Author Topic: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces  (Read 32504 times)

sussamb

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #45 on: 16:39:56, 05/02/15 »
I use the Explorer Treks and they seem no better/worse than other boots I've used, including pairs with Vibram soles. 
Where there's a will ...

geordie33

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #46 on: 16:50:57, 05/02/15 »
I have tried a lot of different brands with or without vibram soles.Much of a muchness in my view with perhaps Brasher lights being noticeably worse.In certain conditions only spikes will stop you sliding in my experience.

altirando

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #47 on: 18:12:16, 05/02/15 »
I suggest that the more stiff the sole the more it is likely to slide, regardless of the rubber.  So a model ideal for winter use with crampons has a disadvantage.Another boot I tried years ago had a built-in curve, to help with a more natural walking action.  This meant that only a limited section of the sole was in contact with the ground especially if it was level.  The more flexible the sole the more it conforms to the ground.  At the risk of boring everyone, I do find that Inov-8 footwear has the right combination.  A pair of poles also helps.
Interest comment about walking action.  Watching the occasional film of people walking, many seem to have a very positive heel strike, sometimes on the rear edge of the heel, which would obviously make a slip more likely.  Checking myself, I realised I walk with slightly bent knees acting like springs and from the hip rather than swinging from the knee - developed over the years without my realising it.  So I am effectively flat footed, with a full length foot plant and my body weight is almost vertically above my fore foot not behind it.

Peter

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #48 on: 19:56:19, 05/02/15 »
I suggest that the more stiff the sole the more it is likely to slide, regardless of the rubber.  So a model ideal for winter use with crampons has a disadvantage.Another boot I tried years ago had a built-in curve, to help with a more natural walking action.  This meant that only a limited section of the sole was in contact with the ground especially if it was level.  The more flexible the sole the more it conforms to the ground.  At the risk of boring everyone, I do find that Inov-8 footwear has the right combination.  A pair of poles also helps.
Interest comment about walking action.  Watching the occasional film of people walking, many seem to have a very positive heel strike, sometimes on the rear edge of the heel, which would obviously make a slip more likely.  Checking myself, I realised I walk with slightly bent knees acting like springs and from the hip rather than swinging from the knee - developed over the years without my realising it.  So I am effectively flat footed, with a full length foot plant and my body weight is almost vertically above my fore foot not behind it.


Yep, that sounds like my downhill walk  :)
Peter
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Rhino

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #49 on: 20:59:04, 05/02/15 »
A boot repair company at Chesterfield (Feet First), discuss the issue of different types of grip. Different types of rubber offer superior grip on wet rock.
I went up Whernside this morning treading quite carefully. On the way back down, actually on the flat bit, I slipped on the ice and fell quite hard.
I was wearing old boots with lower quality rubber soles.

Surprised you wasn't using your tried and tested descent method like you did the first time i was on Whernside.
Hope your ok as well by the way.
Wainwrights Completed 12/12/15

Peter

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #50 on: 22:45:22, 05/02/15 »
Surprised you wasn't using your tried and tested descent method like you did the first time i was on Whernside.
Hope your ok as well by the way.


Indeed, ironically I was actually on the flat path almost back at the viaduct. Got a bad bruise, otherwise fine thanks  O0
Can't say the same for today. Did a steady ascent of Ingleborough, quite tricky at the top. Coming off my microspikes clogged up and caused me to lose control. Now my right knee is hurting a lot.  >:(
Tomorrow night I'm heading for Keswick ready for a Saturday and Sunday walk.. just hope its better by then...  :-\
Peter
sometimes I fall off the learning curve....
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Winterboy

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #51 on: 21:19:27, 27/01/16 »
Glad it's not just me...thought it was my age ('boots weren't slippy when I were a lad')...  Interested to hear mention of Salomon and their contagrip soles...have just bought some Escambia GTX - very comfortable and light-weight...but slippy on smooth wet surfaces.  Trouble is, you can never test them properly in the shop (the test slopes always seem to have grippy rubber...hardly real life!) - and you're told not to wear them outside if you want to return them (!).
Have been wearing them around town and that hasn't done much to rough them up, so may try sandpaper next...or just take more care.

Cairncamper

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #52 on: 22:54:36, 27/01/16 »
Anyone tried Five Ten's Camp Four approach shoes with deep lugged S1 stealth rubber?

If I could afford it I'd have a few pairs of custom made shoe's made with Mi6 stealth rubber soles with rugged, deep lugs.

I'd be interested to try Five Ten Aescent approach shoes to see how sticky the Mi6 rubber really is and how long they lasted on scree and rough stone.

GG

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #53 on: 18:05:43, 02/04/17 »
I am recovering from a broken ankle on Mont Blanc.  I had to be airlifted and spent two nights in a French Hospital and surgery.  It's now 6 months and I am improving quickly every day.  I am back to normal activities such as cycling.  Knock on wood.  However, I probably have a lifetime risk of arthritis and other problems with that ankle in the future.


My accident happened right after I strategically placed my right foot on a small boulder on the hiking trail.  There seemed to be no way to avoid it.  Foot slipped and immediately rolled severely and that was the end of it.  We had just descended below the tree line, and so the boulder was in light shade and was probably damp.  No moss.  Only in retrospect have I found these boots to be very slick on wet surfaces.  Please test your boots on wet surfaces even if you have to go to the bathroom or the water fountain and put water on the floor, or else take them home and do the same.  If they are slick take them back immediately, or else make sure you avoid anything wet and smooth in the future.


Manufacturers: Be sure to test your products and include a warning if needed or at least a disclaimer.  Maybe you do.  Up to that moment, I had put too much trust in my top-of-the-line hiking boots.

gunwharfman

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #54 on: 18:30:20, 02/04/17 »
Yep, I've learned to never trust a sole!

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #55 on: 11:33:25, 04/04/17 »
This was the very reason i stopped using the almost new pair of Brasher Boots i bought years ago.
Climbing over the rocks below the flanks of Pen Yr Ole Wen above Ogwen, the boots were lethal on the rocks, even in dry weather, the rubber used for the soles was useless on a hard shiny surface.
It was like walking on ice, simply no grip or purchase on rock or wet grass.
The original Brashers, had no such issues, possibly made of a softer material.

gunwharfman

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #56 on: 16:19:00, 04/04/17 »
In 2015, I was making my way down a boulder chaos in France and was being very careful where I placed each step. My rucksack then saved me!

For a very short moment I lost concentration, stepped onto a small patch of moss, slipped and fell instantly onto my back. My rucksac absorbed the shock! If I had not been wearing it I'm sure I would have broken my back. It happened in a split second, I felt so lucky!

Forkbeard

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Re: Boots are very slippery on wet or smooth surfaces
« Reply #57 on: 14:19:48, 05/04/17 »

I did a 12 mile walk some time back in a pair of Berghaus Explorers and everything was fine until I got back to town and decided to pop into a supermarket with some escalator stairs. I was still in 'hike mode' and walking at a fair old pace. I put one foot on the stairs and it was like stepping onto ice! One leg went one way and the other stayed put. I managed to keep myself upright to the relief of my back and the cost of my groin. I don't think I've pulled anything anywhere near that bad before or after  :o . My eyes were streaming when I went to the checkout. I blamed hayfever. In October  O0   I am now scared of moving stairs and Berghaus boots!

 

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