counting boot days

Glennj would you say that every day tramping is the same? I just wonder because of the varying terrain etc that can be encountered in our back country (lateral moraines, and river beds being particularly brutal on soles) and when being in some of these areas the wear is noticeable compared with other more mellow ground. I know that a lot of people barely get off trail in their boots, preferring to stick to tracks and even just great walks. I wear my tramping boots a lot too about the property so would have a hard time working this out I reckon.

I endorse the Hi-Tec's too. I'm onto my third pair. I don't keep track of days worn but it seems as though I've been wearing that brand for quite a few years now. I had the ionmasks and have now moved to a slightly different model. I bought some for Frank and the leather was too soft because the model I bought him didn't have much of a side seam. He tried to grind them away benching out tracks on scree!

@pipeking no every day is not the same but seeing the comparisons are just with myself things such as hours use each day and terrain mix would average out quite evenly between each pair of boots used. With my boots I don't use them for general home/town wear only for when in the hills working, tramping or climbing. My comparisons may not be applicable to those who do more on track work than I do; they could perhaps expect to get a longer life out of the boots than I achieved. Re Hi-Tecs, I have a pair currently but they are non leather vibram like sole walking shoe things. Osprey model. They get used when home based for walking the dog, long beach walks, mountain biking and easy terrain day trip tramps when only a light pack is carried. I haven't recorded how many day equivalents they have lasted but can report the soles which are quite soft wear out fairly quickly. My current pair are ready for replacement with holes in the soles after about eight months sporadic use. My guesstimate is that if I used this model Hi-Tec on formed tramping tracks they'd last about sixty days. [This model Hi-Tec is not suited to most of the tramping I do or for wearing when carrying heavy packs] I may buy a pair of higher spec Hi-Tec tramping boots and record how long it takes to wear them out.

Hey Glennj, yep that was what I was thinking, I know with footwear theres a huge variability with peoples walking styles weight etc etc some wear shoes out very fast while others can get more miles out of the same shoes because of these factors. It is interesting to see the different type of boots people go for

re waterproof boots, someone very wise once pointed out to me the main problem with this concept: The large hole in the top.

I have an olde time tramping journal at home, and one of the things I write down are the boots I was wearing. It is a good idea for comparison especially when you start thinking about buying a new pair. My current La Sportiva's have 25 walking days on them, while my Lowa Rangers have 40+. Both are still going strong. I had a cheap ($100) pair of leather Kathmandu boots last season they lasted for 29 walking days before they started delaminating. The sole and uppers are still fine so Ive glued them back together and still use them for yard work etc. Ive used Hi Tec's before and would agree they are good value for the money you spend, especially if you use one of the types with Vibram soles. Im currently wearing Hi Tec walking shoes as im standing here, and have several pairs for beach walking and trips around Banks Peninsula etc.

I never really understood how people wear out soles so quickly, I never had soles fail before the rest of the boot or shoes, and that include boots which see a lot of rock, stone and scree use. The soft soles on my Simms wading boots are looking a bit sorry, but the uppers and inner parts of the boot failed several years back and I have abused them by wearing them on sharp barnacle covered rocks...

Haven't really done it with boots, but when I was doing a lot of running I would keep track of kilometres per pair of shoes. As for waterproof footwear, I don't like them at all. Also because of the big hole at the top. Once they do get wet, they stay wet a lot longer. I'm not even a big fan of boots at all really. Not here in NZ, anyway. I was in Australia, due to bloody Joe Blakes, but don't have to worry about them here. As for the ankle support argument, my counter to that is that if you step wrong, then SOMETHING is going to give. And I'd rather roll an ankle than a knee. Most shoes I generally wear for around 800km. With Vibram Five Fingers though, I consistently get around 2000km, because there's no support to collapse.

40+ days on my Lowa Tibets - a bit of wear on the soles but tread still decent, uppers great, just a bit of wear on the high use areas (ie where the boot flexes). Should see me through plenty of future trips.