This post was published three years ago. Since then my boots have moved on. Quite a lot. I have completed the 870 mile Wales Coast Path – mostly since this was published – and have spent two weeks walking across the Yorkshire Dales, as well as doing many other walks. And I have two more pairs of boots in the porch, so I thought you deserved an edited update. 

I can’t remember when or why I got the walking bug. I do know that sometime in my late teens or early 20’s I bought a pair of “proper” walking boots. And I still have them. They are an Italian all leather boot by Suola and are called Robusta. I seem to remember they were quite expensive. And they are very heavy. Each boot weighs about 1000 grammes (or 2lbs 3oz in old money). Heavy!

Maybe I should put them on Ebay as “vintage”

The soles are not very worn, indicating that my engagement with walking had been short- lived. The soles are made by Vibram which are still used by many of the best brands. They would be called a “mid” boot today, coming up to a bit above the ankle, to give protection and support without being too restrictive. They were not waterproof – clever waterproof linings like Gore-Tex had only recently been invented –  but as far as I remember they did keep me dry on boggy ground (if I regularly applied dubbin or whatever was recommended at the time). I needed a new pair.

When thinking about equipment, boots are the obvious place to start. If your boot doesn’t fit properly you will have aches and pains and blisters in no time and you will be miserable. For general walking – and by that I mean pretty well all surfaces – I find that this “mid” style suits me best. The mid boot gives your ankle the support it needs to avoid falling and protects you from painful blows and bruises.

Call me superficial, but I wanted ones that I liked the appearance of. Boots these days can look very funky, especially ones designed for women (who get nearly all the fun in the clothes and accessories department). Designers of boots must have a wonderful time making patterns with their combination of fabric and suede and COLOUR. Yes, I know in my head that this lovely looking boot will not look that for very long. One muddy walk and they will never look new again.

I admit I did no research other than to try several boots on in the shop. This was silly of me. But you know how it is.  The fit between brands really is different in terms of the width and toe room and flexibility. But when I put on a pair of Merrell Moabs with a Gore-Tex liner. I just knew that this was the boot for me.

Funky in a blokey kind of way

I loved the two-tone khaki and dark brown colours and the way that they had combined the materials. But most they just felt so good. I was advised, and I advise you in the strongest terms, to try boots on wearing the socks that you intend to walk in. If you use a liner sock and a second pair, as I do, take both.

Some shops have a little mini ramp and they get you to put the boots on and then stand and wiggle around on the ramp a bit facing down. This is a really good idea. You find out whether you need more toe room or not. If your toes are touching the end of the boot on a downward slope you are going to have a bad time.  My advice is to get a size of about a half a size larger than your ordinary shoe (remember, too, that your feet will swell slightly in even moderately warm conditions or on longish walks. Also that sizes vary between manufactures).

I bought the Merrells. These hybrid fabric and leather boots really don’t need  “wearing in” as leather ones used to (I’ll come back to that). However, you’d be daft to just buy a pair of boots and then go off on a weeks walking with them before doing 20 miles or so.

I was entirely happy with them but they started leaking after about a year. I sent them back to Merrell, who offered me a replacement. Good on them. But then less than a year later they leaked again. I really hadn’t abused them (how do you abuse a boot?). When I looked at them carefully I thought that I could see a design fault. The combined suede and fabric body starts just too near the sole. This means that the fabric element is vulnerable to perforation from a sharp stone or even thorn.

Merrell agreed to replace them again (warning me that this would be for the last time). The Moab wasn’t available in my size. So they invited me to choose any of their range. Now call me greedy but they might as well have said “please choose our most expensive boot”. Which (in the Mid- style boot) is what I did – the Chameleon Evo Mid Synthetic -Gore-Tex. The only problem was that they didn’t arrive in time for my trip to France where I was going to walk the Way of St James. I needed to become Mr Two Boots.

