Looks good, but., 05 September 2011
By Arrowthorn (Wales)
I purchased a pair of these a few months ago. Now, Go Outdoors, you expect the boots to at least last a year with light to medium use. Right? Well, I can't give a high review for this because mine have sadly fallen to pieces.
Don't get me wrong, they're quite comfortable even if the soles are a little thin and you can feel EVERY rock you decide to step on...so far as when I wore them I tried to avoid rocky ground whenever possible.
Now, if you're doing a lot of Urban walking and you don't vary off tarmac and I mean you don't let them see a rock, then you should be fine, I'm not sure how long they'll last but certainly longer.
The first thing that I noticed was that these boots don't like sunlight. For me this isn't normally a bad thing, I'm a night stalker =P, I often head over the mountains of wales at night however after wearing them in sunlight (I believe this is the cause) but the 'skin' started to fracture. Oh did I mention these boots are NOT waterproof. I will dictate now that you will need water proofing spray for fabrics...I'm not even sure what material it's supposed to be either. Anyway back to the review.
After my treks up and down farm tracks. Yes. Farm tracks, not well paved roads. However they're still roads the soles slowly began to come loose.
I would recommend Magnum to anyone but those who want to go over the moors, or any sort of off road terrain. You can pick up cheaper and higher quality from your local army surplus store. That's not to say that Go Outdoors doesn't provide outstanding footware. It does (psst. I'll expect that fiver in the post =p jk jk).
Oh...you thought we were finished with this review? Hah
Anyway I do like the height of the boot, which gives lots of support...although they do feel a lot like trainers. This can be both good and bad. I recommend wearing thick socks with them. The laces themselves are quite hardwearing, normally I go through a pair of laces once a year but these don't even seem to be the slightest bit damaged.
The inside sole, is loose. This can be annoying for those who are wide footed and end up slipping slightly... (me) I ended up getting some super glue and showing that sole who's boss.
Other than that, if you want a good boot high quality low cost for hiking this is definitely not the boot for you. You would be better off with a pair of old trainers or a pair of wellingtons.
If you want to look cool around the streets and pay for the tag, then please, this boot is all yours. They certainly do look good and they will impress folk kinda...(except most girls >.<;)