said:

So going for just brown leather, my local
Millets (only shop in town...) only have Brasher, HiTec and Peter Storm
in stock. Had Magic with me so couldn't try any on but the Peter Storm
looked the most impressive. Leather, waterproof and a very solid looking
Vibram sole. Anyone tried this boot?

No, but I tried a pair of HiTek ones today (15 miles - 50% roads - first
time out). The sole is not Vibram, but seemed to grip OK. Comfort wise
they (at £32, from the outdoor shop in Bridgnorth .. reduced from
£39.99) are superior to the Scarpa Rangers (at 4x the price), which are
still biting the top of my big toe on one foot only. No pseudo-Goretex
membrane either (good!). The mud washed right off, but that's because
they're still new and shiny.

I have destroyed two pairs of Brasher (Nubuck .. FMB1 and FMB2) in
record time - even with Nikwax they seem to rely on the membrane to stay
waterproof, once the membrane goes (which takes about 3 barley seeds)
they become mobile puddles (especially the Cordura panels on the FMB2s).
Haven't tried their actual leather (Hillmaster etc.) boots. Comfort on
the FMB1s was good, but the FMB2s (same size - free replacement from
Brasher) were a tad too narrow. The FMB1s did what yours did, split at
the toe crease after 8 months / 687.8 km.

I'm coming to the conclusion that cheap & cheerful (HiTek, Peter Storm,
Hawkshead, etc.) walking boots are probably a better investment, at
least for me, than expensive ones, as long as the sole is reasonably
grippy. I don't worry about the foot-bed, since I usually stick a
sorbothane insole in anyway. Certainly for £32 I figured I couldn't go
far wrong.

Having spent a lot of money on good boots that didn't perform as
expected in the past, I heeded the advice of Hunter Davies in "The Good
Guide to The Lakes" circa 1980. "Walking is easy. it's just putting one
foot in front of the other". He goes on to say that you see shepherds
walking in shoes in summer and wellies in winter. Following this general
principle I assume that if its wet underfoot, my feet are going to get
muddy and wet whatever I wear. If its very wet I wear wellies £5.00 from
the local shoe shop (I have walked 15 - 20 miles in a day over rough
moorland as a volunteer ranger, without problems in them). If its
snow/ice and I need crampons on, I wear the plastic Trezetas I've had
for some years now (cost £100 when new) All other conditions I wear the
cheapest "walking" boots that I can find. I spent all last summer and
autumn walking in a pair of £10.00 boots from Decathlon which are light,
have a decent sole and are hard wearing. They have accompanied me on
many lengthy treks in the Dales, Bowland and the South Pennines.
I suppose what i'm trying to say is go with what you're comfy in. I have
never found price to be an indication of comfort. There is an amount of
technobabble out there which I think misleads people into parting with
more cash than they should in the persuit of comfort, dryness and
performance.

Alex

Message-ID: <[email hidden]> from Graeme Cogger
contained the following:

Quoted message said:

Make your choice based on how well they fit YOUR feet. Everything else
is a secondary consideration.

Yeah, that's pretty much a given. That's how I bought my last pair.

--
Geoff Berrow (put thecat out to email)
It's only Usenet, no one dies.
My opinions, not the committee's, mine.
Simple RFDs http://www.ckdog.co.uk/rfdmaker/

On 8/12/05 17:55, in article [email hidden], "GSV Three

Minds in a Can said:

No, but I tried a pair of HiTek ones today (15 miles - 50% roads - first
time out). The sole is not Vibram, but seemed to grip OK. Comfort wise
they (at £32, from the outdoor shop in Bridgnorth .. reduced from
£39.99) are superior to the Scarpa Rangers (at 4x the price), which are
still biting the top of my big toe on one foot only. No pseudo-Goretex
membrane either (good!). The mud washed right off, but that's because
they're still new and shiny.

I reckon these Hi-Tec boots are the best bargains available at the moment. I
occasionally take two teenage relatives out to Snowdonia and earlier this
year bought them both two pairs of Hi-Tec boots from Millets. The kids love
them and tend to wear them all day, when the rest of us have taken off our
boots. Chris Townsend gave them his boot of the year recommendation a couple
of years ago and I can see why.

I'm thinking of buying a pair of the slightly firmer Hi-Tecs for the TGO
Challenge.

--
Andy Howell, Birmingham, UK. To mail simply put back the dots ...

Must Be Over There ...
http://www.ecotrend.org.uk/trek