Walking Boots

[AleisterCrowley]

Yep, the Karrimor boots these days are just cheap Far East stuff with the Karrimor branding (brand owned by Sports Direct)
They are fine for light use, and fairly good value if you don't pay over £35 for them, but don't expect them to be as good as 'proper' Karrimor boots from the old days..

I hate this 'brand dilution' - SD using the name to flog basically cheap copies of once-good boots.

[Itsallaguess]

Regarding blisters, I discovered that the Wilko blister plasters are very good value for money, and work fantastically -

http://www.wilko.com/first-aid/wilko-bl ... vt/0307862

For just £1.45 they are definitely worth popping in a walking bag for any sort of distance, especially if doing so in new boots.

I usually cut the plasters to suit, so even a cheap pack like this lasts quite a while.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[csearle]

I'm afraid my experience of Karrimor boots is not good. This might just be down do a kind of incompatibility between my feet and said boots however.

I was encouraged to buy these Karrimor boots by the sales lad at Blacks in Tunbridge Wells. I discovered that the rivet holding on the top lace-hook was coincident with the knobbly bit of my right ankle. Tragically I perservered with these boots beyond the point where it would have been reasonable to return them.

So my advice would be to try on any boots for at least a week before committing to buy them (if this is at all possible).

Regards,
Chris

[Devjon]

Regarding blisters, I discovered that the Wilko blister plasters are very good value for money, and work fantastically -

http://www.wilko.com/first-aid/wilko-bl ... vt/0307862

For just £1.45 they are definitely worth popping in a walking bag for any sort of distance, especially if doing so in new boots.

I usually cut the plasters to suit, so even a cheap pack like this lasts quite a while.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Many thanks for the link,
I often pop into Wilko, the own brand AA and AAA batteries are excellent both in quality and price, especially in packs of 8
I wasn't aware that they did blister plasters and the ones you linked to are colloidal like the Compeed I usually buy.

Off to walk the West Highland Way in a few weeks time, hopefully I'll not need plasters but I'll pop a pack of these in my backpack just in case.

[stewamax]

For cross-country and scrub routes, Mammut Trovat Guide High GTX with Vibram soles and Gortex inner. Mine are an older Raichle (pre-takeover) version. They aren’t cheap but when broken in are exceptionally comfortable and very long-lasting.
In passing, I don’t agree that such boots should be worn straight away for long walks; like all good heavy leather shoes and boots they DO need breaking in. And mine, when not in use, live - like my riding boots and brogues - in a thick protective layer of (unpolished) wax polish. Perhaps wrongly I use Kiwi Parade Gloss and not dubbin.

[dspp]

I remember Karrimor from the days when they sponsored the Mountain Marathons ( KIMM ) they sold some excellent gear.
I think they sold the brand name and nowadays "Karrimor" gear is just rebadged no name kit of questionable quality.

I remember them from the days when a porter in the Karakorum tried to get me to give him my boots during a walk-in. He then looked more closely and realised his sandals were in a better state than my boots. Mind you I had gotten about 15-years use out of them at that point.
- dspp