UKH

Brought up on a regime where leather boots were the norm searching for a replacement has proved very tricky with very few leather boots available.so generally what is the view on man made materials especially Goretex,are they as good,any othere issues,would be interested for users views

There have been a few threads about this lately but I'm not sure what you'd search to find them!

For my money membranes in walking boots are pretty much useless. The membrane gets damaged in no time and then they leak. I have a pair of Scarpa SLs and I think they are great, thick leather, no membrane and the most water resistant walking boots I've ever had. Heavy and bulky though

My experience is that they are just crap compared to a waxed full leather boot. I take every opportunity to take them off on hot days though. Soaking bare feet in a cold stream is possibly one of the best things ever at the end of (or during!) a  long day. 

Check out Zamberlan Trail Lite and Vioz. Brilliant boots - I've had both (currenty Vioz). They have a membrane but I think it's the leather that keeps them dry. Either way I've never had leaks.

I stopped using walking boots decades ago.  Trainers/trail shoes all the way.  Lighter, perform when sopping wet and much quicker to dry out.

There's a lot to be said for trainers/fell shoes and for years I used them and didn't have walking boots. But then I realised there were a lot of days I was just plodding so didn't benefit from the lightness of trainers but also couldn't be bothered with wet feet so I bought some walking boots. Horses for courses.

I think it depends on what you’re using them for.  As others have said gore-tex membranes in boots don’t really last all that long (I don’t think any manufacturer has cracked it).  There are too many choices but personally I find that my feet are wet with perspiration anyway so waterproofness isn’t too high on my list and in fact in my goretex boots no water can escape so feel a bit like wearing a highly waterproof but non-breathable jacket.

I’ve tried trail shoes which are fantastic but I do find across worse terrain (pathless, through bracken, heather bashing) I like the additional protection of ankle coverage.  A few times I’ve thrust my foot between boulders and was glad it wasn’t my ankle making contact (maybe I’m just unusually clumsy though). 

^This.

I have no problem running through bogs, mud and streams when out for a run.

However if I'm walking the last thing I want is cold, wet feet and mud getting down the ankle cuff, especially if doing a pub stop or having a bite to eat. Walking in wet conditions in trainers sounds like a recipe for a miserable day out.

There are loads of leather boots on the market. Altberg, Mindl, Scarpa, Boreal plus many others all make excellent leather boots. Many do have a membrane in addition but the leather holds back the water once this has inevitably broken down, I think they just add the membrane for marketing purposes really. Personally I've never noticed a real difference in sweatiness of a leather boot with a membrane and one without, I'm not sure leather can breathe that well once it's covered with wax anyway. 

As for synthetic boots which rely on a membrane to keep the water out I would avoid them. The various pairs I've tried have never lasted long before the membrane breaks down and they leak, usually within 200 miles or so, the only ones that lasted well were a pair of Columbia ones that used Outdry instead of the normal Gortex. 

I will always take the opportunity to plug AKU boots.  I bought a pair of SuperAlps and wore them straight out of the box on a 500+ mile walk through Scotland and they were excellent.  Leather with gore tex lining and they kept dry just fine, and lasted for years after.  I didn't take proper care of the leather and it eventually cracked but that was my own laziness.  

I get the trainers thing, but for carrying weight over rough ground day after day, my feet need some protection and comfort.

I’m very happy with my Alt Berg boots - I’ve had them well over 10 years now and they’re still going well after a factory resole. Not cheap but worth it.

https://www.altberg.co.uk/boots/hiking-boots13

Another thumbs up for Zamberlan's I find they just fit my feet so well. 

Yes, this!

Also, as they are lighter you are more accurate with feet so less likely to fall and you strengthen up knees and ankles to less prone to injury. 

I only wear boots once I need crampons 

I'm baffled that anyone has dry feet on a wet day. I have tried pretty much all iterations of waterproof footwear, and all it does is delays the inevitable for an hour or so. A bog trudge is always wet, whether in boots or trail running shoes. At least with trail shoes they are comfy and wet and might actually dry out before the next day!

Well treated leather boots and yeti gaiters (remember those?) and you'll have dry feet for up to 3 hours, not just the first 1

Yeti gaiters must be horrendously hot and sweaty? I don't like gaiters at all. My legs are too short of normal ones so they bunch behind my knees, and short ones dig in to my calf muscles. I have some inbuilt ones in my winter soft shell trousers which I do like, they help to keep the snow out. 

Is 3 hours dry really much better than 1 hour dry? You still have wet feet for the rest of the day and they are hot and uncomfortable too!

I walk almost everyday of the year. I am vastly in favour of leather boots when the conditions are wet and muddy, but favour trail shoes (actually climber's descent shoes with thin leather uppers) when the conditions are dry. That's about half the year in boots and half the year in shoes. I can't remember when I last got my feet wet, except when I take off my boots or shoes to ford streams.

