Bison Bushcraft Boot or any other thin-soled walking boots.

[Lou]

So I was in Covent Garden and I went to the Natural Shoe Store after looking up the road at the VivoBarefoot shop, (which did not have the Braun boots I wanted) and bought a pair of Duckfeet. They are based on the desert boot, but are taller and made of the softest leather with a very tough toe. The sole is natural crepe material, not incredibly grippy, but enough for my needs. They are incredibly wide at the toe (hence the name duck feet) and the heel rise is minimal, probably 3 mm at most. The insoles are made of leather. I paid 130 quid for them and started wearing them around London to get broken in. They were very stiff for about two hours and then it seemed as if the leather melted around my feet. I wore them for a week out in the woods non-stop, at one point they got completely soaked with water inside them, but I was really surprised how fast they dried out (helped by 100% wool socks). They passed the test as I had no feet ache after a week of wearing them, unlike narrow boots with a heel, which leave my feet very sore.

http://gb.duckfeet.dk/pi/Duckfeet_Fåborg_1711_.aspx

Because I went to the Natural Shoe Shop in summer, the choice of boots was very limited, but I hope to go back in autumn as they will then have a full range of boots and check out what else they have to offer, not necessarily to buy another pair as I am very pleased with my purchase, but just because I am very interested in the world of barefooting and primitive shoes and boots.

Another company that I thought was very interesting was PO ZU - no boots on offer at the moment in the shop, some more online though. The sole is made of coir or hemp and moulds exactly to your foot shape, something I would love to try. These look interesting, not sure how waterproof they would be though.

They also have designed a boot for Timberland which looks interesting and a wellie boot designed with sustainable materials - now that will be waterproof!

Ross from Bushcraft Expeditions recommended Steger Mukluks to me, which I think i will also be buying for this winter (I love the navajo blanket pair). We have snow for 5 months here in the Alps, so waterproofing is not so much of an issue with the mukluks, as long as i make sure I wear them when it is cold and the snow is dry.

 

[treadlightly]

Thanks for that interesting info. reminds me I haven't been to the NSS for a while. Always worth a mooch.

 

[mrcairney]

I had a bit of a brainwave today.

I wear desert boots (not the army type, the other) to the office and I guess they're a lot like African Vellies, so I'm going to pick up another pair and wear those until winter. Sockless probably so that if they get wet it's no biggie. What do you guys reckon?

 

[Lou]

Good idea Steve, but why no socks? If they get wet, better to have wool socks on to start drying them from the inside and stop blisters ouch.....

 

[mrcairney]

Hmm, good point. Socks it is

There's actually quite a few decent and affordable desert boot shoes about for under £30. I guess you could dubbin them up too even if they're suede

 

[Lou]

I find my feet stay cool even with wool socks on.......well, even if you do waterproof them, they probably will still get wet and my leather boots got pretty much totally soaked last week (water came in through the tongue gap) and they were not uncomfortable, I wrung out my socks and put them back on and I walked in them for another half hour with no problems. To my amazement, the boots and socks were only slightly damp when I took them off....I can only say that the leather dried quickly helped by the socks and my warm feet AND they were dry by morning, without being near to a heat source. As long as I have got flip flops to change into I am not too worried about wet feet actually. Many people who had synthetic shoes on that trip were still drying them out the next day by the fire.

 

[darrenleroy]

I've been following this thread with interest for a while. I suffer with aching feet and have come to the conclusion that the more we can imitate a natural way of living the more our bodies correct themselves and our feet become stronger. I noticed in Brazil the people wear flip flops or go barefoot often and as a result have healthy looking feet and walk with an elegance not always seen in the UK. Women tend not to have bunions either. I now try to wear flip flops in the summer. They take a little getting used to but after a week or so the skin beneath the big toe and second toe firms up and they become comfortable. I've walked up to five miles in them but wouldn't recommend much more than that. The thong starts to irritate.

