Shoes pictured in a Ray Mears Book

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haw_thrn

Member
Dec 29, 2008
15
0
43
ontario canada
www.jeffhelmes.com
Hi I noticed a pic of an interesting set of shoes in "Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft" on page 87. They look really light. Does anyone know what kind of boot those are?

One of the biggest problems I have with modern Hiking boots is they are generally built like mud tires off a jeep, they tend to deform the bones in the feet and they chew up the bush something fierce. I like moccasins and these look like a happy mix.

Cheers Jeff
 

shaggystu

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 10, 2003
4,345
33
Derbyshire
Converse Purcell OTR. No longer made though.

The nearest they make to those now are these regular Converse...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MENS-BLACK-AL...enswear_MensShoes_GL&var=&hash=item800f0bc6d4

The brown ones are the best. Really comfortable. Not for Winter or wet use though.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CONVERSE-BROW...91107324?pt=Women_s_Shoes&hash=item5d2d3fb0fc




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with the added bonus that you can wear them with your skinny jeans and pretend that you're a ramone
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,809
1,481
Stourton,UK
with the added bonus that you can wear them with your skinny jeans and pretend that you're a ramone

Exactly. I love em. Always thought about getting the all brown versions for the woods in Summer. I used to have some of the Purcell OTRs in black and brown and they were great. No traction as the soles were dead flat with no tread at all. It would hurt when you trod on a stone though as the soles where thin, but it felt more natural walking in them and stalking was much easier and quieter. Pity they discontinued them after 2006.
 

lostplanet

Full Member
Aug 18, 2005
2,124
244
53
Kent
I have been wearing converse all stars for a while now. what I find is that on short distances they are very comfortable and actually improve strength in my lower legs by allowing my foot to almost be flat to the ground as if i am walking barefoot.
But, for long distances unless they are very tight they easily rub and squeak as your foot gets hotter. With a decent pair of socks they may not be as bad but I think you will need to trial and error a few pairs before you get it right not something ideal for a long day out without previous testing and preperation.

The those of us in the UK that fancy a pair, amazon do have deals on these shoes and sometimes can be a cheap as £17.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Converse-Al...FT8Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1297017647&sr=8-3
people in the states should be able to get the ultra cheap anyway.

and the do make leather ones as seen in Irobot sported by will smith but they can be considerably more.

I reckon Converse being the dynamic company it is would probably start remaking the OTR or a better newer version if enough people emailed in the interest.

HTH
 
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Rabbitsmacker

Settler
Nov 23, 2008
951
0
41
Kings Lynn
i emailed woodlore about those shoes years ago and they just said go buy the us jungle boots instead.
i have trialled converse types but as mentioned above they squeek as yr foot get hot and sweaty. i even imported the hi leg all canvas malaya type jungle boots in black and green which look like converse but come up above mid shin, these are too narrow for me so i have them available if anyone wants a size 12? lol

what i have found very good is the french canvas jungle boots by wizart. a company is doing copies in the littlewoods catalogue here is the link
http://www.littlewoods.com/palladiu...048-4294938502&browseToken=/b/2048,4294938502

the french versions are brilliant and i will deffo find another pair when they give up the ghost.
 

shiki_no_uta

Member
Feb 2, 2011
22
0
Berlin, Germany
www.pfaf.org
there is some footwear company which makes shoes and boots with a 1mm sole
the company is called FEELMAX, here is the webpage
http://www.feelmax.com/index.php?lang=en
i was looking for thin soles for quite long time and this is the best i could find
the bad thing is in the webpage they only show one model of boots (KUUVA) and it seems you can't purchase them online. but there must be a way to get them from ebay, amazon or something
 

shiki_no_uta

Member
Feb 2, 2011
22
0
Berlin, Germany
www.pfaf.org
Kuuva3.preview.jpg

PICT5854a.preview.jpg

Feelmax_Kuuva211.jpg

26baab8c85d6e6cc8cca84229551.jpg
 

pastymuncher

Nomad
Apr 21, 2010
331
0
The U.K Desert
@ pastymuncher Ha! Chad is a freind of mine. It was that arcticle that got me started looking for alternatives to hiking clunkers awhile ago.

I just recently found his website, slowly getting through it.
Have you read Born to run by Christopher Mcdougall, very interesting even if you don't like running.
 

shaggystu

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 10, 2003
4,345
33
Derbyshire
You Chesterfield folk, 20yrs behind the times, they're teddy boys now.

Rob

i used to live in licolnshire as it happens, how on earth anyone from lincs can accuse chesterfield of being behind the times i have no idea, have you ever been to skegness? :p

stuart
 

adriatikfan

Full Member
May 23, 2010
265
10
North Yorkshire

Have you actually bought/imported any products from sodhoppers.

I'm always concerned with buying footwear via the internet that sizing might be an issue, possibly more so with purchasing from abroad but these do look good.

Best Wishes
David

Edited to say I've just had a good look at the pricing and I think that's probably a bit too expensive for what they are.
 
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