Author Topic: Footwear help please!  (Read 3277 times)

Petrolhead

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Footwear help please!
« on: 21:55:26, 19/07/18 »
Hi guys.


First post. Great forum, loads of really good advice. But in my case, maybe a little too much! I've done lots of searching and reading and it's a bit of a minefield...


So, I need some footwear advice.


Some background as it should help. New to walking. Like really. My first proper walking ever was February this year. Since then my wife and I have done a few of the regular ones in Yosemite Valley, then in Wales: Llyn Cwm Lwych, Four Waterfalls, up and around Llyn Idwal (did quite a lot here, my god it's fantastic!), Llyn Cau and around on Cadir Idris plus a load more that I've forgotten names of plus lots of other stuff in southern England. Now this is all small fry stuff to you guys but we're getting more adventurous and going for longer walks. So far everything has been done in a good pair of running trainers but they give me blisters sometimes and as we're going to be doing things that are a little more testing I figured I needed some proper footwear.


Long ramble over, what I'm looking for is a boot, preferably lightweight, won't see much water but will see some snow but probably not the sort of conditions most of your guys are used to, finally comfort is key as I spend too much time sitting (trying to sort that!) so my feet get tired reasonably easy. Nothing we've done so far has killed me by any stretch but if I do 7 miles or above three days straight I really feel it.


Not sure how many ladies there are on here but my wife would like exactly the same advice if possible?


The big question is, could anyone recommend somewhere within reaching distance of London (in any direction) where we could go and get properly measured up by a competent person and of course make a decent purchase?


Oh, and money isn't a deciding factor. We just want the best to suit our needs really.


Thanks guys.


Paul

gunwharfman

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #1 on: 11:05:46, 20/07/18 »
I don't know how precise you want to be measured but I've always gone along to Cotswold Outdoors. A few years ago they helped me decide that to stop blisters and to walk comfortably I needed to buy woman's boot's, narrower in the ankle area and this advice really worked for me.

I've only had a couple of blisters since, once because I tried new inserts and I got blisters along the top edge of the heel section and earlier this year when I got a blister under both feet. I think this came about because I did a lot of tarmac walking on one particular really hot day, or maybe I didn't help because I didn't secure my boots as tightly as I should have done? Anyway I seem to have solved this problem by buying a couple of thin 'ball of the feet pads' from Boots. I used them recently when I hiked for a few days in Wales and no blisters or even a hint of one.

There is so much choice out there. I recently bought a pair of Decathlon Forclaz waterproof boots for £40, they are very comfortable, how long they will last? No idea. Are they waterproof, can't tell, I haven't seen real rain for weeks.

Petrolhead

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #2 on: 11:10:29, 21/07/18 »
GWM,


Thanks a lot for the reply. Helpful.


Any brands I should avoid?

Ralph

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #3 on: 11:50:20, 21/07/18 »
Avoid the Karrimor offers at Sports Direct, nothing like the ones of old.You will be lucky if they last 3 months doing a average of 30 miles a week. This has been the case for both me and a friend.

Petrolhead

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #4 on: 12:23:15, 22/07/18 »
Avoid the Karrimor offers at Sports Direct, nothing like the ones of old.You will be lucky if they last 3 months doing a average of 30 miles a week. This has been the case for both me and a friend.


Thanks Ralph, I'll make sure I give them a miss!

Ridge

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #5 on: 12:52:10, 22/07/18 »
For good shops where the staff generally know what they are talking about try Cotswold Outdoor or Ellis Brigham. They have lots of branches but are virtually next door to each other in Covent Garden. Try to go when then are quiet as you will get a lot more attention, midweek mornings are good if you can make it.


If you do get blisters use Compeed blister plasters. Other, cheaper, blister plasters are available and are not worth buying.





kinkyboots

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #6 on: 16:44:24, 22/07/18 »
Long ramble over, what I'm looking for is a boot, preferably lightweight, won't see much water but will see some snow but probably not the sort of conditions most of your guys are used to, finally comfort is key as I spend too much time sitting (trying to sort that!) so my feet get tired reasonably easy.

Before any specific boot models can be recommended you need to explain exactly what you mean by "won't see much water but will see some snow"

Specifically do you expect the snow you encounter to be at low level in valleys or on low level prepared paths/trails or at a higher level above the snow line and do you envisage ever needing to have to wear crampons from a safety aspect?

Generally the higher you intend to go the more support the boot needs to provide and the stiffer the sole needs to be to be able to cope with the steeper, rougher terrain. The consequences of this increased level of support and the stiffer sole usually means an increased weight of the boot.

