Hiking Boots

@Fitness. Were these new boots, on a first hike?

As a matter of course before each hike, i put plasters on the backs of my heels. From just above the ankle bone to just above where my heel starts. Even though i have hike in my La Sportiva Makalu's for a while, i still will always do this.

@Serious Tribe, yip I made a serious school boy error but in my defence ( I'm using this for my stupidity) whenever I've bought new boots I've never had an issue and with me stepping up the amount I was spending I assumed ( another mistake) that a good quality boot wouldn't do that, how wrong I was, lesson learnt and never to be repeated again ..

Don't worry I made the same error on my very first hike and because of wrong socks, got a table spoon size blood blister on the side of each of my heels, boy was i an agony!

I thought i would not make that mistake again. But a few years later, i did not stop and put a plaster on an area that was getting chafed, and ended up getting septicaemia from the blister while still on the hike. Now as a matter of course, i put plasters on b4 i start hiking. Oh ya, i also shave the back of my ankle so the removal of the plasters is not so painful.

thanks for the feedback! They look good on the shelf but...

The DWR treatment on my Sportiva Halites took 5 years to bomb out and they were only R 1450!

@ ASL, do any of the CUM stores up near you have the Tibets?
none of them in kzn have them and i see they have taken them off the website as well.

So after my horrendous boot experience this past long weekend I have managed to track down and get hold of a pair of Tibets from CUM.
I must say they guys at CUM have been very helpful and went all out to find the right size for me,
Can't wait to try them on a hike ( when my heels are better)

Well done! Merry Christmas and happy hiking! Cheers, Ian

Hi guys

I just wanted to warn against Jim Green boots. I used to be a huge fan, but lately their quality has gone down the drain. On my last pair I had an eyelid pull out, the shank worked loose breaking the sole (twice) and the soles came off (twice). I can tell you it's not a lot of fun if your heel comes off 20km from Cobham campsite, or on day 2 of the Amatolla.

I spoke to their rep about this, but his take on it was basically "the boots are guarenteed for 6 months, and if you don't like them you can buy something else".

I'd like to think this was an isolated insident, but everyone I speak to seems to have had a similar experience. So if you have 5 year old Jim Greens, hold on to them. They'll probably outlast a pair you buy today!