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Walking Boots Recommendation

David Day

Slightly Addicted
Messages
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Age
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Hi All,

I know there are absolutly thousands of walking boots out there and I imagine everyones opinions are different.
Ive only ever used trainer style walking shoes before along with my pair of British Army Assult Boots.

I want to attempt the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge in a few months and Walking Boots are mandatory.


Can anyone reccomend a good 'all round' walking boot for hill walking?
 
Hi All,

I know there are absolutly thousands of walking boots out there and I imagine everyones opinions are different.
Ive only ever used trainer style walking shoes before along with my pair of British Army Assult Boots.

I want to attempt the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge in a few months and Walking Boots are mandatory.


Can anyone reccomend a good 'all round' walking boot for hill walking?
I use karimor on fairly smooth ground David and Peter Storm which is a stiffer boot on rougher ground. The 3 peaks from what I remember from back in the 70s can be pretty rough
 
I haven't walked that far in my Solomen boots but they are comfy.
 
So many out there......probably worth a visit to an outdoor centre to have a look and try a few pairs on.....and take on board some advice.
If they are insisting on boots with ankle support I would think there could be a strong possibility of rough terrain.....and being the peaks.
If it were me I think I would look for Gortex incorperated and breathable as a place to start.
Giving the sole material some thought also.....as some can be very slippery over rock.

They have put "Walking Poles" as an optional extra...........on a trek such as this I would personally not go without them.....they would be a major asset.

Good luck with your search.
 
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Has anyone got any experiance with the Keen Galleo Mid Boot?


Which ive just found on sale!
 
My current hiking boots are 4 season mammut but it depends on the shape of your feet as to what brand suits you. I wanted a pair of off the peg Altberg but their widest fit is still too narrow for me...
Set aside a few hours to try on boots, try several different shops and take along a thick pair of socks that are similar to those you'll be wearing the boots with.
I like the Vibram soles and another good rule of thumb is that boots where the upper is cut from one piece are usually better made rather than having a seam up your instep. (1st photo)
The second indication of a good boot is the way the tongue is fitted and does it have a hook for the laces to hold the tongue strait.(2nd photo)
Most hiking boots will have a direct moulded sole these days but a stitched welted sole is a real sign of quality usually only found on very pricey boots. Don't forget to wear them over a few short walks and proof them before doing a proper walk Dave. Have fun.
 

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Most hiking boots you will see in a normal shop are made for walking around the car in the sunshine.
If it suddenly starts raining the client is able to reach his car within one and a half hour. So it doesn't matter, that water slowly can enter in the boots. The client will return to his car and drive home as fast as he can.

Look at this boots:

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This is the Meindl Perfekt.

It's upper part is made from only one piece of high quality leather. Even the tongue is folded out of it.
Here water can't enter through the seemes.

It will serve you round about 15 years, than a shoemaker master of your town has to change the Vibram sole, what costs around 60€. You use it another 10 to 15 years with the new sole and another 15 years with the next sole if you treated them well.
The 300€ are invested intelligent.

Boots with glued soles for 160 to 250€ are worn out after 8 or nine years even if you don't use them very often, because they die by aging, even in your wardrobe. Only the shoemakers of the factory are able to change the soles, if they offer it.
Depending on the price and how often you use them they are worn out between two and 5 or maximum 8 Years. Only if your glued boots come directly from the factory to you they can live 9 years. Longer it isn't possible with modern boots with glued soles.
Did they wait for you for 3 years in the shop, you can wear them or store them in the wardrobe for 6 years till the soles fall in powder.
 
The Meindl Perfekt is a mountain boot. It's made for stony pathes and can be used with spikes under it to walk over ice.

The Meindl Badile is made for hill hiking. Should you get on stony ways they will be OK for an hour, but they aren't the first choice for ways like that.
They aren't made for spikes and glaciers. They are made for good dry or whet ways in the mountains, and they are mainly made for hills and flat countries all over the year.

They are a bit cheaper than the Perfekt, but they are made in a classic way with a sole every shoemaker master in Europe can change easily within 24 hours, what is important, if you should get a problem in your holidays somewhere.
The inner side of the tongue of the badile has a plastic fabrik. (The Perfekt is made only with leather and thread and the attached Vibram rubber sole.)
The tongue isn't folded out of the main leather, but it is attached in a way, that allows melt and rain water to float down instead of floating inside the boot, how it will happen with 90% of the normal hiking shoes you will find in normal shops.

Here you can see the well made Meindl Badile:

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The leather which attaches the tongue in a very water tight way -- of course less water tight than the folded Meindl Perfekt -- is relatively thin. That will last perhaps 15 years, if you pay attention, that you clean sand away from the laces.
Earlier or later you will get holes in this leather where it touches the laces, but that can be repaired or you wear the boots out with a new sole another 5 to 10 years in dry weather or as a winter boot in the town.

The leather of the Meindl Perfekt is 3 times thicker there. He doesn't get holes from the laces.

The Badile is far lighter than the Perfekt. If you don't need such a strong boot, because you walk mainly on good ways and mainly in flat country you can walk more kilometres per day before you get tired legs, especially if you should be a weak guy.

If you should be strong, sporty and often in real mountains on stony ways the Perfekt is the better choice. Your feet will not become tired as soon as in the light badile if you are walking the whole day over stony ways.
Better tired legs than tired feed. Because tired feed can break easily, tired legs just ask for an intermission or to end the walk for today.

Yes, you understood right:
A strong guy can buy only the Meindl perfekt and use it every where the next 20 to 35 years.
A weak guy should buy both. He should use the Perfect in the mountains and the Badile in flat country. No problem, the guy is weak, because he works in an office where he earns enough money to buy both.

