Boots, Boots & Boots....

G'Day Kye and wellcome to the forum (havent been on it that long myself) I have not done the route that you are looking at, but for any extented trips in NZ I would say get a good quality tramping boot. My favorites are Lowa or Asolo, but boots are a very personal thing. The Boots you referred to I doubt would have a ridgid enough construction, although Im not familiar with them. No good having stuffed feet two days from anywhere aye. Cheers lostone

Lostone, Cheers mate, I was teetering on the edge of the very same throught. Just needed confirmation. Ordinarily, the only attraction is that they (Wading Boot) are dry by the morning if I need to wade while fishing during the previous day. But I'll wear my Asolo flames and pack a pair of dunlop volleys for wading. Thanks mate.

Hi Kye. I don't know enough about wading boots to comment, but I can comment on the route. On a gut feeling I'd tend towards dedicated boots if you can, just in case. We did an almost identical trip last April (without the fishing), which I've written about at http://www.windy.gen.nz/index.php/archives/325 It sounds as if you're going about a month earlier in the season than we did, but if you're heading for Moss Pass you should have a real expectation of walking through snow and over thin ice-covered rocks in places, if that makes a difference. On that occasion we were coming down to the Sabine side through soft knee-deep snow on Moss Pass that'd not fully melted since the last front went through, and before that clambering up a couple of small rock-faces which were mostly awkward for the ice. In both valleys the tracks are generally well steam-rolled and hard, although the first few hours coming back from Blue Lake Hut crosses a few avalanche paths and corresponding slips... which are easy enough to get through, but walking over those kinds of rocks would probably also be easier with good boots. Enjoy your trip.

Tramping in NZ (as opposed to Great Walking) usually means putting boots through a wet-dry cycle that destroys them pretty quickly. So for a while the fad amongst us poor folks was to use these things - cheap-as and last a lot longer than your average Italian hiking shoe: http://www.safetyandapparel.co.nz/?do=product&id=FRB Downside - not much protection for your feet, and fairly lethal in snow. Your waders look exceptionally fine by comparison, especially for below the bushline. But if you're prepared to risk them over Moss Pass just for the sake of dry feet in the morning, then you're too soft to be there in the first place. ;-) Good luck with clearing the rivers of introduced vermin.

I was wearing rubber gummies for a while and bought the Korean instep crampons for short patches of non-exposed sections of snow travel. I'd also carry my nice light ice ax on those trips e.g. Mt Somers or Mt Pfeifer.

Just how effective are the instep crampons Honora. I have looked at them from time to time usually when planning short trips in winter on the north island tops.

If it's mid to late summer, ditch the boots! Why do you want to lift 1.5kgs every step!! I am a lightweight guy and have tramped 3 season for the last 6 years with trail runners (use to wear huge leather boots). Trail runners are no problem in packed snow ( I have done your route, in Jan). I recently took instep crampons for Rabbit Pass (Mt Aspiring Nat Park) but didn't need them. Call me if you want to discuss lightweight option without the risk - [Email address removed] or borrow my insteps - Rob

The main reason for the traditional approach toward boots is to minimise risk in rolling the foot on uneven terrain with some weight behind it such as a backpack. I too spent many years using runners to do most anything but that at the time was out of ignorance. I believe i was lucky to have not suffered any inconvenience due to foot or ankle damage. The point i'm making is that everyone is different and whilst you might make the decision for yourself to accept some risk it might not be apt for everybody. Boots offer lateral and medial support and help alleviate the workload on the feet and ankles and if you are older perhaps or prone to subtle injury or have weaknesses due to prior issues then that may need to be taken into account. After all you don't want to be a liability to yourself or others.

Each to their own, but I'm not sure I could leave behind my boots very easily. I've just had too many unanticipated situations involving things like rivers and scree where I've found proper boots to be a very useful thing to have.