Bath has loads of really good outdoor shops. I tried on lots of boots. Blacks had that useful ramp thing and I was focussing in on a pair of Berghaus Explorer Trail Light. I liked their grey tri-toned livery with flashes of red (the styling has changed a bit since I bought them) At just over 600 grammes each they were a little bit heavier than the Merrells but felt more substantial, too. And I was reassured that the fabric part of their construction doesn’t come in until higher up the side of the boot. They also are Gore-Tex lined. And they were wonderful. So wonderful that during the 10 days continuous use on The Way of St James , where we covered around 120 miles, I didn’t get a single blister and had no discomfort. And I came to really appreciate  the very positive way in which the laces fit into the cleats. This may sound trivial but it really isn’t.  Boots differ as to their lacing arrangements and some are very awkward and would become very irritating.

Stipa tenuissima -sadly no longer in the terrace

On my return from France, my new Merrells had arrived. Visually they are quite understated in black and Grey. They have Vibram soles and are lighter than the Berghaus boots – about 540 grammes each. They look and feel lighter, too.  I decided, though that it was really silly having two pairs of walking boots and thought I would put them on e-bay. And then I just couldn’t bring myself to part with them, so I chucked out some horrible old shoes I don’t like any more and made room for them in the porch.

Just look at that line of ellipses!

Now the thing about these fabric and leather combination boots is that all that fancy design means lots of stitching and lots of holes in the leather and I think that this leads to an inherent vulnerability.

My Berghaus boots began to show signs of stress and splitting. Some stitching came undone……

…. and the leather began to split at a stress point.

So their days were numbered – at least as my main walking boot. And, horror of horrors, after relatively little use my new Merrells began to leak.

Now you might think that my experience of the leaking Merrell boots might have put me off for life but quite recently I was approached by their PR people and invited to review one of their products. So of course, I  accepted the offer of another pair of boots. This time I thought I would reduce the fabric/leather combination and chose their new Mid Chameleon Shift.

Gore-Tex lined and with Vibram soles they are not very funky but I still liked the look of them. As you can see, the main part of the boot is all leather (albeit still stitched in part), the fabric component coming in around the heel. I hoped this would avoid the problems I had with my first Merrells. At 60o grammes each they were a little heavier than the Berghaus boots but still feel light.

The fit was good (again, I chose a 43 , my usual shoe being a 42) and they were very comfortable, but (and this is a big BUT), on my first outing on a wet day I think they leaked. Now I know we were walking along paths that seemed more like stream beds, but having ended up with wet socks once I am reluctant to try them again. I will do, though, so that made me Mr Three Boots.

Then along came another offer to try a product from GRIsport – a british firm that I had never heard of but who produce a range of walking boots and shoes that are made in Italy. Since I was feeling insecure about my Merrells I was happy to try one of their mid boots and chose their Saracen in brown.

The boots tick all the usual boxes- waterproof and breathable (their system is called SPO-TEX) and with Vibram soles – these are an all leather construction. At 700 grammes each, they are a bit heavier than the leather/fabric hybids but not so much that they feel heavy. They have a flexible padded toe joint, which is noticeable when you wiggle the toe area. And they have a slightly wider fit than the Merrells- closer to the Berghaus boots which I found just right for my feet.

They were immediately comfortable when I took them for a spin round the lane. The next test was a proper walk. In a way I wanted this to be a wet one as I really wanted to see if they were fully waterproof.  A 5 hour hike over Craig  y Fan Ddu in the Brecon Beacons in mostly heavy rain seemed a reasonable test.  Paths became streams and streams waterfalls. And my feet stayed dry! This was a challenging  6 mile hike with some steep climbs and descents and the grip was good – I slipped on the grass a couple of times but no boot could prevent that.  Despite them being brand new my feet were entirely comfortable all day; I will happily take them on my next longer walk.

My “old” Merrells can become my dry day pair. The jury is out on the new Merrells, but even if they keep me dry it’s good to have  back-up pair (Imelda Marcos had her good points). I can’t bear to throw my Berghaus ones out so they can live in the car for those occasional spontaneous short walks.  They may not look very funky,but I reckon these Italian beauties are going to do a lot of tramping in the next few years. Call me Mr Four Boots.