My boots came today.
Details can be found at
http://www.redback.net.au/company.html
But bought in the UK from here:
http://www.bushgear.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=3&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=64
£79.95 Price includes next day delivery.
Gavin at Bushgear was very helpful, gave good advice on sizing, and was more than happy to exchange if the size wasn't right.
My order was placed on Sunday night, I had an email on Monday morning answering my sizing question and the boots arrived on Tuesday morning.
My boots, on my feet are below (or at least one boot on one foot)
They seem well made, with a decent thickness of leather. I don't like the pattern that the light leather edges give and will probably add a bit of brown polish to them. The leather is matt waxy finish that looks suitable for any standard boot dressing.
Redback suggest a premier silicon wax polish found at outdoor or work wear stores. Gavin at Bushgear suggested "any leather treatment that comes to hand occasionally."
The sole is a rather strange translucent blueish plastic, which you can just make out in the picture, but with a good tread.
The sizing is generous. I have wide feet and high arches, and find buying shoes a nightmare. I have shoes ranging from a very wide 8.5 up to boots of size 10.5. Most are 9.5, but for boots I thought I would go for a 10. Gavin advised a 9.5 and if anything they are a tiny bit big for me. They seem to be very wide fitting and I can easily get a thick pair of socks on with them. They seem comparable to my wide fitting size 10 Timberland trainers.
They are very easy to put on and take off and seem ideal for camping where you are taking shoes on and off as you go into a tent, or (I imagine) good for getting in and out of hammocks. But they also seem more than robust enough for general country walking. The elasticated sides don't give that sense of security that a proper pair of lace up walking up boots give, and I wouldn't use them for "serious" walking/scrambling etc.
They also seem extremely comfortable, I have a bad time with most shoes and they often take years to break in, but after an afternoon of wearing these around the house they look very promising.
They weigh, for my 9.5 size, about 1.25kg
For comparison my Timberland trainers weigh 900g, my dress Jones black leather shoes weigh 1.05kg, and my Brasher something or other boots weigh 1.6kg.
At the moment, I am really pleased with them and can easily see me wearing them for just about everything that doesn't need smart shoes ( the few times a year I wear a suit), when its really wet and muddy (wellie time) or serious upland walking/scrambling, or winter (snow/ice) walking/climbing (something I no longer do)
As well as Redbacks, the famous blunnies are worth looking at
http://www.blundstone.com/product_info.cgi?subpageID=classicslifestyle&sub_categoryID=130278
R M Williams are reputed to make superior quality boots, but at a price;
http://www.rmwilliams.com.au/home.a...8322E9C7C024FB&producttypeid=C4036488C20AA199
And for something a bit more home grown there is Hoggs of Fife (my home county)
http://www.fifecountry.co.uk/PRODUCT_DETAILS.php?pid=94&cid=49
Hoggs have made very high quality shoes and supplied cost effective country clothing for years ( the Fife Country name is a retail trading name). As well as being cheaper, a lot of farming/shooting suppliers sell Hoggs clothing/shoes so you could have a look at these in the flesh a bit easier. I nearly went for these but decided I wanted to start off with a genuine aussie pair.
I went for Redbacks rather than blunnies because the few review I found had nothing but good things to say about Redbacks, including reviews from people who had switched from Blunnies. But there were some negative comments about Blunnies. The majority of comments for Blunnies were still very positive, however.
And the price for R.M Williams was just too high for me.
Graham
