Boot brands
Original post
After nearly 25 years of tramping in NZ conditions I am curious to hear from other trampers on their idea of the perfect boot.I have tried many brands and am due to invest in a new pair.It will need to be snow and rain capable but light and robust (I'm 6ft 2 and pushing 100kg).Any ideas welcome.
86 comments
I reckon they would be mint combined with a oilskin parka and a nice framed Canvas pack and you would be set.
The old Mountain Mule. I still have one in my garage. Steel frame, canvas bag and leather straps. No waist belt at all. My one is the large model, they made it larger by extending it out AWAY from your back.
I have been many places with that pack, including a 3 week trip in the Olivines. It was alright in rough country because your were bending over and moving all the time. It was murder on a good track, it would be almost ripping your shoulders out.
When I carried a MacPac for the firat time I couldn't believe a pack could be that comfortable. I swore I would never ever carry anything else and so far I have been true to that pledge.
I had a pair of those D-ring Ansons as my first pair of "real" tramping boots when I was 15. By the time I was 16 they had carved huge cavities into my heels and the only boots I could wear were Bullers. My dad had a pair of those green trampers that lasted for 20 years until the screws finally let go.
A look at the farming boots shows some pre-historic creatures with hobnailed soles.
I currently use some lightweight 3 season Scarpa ZG65 XCR boots that I brought from a Macpac shop about 18 months ago. They are holding up better than I expected being bashed around the Tararuas. I certainly feel more agile with the lighter boots, and they seem to grip well on a variety of surfaces.
Haha the hobnails take us back in time! I doubt anyone would want boots that look like those, seen a similar looking lot in Kathmandu and they looked pretty uncomfortable!
I 2nd the vote for Scarpas. Best shoes and boots I've used, BY FAR.
I use 'enigma xcr' as approach shoes, and have the charmoz for alpine/harder tramping.
Charmoz also benefit from the GSB crampon system, meaning you can get some pretty serious kit for ice climbing/mountaineering too, without compromising on crampon stiffness.
pmcke you are 100% right i have a Macpac cascade 90L and sometimes i forget i have it on
I have about 6 Macpac packs but for the life of me I couldnt imagine how you and pmcke dont notice 90 litres on your back even in the best tramping country.
I didn't say I didn't notice it. I just said it is a heck of a lot better than a Mountain Mule. How do you get through 6 MacPacs? I am still using my first one, mind you I have had to have it fixed about 3 times whan the harness keeps falling apart.
Well i have the odd duplicate which comes in handy when i can convince my kids to walk with me. And i just recently bought a new pursuit as i couldnt get the old one water resistant anymore. Not possible according to Colin. its still ok for summer walks but doesnt like lots of rain.
It's not quite the same, but I know a couple who bought 5 Macpac Ravine's between them (all they could find on shelves) as soon as they heard Macpac was re-structuring a couple of years back. In their view it was the perfect pack, utterly simple without redundant extra pockets or zippers or things dangling off it, etc, in a market where all that extra stuff seems to be the current trend.
Given that the re-vamped Macpac no longer seems to have anything similar in their range and nor do most other manufacturers that I can tell, perhaps it was a good decision on their part.
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| Forum | Gear talk |
|---|---|
| Started by | macca |
| On | 5 February 2007 |
| Replies | 85 |
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