Mike Knipe tests out The North Face Dhaulagiri II GTX walking boots in soggy North Pennines weather. Specifically designed with trekking in mind, Mike discovers that these tough boots provide superb grip and stability, keep his toes warm and his merlot from overturning during a November bivi.

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If there were a Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Footwear, I'd now be in serious trouble and the boots sent to me by The North Face for review would have been taken into Local Authority Care. I'm careless with them, see? Neglectful. These poor things have been housed in the boot of my car for months. I have dried them out once or twice, I think...

Anyway, it is with this knowledge that the reader should approach this review. I am cruel to boots. I have been cruel to these boots.

For those who are interested in the technical bits, here are a few crumbs of information:

Firstly, they have a Gore-Tex membrane. The uppers are made from 1.8 mm velvet-oiled suede with Bomber abrasion-resistant and breathable textile mesh. They have a medial and lateral X-Frame stabilizer (sic) and a Northotic ergonomically-designed footbed with Poron forefoot and heel inserts.

The bottom has a full-length perforated nylon shank, Vibram soles and heel-cradle technology, which is all intended to improve stability, especially when carrying a load.

They officially weigh 1430g. I got 1470g on my scales, though.

Not mentioned in the official blurb is the rubber rand around the toe and the huge lugs on the Vibram soles (see below).

Their foot-cradling, grippy, stable design is specifically made for 'trekking' – AKA 'backpacking'.

What criteria have I used for judging these boots?

I am a simple soul so I have few criteria. I am not a boot expert, but I know when a pair of boots leaks or bits fall off or otherwise disappear and I think I know when the limits of a pair of boots' traction have been reached and whether or not I would have expected a reasonable pair to have reached this limit. And I know when I have a blister. Or a broken ankle.

Firstly – I should say something about what these boots have been up to since I got them in November and what conditions they have been exposed to.

I live in the North Pennines, and so, most of the walking experienced by the boots has been high and low level stuff in the North Pennines – Weardale, Teesdale, that sort of thing. They've also been to the Lake District and to the Cheviots.

During this time, they have covered about 200 miles. Just 60 or so of these miles have been snowy and the rest have been sloppy and muddy and, to use a local north-Pennine adjective, clarty. It's been that sort of winter. Clarty. If it's not been clarty, it's been flooded, frankly. Flooded to a depth not exceeding several inches. Not enough to come over the top, but flooded nevertheless. None of the walks I've been on in these boots could be described as 'dusty'.

They've had a few nights out. Their first was a lovely and warm November bivi in Borrowdale. During this jaunt, they were used to prevent a bottle of merlot from being knocked over and, tragically, lost. This merlot was an essential part of my bivi enjoyment and I sipped it, and, occasionally, swigged it while watching fluffy clouds drift across the moon as a local owl ghosted around looking for rodent victims (I assume). Clearly, when TNF designed these boots, they probably didn't have wine bottle stabilisation in mind, but nevertheless, I was impressed and, during the midnight approach by moonlight (broken headlight), they performed well on the steep and stony paths in terms of comfiness and not letting me fall over.

Another trip was a failed backpacking trip southwards from Kirkby Stephen. We didn't get very far, due to heavy snow and various types of lassitude. (readers of The Ascent of Rum Doodle by WE Bowman will recognise some of these. Those who haven't read this spoof should do so immediately).

Finally, a five day backpacking trip around the Cheviots provided a reasonable test of their special design for 'trekking'. My pack was around 13kg, which is about as heavy as my pack gets and the weather was cold and icy and sometimes snowy. I was impressed, particularly with the impressive stability, giving confidence on steep and slippery grass and tilted and loose paths.

I was also impressed by the way they kept my feet warm and dry most of the time during this exceptionally soggy winter. They did wet-out a couple of times, but the first, I have to say, was a day of driving drizzle when I managed to get soaked right through all of my waterproof stuff, fleeces, base layers and skin. The word 'waterproof' as in 'waterproof stuff' deserves to be in inverted commas. My underpants were wet. Everything was wet. It's no surprise, really, that my socks were wet.

The second was after they've been stored in the car boot for a several weeks and never really dried out. They had performed manfully, or, at least, bootfully for several exceptionally damp expeditions until, finally, the wet Teesdale snow and those uncomfortable flooded pastures finally got the better of them.

Were they comfy?

Yes. I got no blisters or hot spots at all. They're quite stiff and this takes a while to get used to. They didn't get any less stiff with wear.

What about grip?

I've mentioned that they're quite stiff. This is a real bonus on steep, wet grass, providing said grass has been fixed down to The World properly and doesn't become detached. They are, in fact, great for this. The sole has huge lugs (some of my relatives also have huge lugs by the way) – and this feature also adds to their overall stability on steep and loose surfaces. After having had lots of pairs of boots which have been pretty lethal on steep grass, to me, this feature was a delight and I soon got used to a more relaxed style of descent.

How are they after two hundred miles?. Well, they're very mucky. But nothing has fallen off or broken and , basically, they're just a bit worn-in. I like them like that. Inside, there's no discernable damage to the linings although there is the usual odour of wet sock.. I expect this. You'd be pretty whiffy after spending that amount of time in my car boot. There is some slight wear on the lining material on one boot.

Summary

I was determined to say all kinds of honestly detrimental things about these boots, just to demonstrate how honest I am. Unfortunately, I think they're really good. I will be using these on the TGO Challenge in May and on pre-TGO challenge training trips and most of my other hillwalking stuff.

For backpacking and load carrying over rough ground, they perform really well. I have managed to wet them out a time or two, but much of this may be due to neglect. They're also pretty good as a general hillwalking boot. I think the price is about right.

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About Mike Knipe

Mike Knipe is ... "an old (ish) codger, or veteran. I've been wandering about the hills since the 1960's (when I were but a lad). A Lancastrian, brought up in Yorkshire and now living in County Durham – so handy for the North Pennines, Lakes, Dales, Cheviots, Borders... I like to walk about a lot, both on the hills and, sometimes, underground. I'm, a TGO Challenge "Leg End" (Ten TGO Challenges), backpacker, bagger, and general outdoor addict with a proper beard and everything. See the blog! www.northernpies.blogspot.com - full of meaty goodness in a Northern kind of way."