From the perilous foothills of Tibet to the puddle-strewn towpaths of the North West, treacherous surfaces call for serious footwear.
With Britain currently submerged in a thick layer of mulch, now seems like a timely time to take a look at some of our favourite sturdy specimens…
A boot-based version of the classic Mephisto Rainbow is something we’ve been after for years, so imagine our joy when these beauties finally landed.
As you can probably guess, these are basically the same dead comfortable French striding shoe you know and love, with a bit more ankle-protection for added stoutness (and some all-important one-upmanship kudos).
No hastily thrown together list of sturdy footwear would be complete without the good ol’ Red Wing boot. Favoured by everyone from surly loggers to hard livin’, whiskey suppin’ biker types, these are pretty much the archetypal work-boots which all others are measured against.
It sounds a bit naff – but these things are built to last – and with a bit of care you should get a fair few years out of ‘em.
Whilst they may conjure up hazy, sun-soaked images from the glory days of outdoor wear, these Fracap boots are a fair bit more manoeuvrable than they look. It’s all down to that lightweight, low-profile Vibram sole – designed with inner-city boot wearers in mind.
They still go nicely with a slab of Kendal mint cake, but they’re probably more tuned to the pavements than the Pyrenees. That ultra-soft leather lining is pretty classy too.
Then there’s these from Finn Comfort. Not only are these things real easy on the eye, but thanks to some fancy insoles that we don’t really understand, they also harbour some mysterious orthopaedic qualities that make them really comfortable.
A fair few people have attested to the posture-sorting properties of these things, and whilst that might sound like hokum, we can at least say they’re a real joy to wear whilst wandering around little European towns in search of pastry delights.
And finally, we’ve got these classy numbers from Barleycorn.
Merging the rugged outdoor flavour of the Mephisto Rainbow with the smooth lines of the Sanders Playboy, these somehow manage to be both smart, and sturdy – making them ideal for all manner of modern-day scenarios that we won’t patronise you by listing. That chocolate leather is pretty tasty too.
Want to see more boots? Click here for our full selection.