Where to start with buying walking boots?

[Polar Bear]

Good luck with the new boots.

I always prefer to buy shoes at the end of the day so that i'm sure that I'll be able to pull them on in the morning.

Unless you're a fell runner I recommend boots.   After all, the mountain rescue bods wear boots and they should know.   

[rafletcher]

The advise I was given was, when lacing the shoe (I have some lightweight "approach" shoes I used for walking trails in Sicily) was to make sure that the lacing was tight over the forefoot, not just at the top of the instep.

[JBB]

By the same token, I walk in my trainers. I expect I'll throw them out and buy another £15 pair sometime this year. My feet get wet, but I wear wool socks and I don't suffer from cold extremities when I'm moving. I rarely walk up in them there hills two days on the trot so they've dried out by the next outing.

This seems to be a reasonable approach, especially in drier climates.  You can get a lot of trainers for the cost of some decent boots, assuming you don't need the ankle support.

It's not just ankle support, the comparative rigidity of a walking boot sole means that you don't get your foot bruised or twisted if you're walking across pointy rough stuff. My Goretex lined Brasher leather boots finally started leaking a bit round the bottom eyelets after 15 years. Still fine for walking the dog though .

[mhP]

http://www.anatomfootwear.co.uk/collections/2015-range/products/anatom-v2-comfort-plus

Used these for the last 3 years including a 1000 mile self supported trek around Scotland with a 50lbs back pack on pretty much every major walking route/shale/glen/sand/tarmac. Walking gear is pretty individual, a lot like cycling gear so buy what YOU feel comfy in.

[henshaw11]

Not too sure I can add much to what's been said but..

Cotswold will do a proper fitting if you ask them, tho the branch at Betws y Coed I think do so as a matter of course (there's a guy in his 50s there -or at least was there for some years - that has his own expedition footware-fitting company).
Ensure kicking your feet to the front (eg on the downhill ramp) that your toes don't touch the end,  and walking up bending the shoe they're not impinging on toes etc - and if theyre too wide/big the leather bunches up in that area too. Istr the guy that fitted me also checked for where the boot flexed wrt my foot length. You can also use insoles to take up internal volume of needed (tho in my case didn't help)
In 30yrs ive had 2 pairs (hawkins, sadly the company's disappeared) and Brasher, both straightforward leather construction (tho the Brashers have a goretex liner), and I've worn them both pretty much non stop when on holiday since they're so comfortable. But the brashers have always given me a blister on the 2nd toe of each foot when doing a lot of steeper uphill since that's how the leather flexes. So the replacements - given trips to snowdonia - are some significantly taller/stiffer hanwags. But ive been keeping an eye out for some cheaper boots since theyre OTT for general/holiday/festival use,  the brashers have worn smooth underneath and are cracking, tho not leaky yet I think. Hadn't seen the anatoms before but spotted them recently, wound up buying a pair of Q3 brairachs in my Cotswold local branch. (Again, ctc discount).  Stiffer than the Brashers (hopefully no toe issues), havent got a high welt to lift, and not that much heavier -  could have probably bought those instead of the hanwags if id seen them (tho more ankle support over boulder fields will be handy, so long as it doesn't stress my knees more !). Upper ankle lining is leather too which will probably be less sweaty with short socks  - prev boots all leather lined.
Ymmv, but can't see much point of fabric over full leather - only time I've had wet feet was a day of pissing rain on snowdon last year,  and everything was wet inside, prob from condensation.  You get used to the weight IMO, and a goretex liner only lasts so long - probably not the 12-15 yrs a pair lasts me.
But try lots, and check sizes *around* what you think you need - different lasts exist even for the same manufacturer and a half size can make all the difference.

[Phil W]

Scotland with a 50lbs back pack

Where did you bury the bodies?  Boots for wilderness type expedition loads are somewhat different to those for walking round the Lakes on tracks with a day sack. I wear innov 8 fell running shoes outside of winter. Light grippy and let the water out as fast as it comes in.

[Crumbling Nick]

As a moderately local alternative to Cotswold, I'll recommend Lockwoods in Leamington Spa (train from Snow Hill/Moor St.). Their fitters are very good. In the Lake District, George Fisher in Keswick are first class.

And reflecting on alternatives to boots, I used a pair of Teva sandals for all except one day of our walk along the Hadrian's Wall path. They were excellent on the craggy bits, because they provided a lot of ankle support, but without the problems of conventional boots when the path went along lateral slopes. Streams were not a problem, though muddy puddles proved to be a bit too abrasive for my increasingly thin skin. The day I wore boots took us through a farmyard which was covered in a fairly deep layer of cow excrement. Even I have my limits .

[nikki]

Thanks all, but just to reiterate that I bought a pair of boots a couple of weeks ago!
Feel free to keep adding generic thoughts for Them What Comes Afterwards; hopefully I won't be morphing this into a blisters thread...

[JenM]

Nikki - what did you end up buying? Would you recommend the fitting service at Whalley Warm & Dry? ..... I'm after a pair of boots in the next few months and may fix up an appointment when I am close by.

[nikki]

I bought some by Meindl as they were what was left after eliminating for my foot shape and the sorts of walking I'd be doing. They'll get a dose of the Lake District later this week.

Bearing in mind that this was the only fitting service I've ever experienced, yes, I'd recommend them. I was there for an hour and a half and, even when this went past closing time, I only ever felt that getting the right boots for me was their priority.

They've got the kit to make minor mods as part of the trying-on process, and will stretch and soften to a certain extent without you being committed to buying anything. Also they'll make you tea.

They start with a comprehensive measuring-up and know all sorts of tips and tricks. Their stock covers a variety of shapes and half sizes, and they know the characteristics of the different boots. They only had a hazy recollection of Woolly and Peli, though.

[JenM]

Thanks - they sound splendid.