I would consider walking barefoot but culturally it is frowned upon in Britain outside of the beach environment. Funnily enough, in Oz and New Zealand one will often see someone in a shop barefoot and it doesn't get commented on.


As desert boots are trendy at the moment and as an experiment I bought a pair of £26 Roamers five eyelet desert boots on Amazon and love them:

http://www.desertboots.com/roamers-desert-boot-5-eyelet-light-taupe-440-p.asp

Yes, they have a heel; something I want to move away from – in fact why have a heel at all? I wonder if it was born out of vanity; a way of gaining height that just kind of stuck around as the shoe last style of making shoes was developed. Look at medieval pics of people and they were all wearing simple moccasin style shoes – but the heel on the Roamers isn't massive and they are wide fitting allowing feet to move around freely. I've gotten mine wet and they dry out pretty quickly. I will be wearing them this weekend in the New Forest for little hikes and will wear flip flops if I'm around camp. I am also considering ditching my heavy waterproof hiking boots in August when I do some of the Pennine Way. I may take both pairs and alternate between them as an experiment in comfort. There is a lot to be said for waterproof boots when it's lashing down, even if they are heavy, have arch supports and a big heel!

In my opinion, The Bison boot looks like a good choice: it is the same shape as a desert boot but with a flat sole. I don't like the bit of hi-density foam between the sole and the wearer's foot as that goes against the principle of barefoot walking somewhat. The price is too high for me as well.

To sum up, if I could find a boot with the same shaped upper as the Bison/Roamer ie one that is roomy enough for the toes to spread out and that could be waterproofed for winter walking, and combine that with a Vibram Five Finger sole, and get the price in at under £50 I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Someone mentioned dubbin. Could one apply dubbin to a suede boot and make it waterproof?

 

[darrenleroy]

Has anyone got a pair of Bison Bushcraft Boots as seen on this page:

http://www.bisonbushcraft.co.uk/page27/page27.html

and do they recommend them for walking/stalking/general camp boots? How about their waterproof-ness? How about the sizing?

I am looking for thin-soled hiking boots with some grip to them, as I wear 'barefoot' shoes most of the time and just cannot wear the regular heavy-soled boots (I am trying a pair of Brashers at the moment but they are killing me!) so I want something like a barefoot shoe which is a little more substantial for walking in wet weather possibly combined with gaiters......

thanks

Tawnyhare, I got a bit carried away with my own post but yours sums up succinctly what I consider to be a gap in the market. Perhaps cutting down the heel of a pair of cheap Roamers desert boots with a knife (if possible), and then applying dubbin could be the cheapest way of making your own waterproof, almost barefoot style hiking boots. I'm considering it.

 

[darrenleroy]

Message for Dreadhead:

Which model of softstar shoe did you choose? Is it waterproof? Could it be waterproofed? How is it in the cold? Do you wear socks with it? Could you comfortably walk 20 miles in it?

I'm tempted, very tempted!

 

[mrcairney]

Hi Darren, I've been thinking about desert boots and maybe removing the sole and fitting a crafted piece of tyre (of all things!) My reckoning is tyre rubber is extremely hard wearing and you wouldn't have a heel to contend with. If you removed the lining from the desert boots you'd have leather next to skin (perfect breathability) and sole protection. Plus it's nice to make something. All you'd need would be some shoe goo and an old tyre (I think they're quite easy to pick up if you ask at the right places)

In regards to suede and dubbin, I believe you can, it just makes the suede look more like leather.

 

[Lou]

darrenleroy: I just ordered a pair of soft star running shoes for my husband, and a pair each of the soft star "trail" for my two girls. They have just been shipped from the US and will be with me soon. The soles are Vibram 2 mm rubber, which are similar to my Vibram Five Finger soles. You can also get a thicker trail sole which is 5 mm Vibram rubber, I have a pair of huaraches with 5mm and they are erring on the thick and inflexible I would say, Stick to the 2 mm sole.

