Bushcraft Boots

[Neil1]

My latest video....discusses the above.

[video=youtube;sW-0MflcD5g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW-0MflcD5g[/video]

Enjoy
Neil

 

[ValeTudoGuy]

Good video, that subscriber base is going to grow a lot.

 

[Muddypaws]

Interesting video, it's good to get other people's opinions and philosophies when it comes to kit recommendation.

Just one question - does anyone know any actual shops where I might get a pair of those desert boots? I like to feel and prod and try on shoes before I buy.

 

[Steve27752]

HM Supplies in Camberley stocks them.

 

[Neil1]

Survival Aids/Cadet Direct have a showroom in Crowborough.

 

[Neil1]

I have been posting videos on there for a year now and we are doing ok - I don't know how else to boost subscriber numbers. But thank you for the kind comment, have a look at the rest of the videos.
Atb
Neil

 

[Joe tahkahikew]

Whats wrong with rubber boots? I think you call them 'Wellies' or same. Cheap, waterproof, available most places 0- even up here for little cost. Why, and all those English farmers I saw can't all be wrong. Our favourite boot when wet and cold.

 

[Muddypaws]

HM Supplies in Camberley stocks them.

Survival Aids/Cadet Direct have a showroom in Crowborough.

Thanks for that information. Neither of those locations would be too far for a day out, with a shopping trip thrown in.

 

[Neil1]

Nothing wrong with wellies. But I have hated them since I was a kid - always cold uncomfortable feet, always preferred leather boots & gaiters.

 

[Joe tahkahikew]

But then thin leather gets wet, cold too in England. The boots you wear in that video would not work good much up here. Thick Leather OK for very cold weather and like you said keep feet warm - but only when dry.

 

[Robson Valley]

Wool socks and felt insoles in (Canadian) Greb Kodiaks.
Waterproof leather boots with excellent ankle support.
Daily wear, you should see at least 10 months per pair.

 

[GGTBod]

I love my insulated wellies with the proper gripping Vibram sole, beats any leather or fabric boot i've ever used in my life, just a shame they are too warm for mid summer, other than that i wouldn't trade them for a £500 pair of lundhags or altbergs or any other fancy brand, I learnt this lesson the expensive way

 

[Robson Valley]

Canadians have more than just a little experience with the Boreal Forest Biome when it comes to the "outdoors."
There's some 4,000 miles of it, coast to coast and what? a thousand miles to the north?

The entire Precambrian Shield is bare rock, water and trees, maybe the odd beach or two.
Next boots I need will be the Kodiak Classic that I wore for years, decades ago.
Europeans have no lock on comfortable and functional footwear.

 

[ValeTudoGuy]

Insulated wellies are indeed king for keeping your feet warm and dry. As a flooding engineer I have spent hours on end [20+ in rare extreme cases] with my feet fully submerged in cold water... And for that, I would choose insulated wellies every time.

But If you want me to walk over field and fell carrying kit for hours on end in flood conditions.... Not a chance would I wear those wellies.

My two preferred boots for these conditions are both boots I encountered in the Police, the Altberg Field and Fell original would bee my pick of anything I have worn. Failing that I would wear Bata Bluelight Public Order Boots and a pair of thin socks under my thick ones.

For almost everything else I would wear Altberg Peacekeeper P3 which are surprisingly waterproof for a non waterproof lined boot. I have put so many hours of walking in these boots it's stupid probably somewhere in the order of 15-16,000 hours, that accounts for two pairs that wore the Vibram soles out completely, but the Police replaced rather than repaired. I liked them so much that I bought 3 more pairs to last me a lifetime after leaving.

 

[Robson Valley]

I like that = so good that you buy extras.

 

[Janne]

Weird I have managed to enjoy many months in Mother Nature over 30 years with just one pair of quality boots, im temperatures ranging from -40 to maybe +30. A quality leather boot ( US made) and a good layering of socks and insoles is the trick.

Rubber boots, insulated or not, are superb when in basecamp. Cold as hell in winter, unless you get insulated, oversized ones.
The Finnish Nokia make rubbers for winter use, with studs, proper thread and removable inner felt boot.

A technical problem when it gets properly cold is that the rubber cracks. Synthetic sooner than Latex. Not Nokia though.
Best stuff on planet, even the Canadians and Americans have a lot to learn there.

 

[Robson Valley]

I think dry is most important. Wet will suck the heat out of your feet no matter how fancy your boots are.
Take a load in a creek, getting dry again is an important thing. Dry foot, dry sock, plastic bag, on with the wet boot.
With my long narrow feet, I have to make certain that the heel rises with my foot so I don't get friction blisters.
For that, the old Greb Kodiak Classics really did fit my feet. But, I guess it's live and learn.

We've done rather well what with oil patch workboots to -60C. Mine are great, barefoot, at -20C. They're just 2-part snowmobile boots.
Between that and Carhartt clothing, most outdoor construction here still goes at -25C.

I had a pair of moose-hide mukluks made for me with double soles. Knee-highs with thongs.
Felt insoles and ordinary socks were just fine for a 1/2 mile walk to university at -20C, the snow is like sugar.
Never tried them with my 60" trailbreaker snowshoes. The loose, sloppy fit is nice.