Proper leather shoes

Did you mis type something? Good shoe trees hold form but shouldn't be put in when the shoes are damp? I assume you are aware of what happens when leather absorbs moisture.

Correct. Its a bit counter to what the high street shops might suggest.. but talk to George Cleverley, John Lobb and Edward Green, All three London shops will, I think, give the same advice. The general rule of thumb is to wait at least 2 hours before using the tree--- if the shoe is particularly moist it might need a longer wait. Since the function of a tree is to form the shoe, you want to wait for the shoe to stabilize before you insert them, You absolutely don't want to stretch the shoe, especially when damp. The second rule of thumb is that once the trees are inserted one should wait at least 48h before wearing the shoes again.

My meindl were £200 and have goretex, I'm not sure if that post makes sense. A lot of the £500 mountaineering boots have goretex too.

They'd include whatever made them sell better! If their customers believe in GoreTex or goat droppings then its clearly counter-productive to not include these in the specification. The absolute worst offender in marketing BS is the trainer market. Look at all those heavily damped sports shoes. Its quite clear that these are a bad idea but still..

EdwardZ, I believe we're pretty much in agreement as to how a "proper boot" should be made, but the fact stands that it ain't cheap shit that mountaineering expeditions take into high altitudes. Maybe it's marketing, maybe because of the lighter weight of the techie boots, or whatever, but I'm guessing that not every mountain climber has been suckered by Madison Avenue; there probably are advantages to them that persuade the professionals to put their trust in tech over craftsmanship.

Exactly, I'm sure Sir Edmund Hilary would have taken modern shite over his well made quality craftsmen boots any day.

I'm no expert, but there are a lot of experts who use goretex and I'm pretty sure they haven't been suckered into advertising bollocks.

What you need for modern mountaineering is sheepskin-lined drawstring elk-hide clogs, smothered with duck fat.

What you need for modern mountaineering is sheepskin-lined drawstring elk-hide clogs, smothered with duck fat.

Lolz

^^ Sadly, my wife took my pair out of the freezer (where all decent skin boots should be stored) without my knowledge. Now they're dryer than Tutankhamun.

Exactly, I'm sure Sir Edmund Hilary would have taken modern shite over his well made quality craftsmen boots any day.

Not 100% sure.

I'm no expert, but there are a lot of experts who use goretex and I'm pretty sure they haven't been suckered into advertising bollocks.

We are now talking about mountain expeditions and no longer walking... The Milet GTX shoes are pretty much THE Everest shoe these days. Their design, however, is about weight and thermal isolation and not about robustness or long life. Its like the difference between Conti Competitions and Olympics. As a walking shoe the GTXs are worthless but climing Everest is not about walking. The temperature range is also at extremes where many materials have problems. They are throw-away shoes and priced according to their application. The 700 EUROs they cost is small compared to the rest of the cost of an Everest climb. Does the design use GoreTex? Yes but only, I think, in the gamasche-- which is constructed of Kevlar.
I have nothing against GoreTex,, Windtex etc. Another example is in cycling... I have cycling gloves with WindTex.. and use a WindTex undervest instead of newspapers... My rain jacket is also GoreTex.. its also foldable and fits in a tiny bag. Its not as good as other products but better than some of the plastic bags people also use in races.. While I have a number of woolen cycling jerseys I also use modern synthetic ones too. Some of my cycling shoes are made using synthetic materials instead of leather and have carbon mouded soles instead of wood. None of my cycling shoes have ever been Goodyear welted as that construction makes no sense in the application.

nail on the head, edZ. Light weight impermeable synthetic mountaineering boots made a real difference compared to the galiber double boots with loden liners they replaced.

^^ Sadly, my wife took my pair out of the freezer (where all decent skin boots should be stored) without my knowledge. Now they're dryer than Tutankhamun.

Felt boots as traditionaly worn in Mongolia and Russia are, I think, as modern and functional as anything else.

Felt and cork work extremely well--- guess what the Space Shuttles used as heat insulators?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Space_Shuttle_%28HRSI_tile%29.png/500px-Space_Shuttle_%28HRSI_tile%29.png

Ed, I'm not an expert at all and I think I understand what your getting at. But my goretex paclite jacket, over trousers, over shoes and mittens are the only items to date which have managed to keep me warm on 13 hour rides (I'm a very slow Brompton rider climbing daft hills), why would goretex not be any better in my boots?

It's a genuine question not a smart arse one, my feet are only part of my body I'm struggling this season to keep warm...I've ordered some felt liners so hopefully they'll improve things.

Felt boots as traditionaly worn in Mongolia and Russia are, I think, as modern and functional as anything else.

Felt and cork work extremely well--- guess what the Space Shuttles used as heat insulators?

I was obliquely referring to kamiks, usually made of either sealskin or caribou, as worn by the Inuit in the north of america.

just saw these go up on superdenim. mmmmmmhmmmmmm

What you need for modern mountaineering is sheepskin-lined drawstring elk-hide clogs, smothered with duck fat.

Been rocking those bitches since the 80s... Pisti picked a pair up in the mid-90s...

:-d

Been rocking those bitches since the 80s...

Yep - the 1880's...

just saw these go up on superdenim. mmmmmmhmmmmmm

High Altitude training?

Been rocking those bitches since the 80s... Pisti picked a pair up in the mid-90s...

Reissues >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

$135.98

Crown Green Bowls thread >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So, I tried on my first pair of Alden's yesterday. I think it was the start of an obsession. Fantastic shoes - straight out of the box as well. Am thinking about pulling the trigger on a pair of Indy 403s.

However, I wanted to ask any Alden wearers, specifically those with the calf leather shoes/boots as opposed to cordovan, do they loosen over time or stay reasonably similar to when you first buy them?

Cheers...

views on correspondent brogues? Could they be worn as a casual shoe with jeans without me looking a bit of a pillock?

Very nice.

views on correspondent brogues? Could they be worn as a casual shoe with jeans without me looking a bit of a pillock?

i believe a certain ts of this parish favours the spectator, or co-respondent, and no way does he look a pillock