I will let you know how they get on with them. I would say that the trail shoes look waterproof, they have sheepskin as a sole liner and would hold up to some degree of cold. I will let my kids walk with them in the rain and mud and let you know how I they get on. Soft Star also do a boot, they look more like Uggs, and are really expensive, but maybe worth a look for the winter.

p.s. there is a youtube video on the soft star shoe site that explains why shoes have heels in the first place - the original shoemakers 'last' which all shoes are made on developed away from the natural shape of the foot purely because of fashion and cost; it is easier to mass produce a stiff shoe which the foot has to mould into, rather than making a shoe which moulds around the feet, because sizes can therefore be standardised and shoes can become cheaper to produce (as cheaper, more inflexible materials can be used).

I guess that means that we all should be having shoes tailor-made for us at huge cost or buying shoes which are so soft that they mould around our feet) I believe it should be a combination of both, which is what these small companies are now trying to achieve, with consideration being taken for the material used - the better the quality i.e. leather (including the sole) the better the ability to mould around our feet.

Or we could just make our own

 

[Dreadhead]

Message for Dreadhead:

Which model of softstar shoe did you choose? Is it waterproof? Could it be waterproofed? How is it in the cold? Do you wear socks with it? Could you comfortably walk 20 miles in it?

I'm tempted, very tempted!

My first pair was the chocolate vileys with just a single sole of leather which after some time trekking everywhere with them are now full of holes. tae fix, all i do is glue a new strip of leather to the bottom which seals them up and sorted the problem. and when that wears down i do the same. only problem is iv gotta have a fair few scraps of leather kicking around

i just ordered the original runamoc sueade ones with a 5mm vibram sole. waited 4 weeks, paid a fortune in post and tax, rearing tae write some reviews. opened them up yesterday and theyre several sizes too small. so...ill either be posting them back (at my expense no doubt!) or selling them on here sometime. (US size 8 so i think about size 7 uk judging by the size of them)

gonnae get a fitting pair of runamocs and try them out. but i think they are more light running shoes that can be used for walking for summer shoes most likely. i wear flat gladiator sandals when its raining. screw heavy boots...

 

[treadlightly]

There are lots of minimalist options out there for spring through to autumn but very little for the British winter.

Having looked at most of the options I am veering towards the Bison Bushcraft boot for this winter with my muckboot shoes as back up when its really wet and muddy or when I'm not walking that far.

I thought of Inov8's roclite 400 goretex boots which at 800g are 100g lighter than the BBs but decided there were a bit too high tech and I preferred the simplicity of the BB.

Haven't bought them yet, will wait a little while. Anyone have any alternative suggestions?

 

[forestwalker]

Haven't bought them yet, will wait a little while. Anyone have any alternative suggestions?

Come fall I'll be trying the Keros boot (http://www.kero.se/shop/products/product/show/bloetnaebb/ ), either with their standard sole and no heel (they can deliver them that way) or see if they can deliver them with no sole and simply buying a huarache kit and gluing the rubber to the sole of the boot. That kind of boot is stiffer than the typical "barefoot" boot, but then they are not too bad. That kind of boot was the traditional one worn during spring-summer-fall in much of northern Sweden; basically anytime the weather was warmer than -10 -- -15 C or so (in dry cold one can wear other styles of footwear). It is also pretty much the same boot as Martin K. told us about was used in Finland.

 

[treadlightly]

Come fall I'll be trying the Keros boot (http://www.kero.se/shop/products/product/show/bloetnaebb/ ), either with their standard sole and no heel (they can deliver them that way) or see if they can deliver them with no sole and simply buying a huarache kit and gluing the rubber to the sole of the boot. That kind of boot is stiffer than the typical "barefoot" boot, but then they are not too bad. That kind of boot was the traditional one worn during spring-summer-fall in much of northern Sweden; basically anytime the weather was warmer than -10 -- -15 C or so (in dry cold one can wear other styles of footwear). It is also pretty much the same boot as Martin K. told us about was used in Finland.

