Boots

Boots are very important for survival. For all of you who live in dry hot climate and never experienced wet cold weather. During last twenty years I have tried all kind of boots including quite expensive up to 350$. I was quite disappointed, because none of them work well in wet and cold weather. Leather and Cordura (heavy nylon) did not pass my expectation for exterior residence to elements and mechanical damage. Snow and rocks were able to effectively damage outer skin in less then a year. I was using them on average three times a week. In addition drying a leather boot is not an easy task. It takes up to three days to dry leather boot in cool dry air. I decided to switch to a pack boot. They are constructed from natural rubber bottom and leather or cordura top. New models have steel shank and heel reinforcements.

There are three types of boots:

1. Light - for summer and fall priced from 55$ to 120$ - no liner
2. Fall and light winter with insert 6mm thick
3. Winter and cold winter. Inserts are up to 13 mm thick.

Pack boots are maintenance free. The only thing you have to do is to remove an insert for drying. When buying you may consider a model which has insulation between rubber and insert. I like models that are at least 12" (height) to give you and additional protection from knee down. I have seen models up to 17". The other option is to use your regular hikers and gortex socks. Gortex socks come in two versions: insulated and non-insulated. This combination works well. Most materials will not tolerate water for long time. The only thing to consider using rubber boots is to make sure that moisture is drawn away from your feet. Wool sock will do quite well. I still have a pair in good shape that I have bought in 1981 ( I have changed inserts of course).

Offered by Chris.