Hiking Boots

Vajolet's

Had a pair, unfortunately just too small on the right foot (pinched my toes) so had to sell them. They are bomb proof!!

Riaang wrote: Vajolet's

Had a pair, unfortunately just too small on the right foot (pinched my toes) so had to sell them. They are bomb proof!!

Yeah that's the ones! I checked the box in the garage just now. I put Sof Soles inside though. The original inner is hard as rock. Maybe I'm not as tough

Hopefully the end of my hiking boot woes, for a while, anyway.



I got a full refund from Bush and Bundu for the Merrells, and got this pair on special because Tibets have been discontinued.
Thanks to the guys from Bush and Bundu for great service and advice.
I am not affiliated to them at all, apart from being a very satisfied customer

Hi

I've seen both these boots mentioned in this forum. Does anybody have any practical experience with them. They both look good and solid?

www.jimgreenfootwear.co.za/shop/men/mens-boots/monster-waterproof/

and

www.redlinefootwear.co.za/?product=african-buffalo-hiking-boot-brown

I need to replace my trusty Karrimor KSBs which lasted me 15 years and many hundreds of kms. The right boot blew out spectacularly descending Cathedral on Sunday, made for an "interesting" afternoon.

Thanks
Ryan

Hi Ryan

They both look like solid options but you really need to try them on with the socks that you'll be hiking in (don't be tempted to trace your footprint & buy them online/remotely). You need space at your toes but your foot must not slide about sideways. A good footliner can improve fit but only by so much.

If it were me I'd go for the RedLine boots based on negative feedback on Jim Green durability by other VE forumites, plus those moulded soles can be slippery in the wet.

There is no such thing as a waterproof boot, but you can reduce moisture ingress dramatically by treating the stitching and edges with contact adhesive. There are some pretty comprehensive waterproofing techniques somewhere in this hiking boot thread.

Hi
I use waterproof hiking boots when hiking.
Any ideas or advice on how to keep your hiking boots dry during a rainy Drakensberg hike. I have used gators etc but my boots still get wet, resulting in soaking wet boots for the remainder of the hike.
Any suggestions on how to get soaking wet hiking boots dry(if that’s possible) during a hike would be appreciated.

in short, there is nothing that you can do to stop your boots from getting soaked if you hike in the rain, or in wet grass. Only thing that works is to hike in winter

Wet boots are ok, so long as the wetness doesn't get into your boots. Waterproof gaiters or rainpants can assist here, but your typical synthetic (i'm not talking about plastic boots here) or leather boots will unfortunately get wet. Just wear thicker socks to keep the cold out, or thinner socks to get everything to dry out quicker.

well a little DWR treatment goes a long way.. I treat my boots every couple of months. In very we grass as Riaan mentioned it's good to wear a gaitor that partially covers the boots and prevents water from getting in the top. I wear boots with a goretex bootie inside and I find it remains waterproof for the first 18 months or so, then starts to leak a bit.

Always good to treat your boots as ASL says, it does help to keep them shedding some of the water off, and can help with treating the leather, i use nikwax on the nubuck leather of my boots.  They are however gortex lined which helps hugely.  Though i still put on snow gaiters when it is raining or there is a possibility of lots of wet grass hiking.