Trainers are OK if you are running and you don't mind getting your feet wet. Otherwise a no-no or darnright dangerous. You don't want to be caught on snow and ice in trainers, for example.

I don't know where exactly you are walking, but I have quite a few different pairs of boots that seem to keep water out really well. I can't say I go looking for bogs to walk throw specifically, but whether it's long day out walking up to the snowline to climb, then off the mountain again after climbing, in winter, or walks in the Peak - through snow, peat hags and mud - it's noticeable when my boots do leak, rather than when they don't. Some of these boots are more than 20 years old some I've had for review just recently. Some have a Goretex or other membrane lining, some don't, but in the case of my 25 year old Scarpas - which I haven't used much in recent years - just treating the leather seems to work just fine.

I think in many parts of the UK hills, it's easier keeping your feet dry than in the 80s and 90s because so many paths have been repaired to stop erosion, so you now can just step on rock.

I'm in Scotland, so land of the bog!

If you are mostly on rock, then you end up with the soles of feet throbbing in boots and much more likely to trip as you can't feel through them! 

All of my footwear, whether leather or fabric, fails at the crease between my toes and the rest of my foot. Predominantly on the outside edge of that fold. No matter how well I wax leather, it still cracks there. And even before they crack, the constant water pressure from bog, wet grass and rain still wets them through. 

Waterproof socks and ankle gaiters.

Waterproof socks and microspikes.

I had my Altbergs made without a goretex liner. Cooler in summer and perfectly waterproof.

I'm unconvinced that Scotland is necessarily more boggy than England or Wales! I guess there are more quiet hills without improved paths on them. And in the hills the mud tends not to be so bad as across the UK in lowland areas. When I lived in Finland, it always struck me at a what an amazingly muddy place the UK is. Different soil types and geology I guess, but you just don't get mud in the same way there!

I'm very much not trying to claim that boots never fail - absolutely agree that they do. Indeed, just back last december I started this thread https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/gear/whyhow_do_goretex-lined_boots_fail-7... inspired by a very soggy feet day, after a rather wet Peak District ice climb and then a walk around the plateau through soggy and melting snow covered heather and squelching through to mud underneath. But even goretex lined fabric boots that are solely dependent on that Goretex don't seem to start leaking for me straight away. And I've got very old pairs of leather boots that still seem to work fine and just need a reapplication of Nikwax once in a while.

If I am camping and walking/climbing all day, the last thing I ever want is for my shoes and boots to get soaked through, with no means for drying them. Also, in my experience, saturating boats and shoes does them no good. So waterproof socks are not what I've ever wanted.

Microspikes are an OK compromise in winter conditions that are not very severe; certainly better than nothing.

Ankle gaiters are excellent for keeping grit and stones out of boots, and help to keep socks clean(er); always worthwhile except for easy walking in the lowlands!

I tend to carry waterproof socks as spares if I'm out for a long day. If my trailrunning shoes and socks get totally soaked I can change my socks, put my wet shoes back on and have dry feet again.

I love my Altberg 3 season boots. I went for a proper fitting at Whalley Warm & Dry in Lancashire which was excellent too.

I walk in Scotland all the time with a lot off path and these have been great: https://www.hardloop.co.uk/product/22911-mammut-kento-pro-high-gtx-mountain....

They have definitely kept my feet dry in winter and in bog. They're really comfy and take a C2 crampon (I wouldn't do a steep climb in them as they do flex a little but then I have a B3 for that malarky). I use them year round as they're light and flexible enough. One of the best boots I've had over the years. Oh, and they grip well on rock.

Exactly the same for me. If I'm not in a particular hurry I'd prefer to have dry feet rather than having them wet from the first boggy bit of the day, especially when it's cold. Got my leather ones from Decathlon and they'e great.

Used this combo this winter and it was a game changer in the right snow conditions / terrain. Waterproof socks keep your feet considerably warmer than normal socks I find. 

I'm in agreement with lowersharpnose and girlymonkey, for about 7 months of the year at least. Light boots, walking sandals, or even barefoot is so much nicer. I mostly roam the Northern Rhinogydd and no matter what you wear your feet will get wet in the Crawcwellt. The extra agility afforded makes light work of hard ground. I climbed Rhinog Fawr in my big old winter scarpas on Good Friday - sheer hell, and nearly twisted my ankles half a dozen times - like having club feet. So, another vote for light here. 

I've been wearing Scarpa Mistrals, mixed materials, for the last couple of years and if I can I'll be buying another pair. They're light, robust and waterproof.  I can jog downhill quite comfortably and on a really soggy Garbh Bheinn, the other week, my feet stayed dry. Light and grippy for scrambling and ok for driving the car into town.

Disappointed in my new Scarpa SLs which I bought to replace a brilliant pair that I'd really enjoyed for 10 years. The new ones always threaten blisters. Can't seem to wear them in. Thinking of Meindl for a 4 season boot.