Dull thread alert! Hiking boot advice please!

[VxDuncan]

Hi All,
I'm off to the rain forests of West Papua (Worst I'm off on a fancy holiday post ever!) in a couple of months, which will include at least 8 days of hiking in pretty harsh and potentially very wet conditions.

I need some hiking boots, the intention to buy them now and walk to work in them for two months to break them in. Can anyone give me some advice as to what to buy as I've never bought any before and I'm hoping you guys will be more help than the average camping shop saturday monkey.

I think I need:
- Good ankle support
- Something that won't disintergrate or rot as they won't dry out for a couple of weeks potentially (Someone has mentioned going for an all synthetic construction - is this correct?)
- Fairly lightweight

I don't want to pay too much as it's unlikely they will be used much after this trip, but will pay what I need for an easy life.

My main concern is that most things in the UK will be designed for rambling on UK trails, not hot, humid rain forests. I'll try and get a few pairs of synthetic socks also.

Have access to most places fairly local - GO outdoors, decathalon, Oswald Bailey, Blacks, Millets etc.

Thanks in advance!

[Rollin]

I bought some Lowa boots from Decathlon last year. Very comfortable.

[cottonfoo]

You'll want something waterproof and breathable, so you pretty much need some Gore-Tex boots.

[uriel]

http://www.altberg.co.uk/

I've never tried them, but everyone I know that has swears by them.

[moleamol]

If it's hot and humid would you not be better with a pair of good approach shoes and gore-tex socks? When you say it will be harsh terrain, in what way?

[wiz 1]

Meindl, swear by them, they do a light weight boot which is very good and the mid/approach type shoes are fantastic. Another make that allways get top marks in Trail mag are Scarpa I find them a bit narrow though. Best advice is to buy the best you can afford and go to a decent specialist shop to try them out.

Same with the socks buy the best - bridgedale or thorlo

Edited by wiz 1 on Friday 22 August 20:45

[Mrs Trackside]

There's no point anyone recommending what you should buy because we all have different shaped feet and ankles, so something that looks like it has brilliant ankle support could end up being too uncomfortable around the bottom of your legs and you may find you're better off with a trainer shaped shoe (for example).

The best bet is to go to two or three good quality walking shops and try on every pair of boots they do in your size to find the most comfortable ones. You immediately decide what shape is best for you.

If they contain Gore-tex they'll be waterproof. Dont' buy leather as they won't be waterproof.

[wiz 1]

Good quality leather is better than goretex/event it breaths naturally and is far harder wearing. I've had goretex and when it gets a puncture through wear or sharp rocks its useless. On the down side it is heavier.

Just remembered Brasher boots very light and comfy, uk company.

Edited by wiz 1 on Friday 22 August 21:02

[chris_w666]

Meindl or Salomon make good quality hard wearing boots.

I own a pair of each both Gore-tex lined and both are great. Good socks are a must. I usually wear a thin cotton pair underneath a thicker pair (bridgedale are great) or some merino wool ones because they last longer between changes (really).

Even with Gore-Tex boots you will get wet feet, keep them as dry as possible by changing the inner sock often and the outer only when it gets wet.

As said go for synthetic as leathers need more care even when lined and if you are on a big trek the last thing you want is to spend your rest time waxing boots. If you can and are near one visit a more specialist retailer (Ellis Brigham, George Fisher etc) for good advice if not the lowest prices, small independent climbing and mountaineering shops are very good too. The bigger high street names have less specialist staff (grunts v actual users of products).

[rfn]

I'd suggest you get yorself to Decathlon as they are by far the best-priced in this range. You'll need to try on various different boots to find ones that fit your feet properly, as mentined above it difficult to recommend a specific brand, though I would go for one with Gore-Tex rather than leather, for the reasons mentioned above.

[Mars]

http://www.merrell.co.uk/en-GB/Shop/Gallery.aspx?A...

[VxDuncan]

Thanks for the replies everyone, as said I knew I'd get better responses on here than by going into my local millets! I'll do a tour round the local specialists, along with the local Decathalon. Seems the popular response is Gore-tex is the way to go - will try a few different Gore-tex boots for size. Will start with the Merrells (sp?) - my current (lightweight) trial shoes are merrells and refuse to die!

Cheers again.

[2something]

Depending how many hill/mountains you are likely to tackle, make sure your toes can't hit the front of the boots as you're going downhill. In alpine countries they usually have a mini slope in the boot shop that you can walk down to test this.

[central]

http://www.blacks.co.uk/

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/

https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/

[Bee_Jay]

http://www.snowandrock.com/

[Mojocvh]

wiz 1 said:

Meindl, swear by them, they do a light weight boot which is very good and the mid/approach type shoes are fantastic. Best advice is to buy the best you can afford and go to a decent specialist shop to try them out.

Same with the socks buy the best - bridgedale or thorlo

Edited by wiz 1 on Friday 22 August 20:45

+1 Agreed, Meindl best choice.

[Stigmundfreud]

brasher

[Bushmaster]

I saunter around a fair bit in similar terrain - hot, humid, wet rainforest.

I own a pair of Meindl Nepals, which are great for hills, but which I would NOT wear in the jungle.

Instead I use good old British Army Boots, Combat High, which I cover liberally in beeswax. You need something flexible, with a high leg to keep out the creepy-crawlies, keep out puddle water and keep your feet as dry as possible, but also fairly robust and tough enough to stop snake fangs penetrating or a wayward machete blow slicing off your toes. The other good choice would be a pair of wellies. Most folk who spend a lot of time in the rainforest use wellies.

[cottonfoo]

VxDuncan said:

I'm off to the rain forests of West Papua

Bushmaster said:

creepy-crawlies ... snake fangs ... wayward machete blow slicing off your toes.

You have fun VxDuncan

Edited by cottonfoo on Saturday 23 August 01:50

[mrmaggit]

uriel said:

http://www.altberg.co.uk/

I've never tried them, but everyone I know that has swears by them.

Agreed, and for Mrs Trackside, these boots are made for your own feet, not mass-produced. They made some for an old motorbike-dealer friend of mine, who has different sized feet. He swears by them now as well. Another mate who's on armed response has three pairs.

My bike boots took about half an hour to break in, and they're more like slippers than boots, now.

They do a wide range of styles, talk to them I'm sure they'll have supplied somebody going jungle exploring before.

Also, they're not THAT expensive, either. My bike boots were £120 four years ago, which is cheap for bike boots. They now look about two months old!