p.24-25 Fotwear Focus 10:FOOTWEAR NEW TEMPLAT 10 08 6/10/09 12:39 Page 24
Footwear Focus
Hiking Boots
Arthur Howard puts the boot into Karrimor’s KSB Skye
X-Lite eVents – A walk too far for this new writer….
A
s a first time writer for the footwear editorial fashion, and, as mentioned very snug. You do feel
team, I must admit I was a little nervous when like you are fully prepared to take on any walk.
Cheryl, our editor, asked me to embark on a The first part of the trek through the forest was a
‘Road Test’. By definition, I thought I would breeze, the boots gripped well on the leafy forest floor
be donning a pair of running shoes, pounding the – in fact the grip was so good, I found myself be-
road for miles, with sweat pouring down my face, coming a little too confident. This provided my wife
Paula Radcliffe style….. with the first embarrassing photo opportunity, when
During dinner, I causally mentioned to my wife I them tripped and fell in a rather large puddle. For-
that my first story would involve a ‘run’. tunately, my feet remained dry, whilst my legs, jeans
“What you?” she quizzed, “Run?!”, “you get in the and pride got a soaking.
car to go to the corner shop” At the bottom of gorge, the terrain changed to slate,
“Yeah, but it’s for work”, I replied gravel and mud and before we knew it we were at the
“When you start, let me know, I’ll get the video White lady waterfall. It was most impressive. To my
camera out – I know your friends won’t want to miss wife’s annoyance, however, this was also my first op-
this”, she teased. portunity to take some ‘in situ’ photos of the boots,
Fortunately for me, my wife’s plans of uploading with my camera phone.
embarrassing videos to ‘You Tube’ After a short tea break, we set off for the
were put to rest, when the pair Cauldron. The forest floor turned to slippery paths,
of Karrimor boots arrived. which jut out dramatically from the gorge walls
Like a kid at Christmas, I (many with vertical drops into the River).
tore off the delivery plastic Again, the boots gave me confidence to at-
sleeve to reveal the stylish- tack these with gusto: it may
looking Karrimor box sound silly, but from the mo-
On opening the box, the ment I had them on, I felt
smell of leather was quite ap- that I had the proper tools
parent. This immediately gave to do the job in hand.
me the impression of quality - Finally, a mile and a half later,
an excellent sales benefit. First impressions when try- we reached the Devil’s Cauldron: a dark,
ing on, were that the boots very snug and robust. humid cavern, filled with a roaring whirlpool of rush-
Users of this type of shoe are likely to opt for quality ing water, with a small crack in the cavern’s ceiling
and performance: my initial impressions were that providing the only light. Viewing of this spectacular
the boots would not let me down. natural phenomenon was via steel ‘plank’. Although
I now needed a serious testing extremely wet, this was easy work for the boot, with its
ground, and as I was looking to hefty grip clinging onto the mesh walkway with ease.
impress (as do we all when join- After taking enough photos of the Cauldron to fill
ing a company), I took them on its own album, we began the short walk back to the
a local three-mile walk around car, where I removed the boots for a quick clean.
Lydford Gorge, Dartmoor, So why should you stock this boot? Wear-
Devon. ers will immediately be impressed with its
Fans of Lydford Gorge, will construction and comfort. It also
know that it is the deepest inspires confidence, so rather
gorge in the South West, with than continually watching
spectacular 30m waterfall. The na- where your feet are going, the
tional trust website quotes that the walk “fol- walk is more about ‘the walk’.
lows Woodland trails through a deep-cut ravine You are safe in the knowledge that the boot can
alongside the river Lyd, following onto the White withstand most terrain whether it be mud, water,
lady waterfall and then the spectacular Devil’s Caul- sand, rock etc. You can also advise your customers
dron Whirlpools”. The walk is by no means easy, ac- that they will keep their feet warm and dry, and en-
cording to the National Trust brochure those counter no blisters or rubbing – something that
suffering heart conditions or with young children (from talking to regular walkers) is very important.
should be warned. I now patiently await my next road test, which now
On arrival, I quickly ran around to the boot Cheryl has read this, will most likely include running
of my car and proudly put on the Karrimor boots. and a road…
They are easy to lace up, in traditional criss-cross boot Arthur tested Karrimor’s KSB Skye X-Lite eVents.
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FOOTWEAR TODAY
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OCTOBER 2009 www.footweartoday.co.uk
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