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #7 on: 19:22:15, 22/07/18 »
It may be a strange location,or maybe not,  but last year a friend was doing one of Plas Y Brenins rather expensive and excellent map reading courses.
Plas Y Brenin, located  in Capel Curig, have a shop located at the rear of the premises, and the two members of staff working there, have some of the best experience and training in Snowdonia.

When my friend was getting kitted up for his boots, ( their own boots, as they have roughly over a hundred pairs of every size and width imaginable on shelves behind the sales counter) i was told a great deal of very valuable information that unfortunately i did not take in, but for a total novice looking for free and expert advice on choosing the right boots, Plas Y Brenin in well worth a visit.

The problems with Cotswolds, even though their staff are pretty knowledgeable, is that their main focus is selling you a pair of boots.

By all means return to Cotswolds or other outlet,  but seek advice from people who are not under any pressure to sell you something.


The staff at Plas Y Brenin are there chiefly to serve the clients who have booked on one of the centres superb courses,  and their expert advice is magnificent and totally free, without pressure to sell you something.

By all means grab yourself a cuppa, or buy a map when your there, but the staff are amongst the best trained in choosing equipment, and i only wished i had taken in what i was told.
« Last Edit: 19:26:17, 22/07/18 by Dyffryn Ardudwy »

jimbob

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #8 on: 19:27:47, 22/07/18 »
DW since when did Capel Curig become within easy reach of London?
RTBM.
Too little, too late, too bad......

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #9 on: 19:38:52, 22/07/18 »
There is unfortunately no similar outdoor centre similar to Plas Y Brenin, anywhere near London, and on recollection, i do not remember seeing any mountains near the place either.
The person in question has been to Wales, and may be making a return journey here any day soon.

Retail shops are there for one purpose, to sell you something, and buying a first pair of decent boots is a difficult process.

Seek advice from real experts, and if unfortunately someone has to travel a significant distance for that advice, so be it.

The catchment area in and around the London area, are there to sell customers expensive gear, and most will not have the time or sufficient expert knowledge to give a customer a proper foot examination or boot fitting.

All someone will know when trying on a boot for the first time, is that this boot feels comfy, but is it really designed for their foot pattern or width.

Ridge

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #10 on: 20:30:13, 22/07/18 »
DA  as you say all shops are there to sell things but that includes the one at PYB.
Where are you recommending that the OP gets advice from 'real experts' apart from in a retail environment.

sussamb

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #11 on: 20:40:11, 22/07/18 »
Come on DA. You really must start reading posts and staying on topic. It's tiresome getting halfway through your posts only to discover it has nothing to do with the question asked  >:(
Where there's a will ...

Ronin83

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #12 on: 13:04:35, 23/07/18 »
Best in London will be Ellis Brigham or an independent. I dunno why people bang on about cotswolds. It's a chain with low paid staff. When I asked for a guide to the Ridgeway in there, the assistant said the filing isn't in a logical order so idIhave to just search through all the books to find one. I said well thatstnot very well organised then is it? Rather than helping a customer he just said its not his problem, he just works there. We argued a bit and that was that.
Unprofessional, unhelpful, don't give a [censored]. You'll be lucky to get a stupid foot measuring board with Slidey things...which are useless. Thats your 'expert fitting'.

sussamb

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #13 on: 13:09:16, 23/07/18 »
That experience of Cotswold is completely at odds with mine.  I've always found their staff helpful and knowledgeable.
Where there's a will ...

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: Footwear help please!
« Reply #14 on: 14:49:00, 23/07/18 »
Cotswolds staff are pretty knowledgeable i agree , but a lot of people feel obligated to buy a pair of boots once the member of staff has spend considerable time measuring their feet and offering advice.
Its a strong person who can tell a shop that they will think about the boots being offered, most will spend the significant cash outlay, and hopefully go away with the right fitting boots.

As much as its worth, i would first wait until i was able to visit a similar setup similar to Plas Y Brenin, or other such organisation in the Lakes.

The staff there are not under any pressure to make a sale, and how many of us really know if the boots we are wearing, are the right ones for our foot.

They may be comfortable and not giving us blisters, but the human foot is a complex thing, and without us knowing, the boots on our feet, may be causing us longterm problems.

That i know is an extreme analysis, but a person with a natural footplant wearing a shoe designed for someone with severe motion control, will suffer the consequences.

There is far more to choosing a walking boot than something that feels comfortable on your feet.

A boot that feels great in the shop, can down the line give the wearer severe blisters, or rub the entire skin away from your Achilles area.


How many of us have experienced that ?



« Last Edit: 14:56:15, 23/07/18 by Dyffryn Ardudwy »

 

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