What To Look For When Buying Hiking Boots

I didn't think I needed waterproof boots. I have changed my mind. This is the path in rainy June in Romania. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
I want proper, suitable hiking boots for my next trail-walking holiday.

Answer
Start researching early and take advantage of off-season and end-of season offers.

Story
I took a trip to Romania with a group of expat hikers called Java Lava in Exile. I went to Harrow the day before the trip to buy a pair of shoes. I found a really comfortable pair in the sale for only about £20.

The Test of the Shoes and The Hiker
What happened on the trip? I had been promised that it would not be challenging. A previous year's trip when I had been left at home had proved to be easy walks which I could have managed.

Day One Disasters
The briefing tells us we have two or three groups and I am on day one of my first hiking trip so I am to be with the slowest group taking the least challenging route. Jolly good. Simply a matter of keeping going for a few hours.

Toilets
My main worry is not my shoes but will I find a toilet? I resolve not to drink too much water. OK for men who can duck behind a tree, but not me.

I assume this walk will be mostly on level ground on paved paths. Oh, dear, oh dear. No!

Stoney Path
We set off on a path which is clearly not paved but full of uncomfortable gravel, stones the size off marbles, golf balls, uneven with sharp points. My shoes had deep grooved soles. But I am instantly uncomfortable.

I remembered those Old Testament and New Testament stories I heard in school as a child. The stories had seemed so irrelevant wen waiting for the bus to school, in the city of paved road and pavements (which Americans call sidewalks). The stories talked about stony ground, and rocks and staffs. Suddenly these images became vivid, relevant and meaningful.

The pebbles are slowing me down,  making me slide and slip. I am afraid of falling. I remember that if you are over 50 and have osteoporosis and  break a hip your life expectancy afterwards is only 6 months.

Mud, mud
The Flanders and Swan song goes, "Mud, mud, glorious mud". Clearly a joke.

Mud, mud, slippery mud. Dirty mud, spoiling your pristine new white shoes. Make you slip and fall and break bones and land in water.

Mud is full of bacteria. Could be worms and worse.

People a decade or two older than I am have made it across.

I am not happy. After I have wet shoes, slip, and fall in the water, I am even less happy. The only blessing is that my mobile phone is still intact. I have cautiously and sensibly put it away whilst crossing which is why I do not have a selfie of myself in the water, scared and angry.  Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Practical Moral? Lesson Learned?
I need better shoes. I need thicker soles. I need shoes with stronger ankle grips.

Stick to it
I also need two sticks with pointed tips. I want to stick the points into mud and gravel. This will help me keep my balance when I lift one foot in the air and the other foot starts to slide.

I can also use the sticks to measure the depth of water before attempting to wade through. I don't want to get my socks wet.

Fashionable Wellington Boots
I have visions of Wellington boots I left at home. Tall knee-high boots. I know from experience that my fashionable waterproof boots decorated with flowers are not practical for long distance walking.

Wading Boots
But I have seen pictures of long boots for wading worn by park rangers and people rescuing wildlife. I expect the workers consider such items a worthwhile investment if worn every day. Maybe their boots are provided by employers, or offset against income tax because waterproof boots are work wear. If only I had waterproof Wellington boots with flexible ankles.

Stick Safety
I can use the sticks to disturb submerged wildlife. I don't want to encounter a dangerous or scary moving snake or lizard. Nor kill or dear little innocent tiny creature with my relatively big foot.

Tips
I was sent an email (because I had signed up) by Sportdirect.com who have numerous branches in the UK. I clicked on ladies and boots and price low to high. I found the magic search words were waterproof and trail. The cheapest boots were £15 but they were not listed as waterproof. When I checked for waterproof boots the choice offered included Trail waterproof by Karrimor at £34.99. Add on any postage of ordering online. I prefer to go into the shop and try on shoes and boots if time and distance allows me to do so. I would re-order a second pair online.

Second Shoes and Damp Shoes
I think it's good to have a second pair, if one pair gets dirty needing a wash or wet from wading through muddy or clear water. You can dry them overnight by stuffing them with newspaper. In the morning mine were damp but once on I did not notice.

the first time my shoes got muddy I washed them off outside and inside which made them thoroughly wet. More experienced trekkers were horrified. "Never wash shoes! They don't dry overnight and you have wet shoes next day. Let them dry out naturally. Next day scrape off the mud."

Really? So I am supposed to be ready to set off after breakfast? I am expected to walk through a five star hotel dining room wearing muddy shoes? I will look like a tramp. I will be dirtying the carpets, creating stains. I will be leaving mud on which I and others will be wearing my smart shoes in the evening?

On this trip I had no problem with any dampness from shoes. (I had thought I might get athletes foot, which happened to members of my family wearing boots all day on ski trips.)

Sport direct.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have other posts on walking and Romania. Please share links to your favourite posts.