They look good, I like the flexible leather around the ankle and the way they tie.

Do you know how heavy they are, how flexible the sole is and if they are a wide fitting?

Not a bad price either...

 

[forestwalker]

They look good, I like the flexible leather around the ankle and the way they tie.

Do you know how heavy they are, how flexible the sole is and if they are a wide fitting?

Not a bad price either...

No idea abut weight, they are probably fairly wide compared to continental feet. I'll get a pair later this fall (probably end of August) and report back.

 

[treadlightly]

Thanks, I'd be interested to read your thoughts on them

 

[darrenleroy]

darrenleroy: I just ordered a pair of soft star running shoes for my husband, and a pair each of the soft star "trail" for my two girls. They have just been shipped from the US and will be with me soon. The soles are Vibram 2 mm rubber, which are similar to my Vibram Five Finger soles. You can also get a thicker trail sole which is 5 mm Vibram rubber, I have a pair of huaraches with 5mm and they are erring on the thick and inflexible I would say, Stick to the 2 mm sole.

I will let you know how they get on with them. I would say that the trail shoes look waterproof, they have sheepskin as a sole liner and would hold up to some degree of cold. I will let my kids walk with them in the rain and mud and let you know how I they get on. Soft Star also do a boot, they look more like Uggs, and are really expensive, but maybe worth a look for the winter.

p.s. there is a youtube video on the soft star shoe site that explains why shoes have heels in the first place - the original shoemakers 'last' which all shoes are made on developed away from the natural shape of the foot purely because of fashion and cost; it is easier to mass produce a stiff shoe which the foot has to mould into, rather than making a shoe which moulds around the feet, because sizes can therefore be standardised and shoes can become cheaper to produce (as cheaper, more inflexible materials can be used).

I guess that means that we all should be having shoes tailor-made for us at huge cost or buying shoes which are so soft that they mould around our feet) I believe it should be a combination of both, which is what these small companies are now trying to achieve, with consideration being taken for the material used - the better the quality i.e. leather (including the sole) the better the ability to mould around our feet.

Or we could just make our own

Thanks for the reply tawnyhare. I will have a look at vid. I just got back from a very wet weekend in the New Forest and had to swap my non-waterproof but very comfortable, low-heeled suede desert boots for a pair of big, clumpy, hot leather waterproof hiking boots due to the inclement weather. Nowhere near as comfy but more practical given the weather.

 

[darrenleroy]

My first pair was the chocolate vileys with just a single sole of leather which after some time trekking everywhere with them are now full of holes. tae fix, all i do is glue a new strip of leather to the bottom which seals them up and sorted the problem. and when that wears down i do the same. only problem is iv gotta have a fair few scraps of leather kicking around

i just ordered the original runamoc sueade ones with a 5mm vibram sole. waited 4 weeks, paid a fortune in post and tax, rearing tae write some reviews. opened them up yesterday and theyre several sizes too small. so...ill either be posting them back (at my expense no doubt!) or selling them on here sometime. (US size 8 so i think about size 7 uk judging by the size of them)

gonnae get a fitting pair of runamocs and try them out. but i think they are more light running shoes that can be used for walking for summer shoes most likely. i wear flat gladiator sandals when its raining. screw heavy boots...

How waterproof were the vileys with the leather sole (I assume that is the 'tough leather sole that can be added for an extra fee')? I really want to ditch my clumpy hiking boots but do love their waterproofness, but not their discomfort. Would you buy another brand or are they the most comfortable shoes you've worn for hiking?

 

[darrenleroy]

No idea abut weight, they are probably fairly wide compared to continental feet. I'll get a pair later this fall (probably end of August) and report back.

Is this site in English as well? Looked for the translate button but to no avail.

Good looking boots. With a flat sole they could be perfect if waterproof. Want to know more!