If you are going hiking the best advice anyone can give you is splash out and buy a good pair of hiking boots. Can you imagine being on the second day of a 4 day trek in the middle of nowhere with your boots coming apart? Lets make the situation worse your boots are coming apart, it is raining, you are walking through mud in the pitch black with no torch and you are lost. I think we would all agree that is a nightmare scenario. But it is one that can easily be avoided if we think about what we are going to buy.
First of all you have to think what kind of hiking am I going to be doing. Is it a day trek, a back packing trek or are you going to be mountaineering. This all makes a huge difference, as there are different hiking boots for different disciplines.
A pair of light hiking boots will be perfect for a short hike. While they are comfortable they are excellent for that quick pace that we like to get up to on short treks.
A mid weight pair of hiking boots are perfect for a back packing hike lasting for 3-4 days. They protect the feet better than the light weight ones and at the same time they will not slow you down with there heaviness.
The heavy boots are needed for hardcore trips where you will be climbing and trekking for long periods over rough terrain. These heavy boots can take a lot of wear and tear and provide a lot of necessary support.
All types of boots are waterproof and designed for all weathers. Heavy boots are the most expensive, as they are most specialist boot of the three. If you don't want to spend a lot of money go to a discount shop and take your chances. Remember hiking boots are not for style they are a practical shoe, therefore you tend to be paying for what you get.
The best place to look for hiking boots is in specialist shops. These shops are expensive but they sell boots that are very well made, designed specifically for hiking. Because they are a specialist shop the staff tends to know what they are talking about so if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask.
They will generally point you to the best boots, but if you want to know how to check for quality for yourself follow these guidelines. Firstly check the shoe for strength. This can be done trying to bend the boot sideways. If it bends easily it is not strong enough. The same for the toe. Push your fingers hard into the front of the shoe and if it goes in easily the boot is not strong enough.
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