A very weak guy should buy only the Badile and stay in flat country, light hills and with a light rucksack in the mountains in the summer on good ways. He has nothing to do on glaciers and stony and rocky mountain pathes. So long he is so weak heavy terrain is to dangerous for him.

Meindl offers as shoe in between the both models. I forgot the Name. Looks in between, weights in between, costs in between. Made for use in terrain in between.
I think it is called Dachstein, or like that.

Steinkogler, Hanwag, Völkl and Trabert produce a couple of similar offers in similar qualities for similar prices. They should look like the boots I showed here. The way they are made in Austria and Germany is called"Zwiegenäht", what means "double stiched".

YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT I TRIED TO EXPLAIN. BUT IN THE END YOU MUST BUY THE BOOT WHICH FITS THE MOST COMFORTABLE TO YOUR FEED !!!
DIFFERENT SHOES FOLLOW DIFFERENT CUTS BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE A DIFFERENT ANATOMIE. THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT IF YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE A PAIR OF BOOTS.
 
Here you see an other correctly attached tongue, that is well made too, water stays outside:

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And here it is made wrong, water will float inside the boot.

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Of course both boots cost exactly the same money!
The first is just made for informed people, the other is made for the rest of the world.
 
But, point number 1 is the perfect fit to your feed.

The master who crafted my boots exactly on my measures doesn't offer the perfectly attached tongue.

But for this he wants half the price than the other German in personal measures hand crafted unique boots. And my shoemaker sits next to the highway I usually drive several times a year, the Austrian Steinkogler sits far away from me.

And so I bought the Geiger Bernina for 320€.
And I have to wax the attachment of the tongue very very good.

But this boots fit! He took my measures and made the shoe exactly for my and only my feed.
And that's why they look like this:

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(left waxed, right still unwaxed)

I usually use them in civilised areas, on hills and in flat country. They are middle heavy, but made for spikes and glacier use too.

Would I usually walk in the Alpine Mountains,I would have bought boots hand crafted in my measures in Austria from master Steinkogler with a perfectly water tight attached or folded tongue in a similar quality like the Meindl Perfekt.

But for me the cheaper Bernina, produced by master Geiger in Frittlingen in the Black Forest Area is enough.

This boot can be used in high alpine mountains which I do not plan to visit. Price and especially perfect fit had been my main priority when I bought this pair of boots.

I recommend to understand my technical advice. But I recommend especially to buy in the end the best fitting boots which are made for the area You regularly want to visit.
 
Sorry, the Meindl boot in between isn't called "Dachstein". The middle heavy, universal mountain boot in between Meindl Perfekt and Badile is called "Meindl Ortler".

That three can be recommended.

The extremely heavy "Meindl Super Perfekt" is made for extreme high areas and professional mountaineers who do not need any recommendations.

The Meindl Sasel (brown) is a very good summer flat country and office shoe.

The others from Meindl I do not recommend!

Different to Steinkogler, who sells only high quality stuff, Meindl sells in between the serious models a lot of bad constructions too.
 
Because I have the pictures I will show here the Meindl Sasel summer shoe made for good ways in flat country, which I would choose in brown, because a brown shoe becomes less hot in the sun than a black shoe.
This shoe can be used on good flat ways in flat country from people with an athletic light body with well trained feed, if they carry a very light ruck sack with a very light summer camping equipment if they watch out for danger on the way, roots and stones, on tours where they expect mainly dry and hot central European summer weather how you have it in southern Germany or the middle of France.

Or you use it as a car owner every day between office and dog walk in your next forest.

That shoe is relatively cheap if you think about that it can easily survive civil use for 10 to 15 years with the option to replace the sole later.

Yes, If you buy in the age of 30 a pair of brown Sasel, a pair of Badile or Ortler and a pair of Meindl Perfect, if they should fit to your feed (if not, you must buy from the competition, Steinkogler, Geiger, Völkl, Trabert, Hanwag or similar british hand crafted production) you just have to buy additional a pair of high quality elegant black leather shoes for mariages and classic dance and your visits in Buckingham Palace.

With this 4 pairs of shoes for together round about 1200 € you will be perfectly equipped for every situation in your life.

And you never more will spend one Cent for new shoes, because if you buy this 4 high quality pairs of shoes and boots and change them regularly to dry them out, and give them the needed wax when it's needed, this 4 pairs will last till the end of your life, even if you should become 120 years old.


Here the picture of the Meindl Sasel:

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Another style of boot that I probably wouldn't reccomend for hiking is the high top boot, great in winter weather or rough vegetation but a little too heavy for hiking unless you really want to develope the muscles in your legs ;)
Here is another offering from Meindl, they're ideal for hunting or bushcraft but way too heavy to hike over serious distances
 

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That's right.
In winter times I use military boots too, and for rough ground vegetation.

But somehow the Bundeswehr infantry boots don't live so long.
I think, I will buy next time some Austrian Army boots from Steinkogler. They are double stiched and should be made well.
 
Military boots generally don’t last that long in service; they generally have a hard life getting seriously abused and when the soles wear out you get another pair.

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One year ago I bought a pair of brand new HAIX infantry boots and used them for 6 month. (In the summer in France I used trailrunning shoes.)

Now I got a hole inside at the back!

But I didn't manage to call them yet. I guess, that is a production fault. A professional soldier I met at a train station told me, they usually use them for 3 years.

HAIX Kampfstiefel der Bundeswehr 160,- €
(new, one year ago)

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