Advice on non-absorbent footwear for work on bogs

marchantnick

Hi everyone,
I do a fair bit of surveying in the countryside, often walking all day on blanket bogs, or occasionally going through patches of brambles and dense vegetation. I'll need to replace my current hiking boots soon, and I'd be grateful for some advice on the different options.

My current boots are Salomon Quest 4D, and I've found them comfortable and well-supported over the 3 or so years that I've been using them. They're generally light when dry, but in the bogs the external fabric tends to soak up water and the boots become quite heavy, and if I'm working for a few days in a row I start to feel it in my legs. Similarly, I often get them wet inside when I slip into a bog hole or cross a river, and then it takes ages to get the boots dry again.

So for the next pair I'm looking for some lightweight boots that don't have water absorbent fabric, and I was wondering if you have any recommendations? Gore-tex is good but not essential if it means that they'll be difficult to dry when wet inside. The key thing is that the material doesn't hold water. Price isn't really an issue, but the acid water in bogs tends to destroy even the best pairs of boots, so I'd rather not spend €300 and then have to replace them again in 2-3 years.

Thanks in advance for the comments!

unkel

Goretex boots + get decent waterproof gaiters. You won't get wet again, even if you occasionally get down to your knee into a wet bog / river

Wash both with plenty of cold water on the outside after getting into contact with acidy bogs - this should increase lifetime a lot

BarryD

I'd have thought yer only man for that job is a decent pair of wellies Much cheaper than walking boots, buy a few pairs and you'll always have a dry comfy pair. Can get a bit warm in summer but beats getting wet feet.

marchantnick

Hi lads, thanks for the replies.

For the goretex boots - I've had a pair of good goretex hiking boots in the past (Salomon Quest 4d GTX), but I find that the external fabric soaks up water and then gets heavy. If I'm walking all day then I start to feel the extra weight in my legs. I like the idea of the gaiters though, I hadn't thought of that before.

For the wellies - yes I was leaning towards wellies recently, but I don't think they give enough support. I used them once for a five-day trek across farmland, and started to get problems in my achilles after 2-3 days, which eventually kept me off fieldwork for a week. I also find that wellies tend to move around on my feet and rub a bit - they'd really need a set of laces to hold them in place

At the moment I'm leaning towards some non-goretex trail running shoes (e.g. Salomon Speedcross 3). No matter what I wear I know that they're going to get wet inside and out, but these ones would let the water drain out the sides, and the fabric would not soak up water and get heavy. I'll also look into a set of gaiters to keep my trousers dry.

Any thoughts?

my3cents

I'd go for wellies as the only 100% dry option. If you pay serious money then you'll find that some (not all) of the better wellies will provide support. I can't remember the name (possibly Aigle) of the expensive ones I had which had a zip up the side (had a web inside the zip so no water could get in) but they did give good support. The zip pulled in most of the slack. Still you'd need to try any on before you buy.

I walk every day in wellies partly over beach stones and across two streams in really cheap (€13) Dunlop soft toed wellies but have been doing so for about 5 years and no longer have to worry about support. With wellies you have to break your feet into them - not the other way around.

BarryD

I do a fair bit of fieldwork from time to time in same sort of terrain and I use wellies - try a few different brands till you find one that suits. I know what you mean about lack of support but if you walk regularly over roughish ground, your ankles will get stronger. Probably much better for your joints long term as you're not relying on artificial support More likely a problem with wellies is poorer protection for the sole of your foot, they can be a bit thin and if the ground is rocky, you can feel it and even bruise your sole. Some wellies have more substance on the bottom than others and you can also buy a roomy fit and put a couple of pairs of insoles in to add more substance.

Last few years I used the CEBO brand, which are fairly solid and sold here in farmers co-ops etc. I'd get a year out of a pair for €35 or so. Recently got a pair of Nora 'Dolomite' brand - these have a really good tread but less substance in the uppers and a tighter fit overall, so not quite convinced.

sconhome

marchantnick wrote: »

For the wellies - yes I was leaning towards wellies recently, but I don't think they give enough support. I used them once for a five-day trek across farmland, and started to get problems in my achilles after 2-3 days, which eventually kept me off fieldwork for a week. I also find that wellies tend to move around on my feet and rub a bit - they'd really need a set of laces to hold them in place

A little tip to ease the Achilles is some cardboard (ideally one or two beermats) cut to shape of the heel on the welly - if you can pull the sockliner / insole out use it as a template - pop the cardboard under the liner and your heel is raised 2-3mm which eases the pressure on the calf and Achilles.

TheHillOfDoom

If you go into some of the better sports-shoe stockists (some Elverys), they can mould an insole for you (costs about €40). I would use them inside wellies.

TheHillOfDoom

Here's a website you might find ideas on.

http://www.muckbootcompany.co.uk/category/MFARAGR

Red Kev

I use leather Meindl's on the bog with gaiters, you need to grease them up regularly, but for me it's the best.

I don't use wellies due to an incident when I was about 10. Slipped into a hole, the water went over the top and I couldn't get out, probably due to lack of strength as a child, but either way, I've never used wellies on a bog since.