UKH

What has happened to price and quality in the last couple of years. Simple fabric shoes with a decent sole and some waterproofing have gone from under £50 to near £100. At the same time quality seems to have dropped. I'm barely getting a year out of them before holes in the fabric or splitting and that's just with casual (daily) use walking around footpaths. I remember some Karrimor shoes lasting almost a decade.

Grumble over.

If anyone could recommend a decent brand. Currently wearing out 4th Merrell pair. Contemplating buying Scarpa's like my boots.

Heavier inov8 fell running shoes like the roclite 315 make great walking shoes with goretex and great traction. They're expensive but not if you decide what you want and then cruise eBay for deals in good condition.

My first pair of leather walking boots from Millets I think lasted me about 11 years of hiking and cost £35, I still wear them for gardening and suchlike. My second pair of hiking boots was £150 Scarpa's and after about 18 months I've stopped wearing them because they hurt my feet. Too narrow.

My Roclites have taken over as my go to shoe for most days out. I've got the older pre goretex 315s but they've lasted well having taken a fair bit of abuse. One of the lace eyelets was destroyed crossing a moraine and I also inadvertently got myself up a Severe in them the other week thinking I was on an HVD. They usually crop up on Sport Shoes in the previous years colours for a decent discount. I only paid about £60 for mine.

No experience of other brands but Scarpas are good. You tend to get a softer rubber on 'approach' shoes to help with grip on rock, so they naturally wear out quicker than what you find on heavier walking boots. Don't forget, if you get a decent pair of approach shoes you can always get them resoled. If you get something with a bomber rand and an upper made of leather/suede like La Sportiva Boulder X, Scarpa Crux, 5:10 Guides (if they haven't gone 'full casual trainer' with Adidas), then it will only be the soles that wear out and you can get them back good as new for about £40.

Check some of the photos on https://www.facebook.com/fixarockresole/photos/?ref=page_internal

Keep an eye on facebook marketplace and ebay. People regularly buy shoes, wear them a few times and decide they aren't right for them and then sell them on. It's better for your pocket and the environment. 

I have a pair of barely used inov8s coming this week which someone's child conveniently grew out of very quickly!! £30 including postage :-D

I don't know why manufacturers bother with Goretex approach shoes, they flex so much the lining fails very quickly. I'd rather have a cheaper unlined shoe.

I know they are out of the price range you are looking for, but Asolo Nucleon have lasted me three years with no sign of wear.  Get used regularly on muddy UK footpaths, crag approaches and have got me up to 3400m on via ferrata.  Still waterproof despite zero cleaning / re waterproofing.  Was a Salomon user for years and years but will never go back, they wore out twice a quick recently 

Edit:  Euro exchange rate a factor in pricing?  If you were buying stuff made in EU when exchange rate was 1.40 ish (admittedly 5 years ago, but not sure what your definition of last couple of years is?) and it's now circa 1.15, that's an immediate c.20% increase

I've just gone from Salomon to La Sportiva as the uppers on my three year old Salomons have started coming away from the soles....

Actually they look a better bet at £110 than the Scarpa at £140. But will they last. Just checked and I paid £70 for Merrell moab gtx somethings on Amazon last September, now £80. I had the same brand, similar model for £50 in 2018.

Not sure it's even shoes - is it just more people buying outdoor stuff pushing up the prices. Saw a ME soft shell for £180 on a discount site.

Maybe different where you shop but unfortunately most shops around here only seem to stock the goretex models & the sales staff still keep trying to persuade me they are better

Quite possibly, your right

As for nucleons, they are holding up really well.  Been down long scree descents, bogy forest walks and up VF with "virtually" no sign of wear, no holes appearing in the uppers and plenty of life in the soles, i will be getting another pair if these ever wear out!

If you search on here there is a gear review article for them

Moab's currently 60£ at Go Outdoors

I don't know if they have changed recently but I really didn't rate Moabs (and neither did several people I met who had started their thru-hike in them). I had a pair of Moab mids and the soles fell clean off. 

moab is a whole series. those I paid £70 for are £108 on GO, £80 Amazon.

I'm going to try the Asolo recommended by Gareth.

I think many approach shoes just aren't designed for UK conditions, great for Yosemite or the Dolomites, not so good for slogging through mud. Also more climbing focused and can be quite painful for walking longer distances due to the close fit for scrambling/low grade climbing.

Is it? I've only ever seen these and the Goretex version..

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15897813/merrell-moab-2-ventilator-shoes-15897...

I found them one of the comfiest everyday shoes I've worn, so much so that on my 3rd pair I was sick of the sight of them. A pair would last a year, easy

The new Merrell hiking/trail running range looks good but not seen them in the flesh yet 

I find the fabric shoes are too lightweight. Nowadays I use a mixture of hill-walking boots with vibram soles when the ground is muddy, and approach/trail shoes with thin, soft leather uppers and thin vibram soles when the ground is dry. (If in any doubt whether the conditions are going to be muddy, or not, I wear the boots.) I walk almost every day of the year, averaging about four miles a day. By spreading the wear between boots and walking shoes, they both last many years. My current shoes and boots are four years old and still look barely half worn. Good makes for hiking/trail shoes that fit my feet are La Sportiva and Scarpa, which are incredibly comfortable. I use the same footwear for hiking in North America, e.g., in Yosemite as in the UK. The trail shoes I used yesterday to walk in the Chilterns were the same ones I used to hike up Half Dome four years ago.

The only times I have had boots fall apart have been in very hot conditions (I mean 40+ C, not what many people call hot in the UK), when the soles have literally become unglued and fallen off  - that happened to me on two occasions, one in Joshua Tree and the other in Texas with apparently good mountain hiking boots. (Of course, I am not talking about the rock climbing shoes of the "good old days", such as EB's, which always rotted and fell apart, nor those incredibly heavy and sturdy leather mountain boots, which would probably survive a nuclear blast!)

Bottom line: IMO, it is highly worth paying 100+ pounds for boots or shoes that last many years, rather than 50 quid for pairs that fall apart after one year. Boots are about the only piece of outdoor gear (apart from climbing gear) where I think it is worth paying for premium brands; for almost everything else budget stuff (e.g. Decathlon) is perfectly adequate. For example, one absolutely does not need expensive gear such as Alpine mountain jackets for everyday use.

Unless they've changed recently,  I'm a massive fan of the Merrel Moabs.  For me they are by far and away the best fit and the goretex works for me.

I got myself a pair of Brasher 'Country Roamer' shoes from Millets last year - they sound like what you need - full leather, chunky vibram sole, generous fit. I was really pleased to find them because I wanted an understated shoe I can wear for work / going out on the razzle and about the only alternative seem to be £200 Hanwags.