Big Boy boots

With winter truly setting in here in Dunedin I have taken it upon myself to finally become a proper adult and get some footwear suitable for the weather outside. After the helicopter trip last week it became very quickly apparent to me that the Trail running trainers that I have are NOT waterproof and are not the best things to have for walking in snow. Luckily it was only for about 15 mins and the double lair of socks saved the day but given that I want to do more hikes moving forwards things have had to change.

I decided a while ago that I was going to get some boots but needed the kick to go out and actually get some. When I first came to NZ i did bring some boots from home with me, however they were cheap and pretty crap to be honest and after the first hike I did with them I swore that I would not be wearing them again and promptly chucked them out without much of a financial loss at all! After that I have always stuck with trail running shoes for all of the trips I’ve been on and for the most part they have done what I’ve wanted. As I get more and more into Kiwi life and start looking at more hikes and adventures I can go on I know that I am going to need the footwear to get the job done so boots are the answer. To push me along even more it snowed in the middle of the week which caught me out so I decided to take the plunge and get it all sorted out sooner rather than later.

When buying boots there seems to be 2 trains of thought, The first is to buy some cheaper boots and see how you get on with them in the short term. This option usually gets you something that will last you a few years before needing to be replaced and is usually a perfectly good option. The issue is that even the cheaper boots are not that cheap if you want something that you are going to be comfy in but overall this isn’t a bad plan. Option 2 would be to splash out and get some more expensive boots from a well known brand that are probably going to last until the end of time. These boots will probably be way more than is required most of the time, however with a bit of TLC and regular maintenance boots like this will last a lifetime and just keep on going.

Since coming to NZ my plan has always been to buy once and buy well. I would much rather buy something decent that is going to last me that have a room full of crap that doesn’t quite work so obviously I want with option 2.

I ended up getting some Lowa Camino GTX boots which are apparently a decent brand and a decent boot. I could say that I knew all of this information before I walked into the store, however it turned out they were on sale from a stupidly high price which did sway my decision quite a bit. Happily the post purchase googling confirmed what the sales rep had already told me which is always nice to find out. On top of that they also have a decent warranty / returns policy if it turns out that they were not what I was after which is something that always puts your mind at ease when making a decent purchase.

So far the boots have been used for the long and tedious walk from my desk to the kitchen at work while I slowly wear them in and get used to having something heavier and more rigid on my feet. At first I wasn’t quite sure about them or about walking in boots in general but they do feel pretty sturdy and I guess the only way to get to know properly will be to take them out for a decent walk and see how things go.

All things considered I am quite happy and will keep you all up to date with how they get on during my future adventures.