I have bought some gear, Whoop! Right now that is out of the way..

On my last trip to Wales I tested my old salomon  boots here: Wales Post TGO trek.

If you read that blog you will know my boots have had there day and I have been in search of new light weight GTX boots. I settled on a pair of Salewa alp trainer mid gtx.

More here; http://www.salewa.com/en/alp-trainer-mid-gtx-man.html

What drew me to them was the weight of 555g, style and lacing system.

I have averagely wide feet and these fit a treat. The insole is adaptable to accommodate different widths of feet. I have had them on all day today and it felt like I had trail shoe on. So far so good.

Im heading out to High Cup Nick this weekend were i will put the boots through there paces and complete the review.

Here are some pictures fresh from the box.

** On the hill review**

The boots were put through there paces on a wild camp trek that took place in the Pennines in the location of High Cup Nick. The wether was mild and dry. The ground was sodden in places with gravel tracks and moor land tracks. There was a chance to get the boots wet with marshy ground and a few stream crossings.

At the “Nick”

The lakes in the far off?

Conditions for the boots

The Alp trainer were comfortable out the box and the no blister guarantee was looking good. The boots felt light and were easy to get a good fit. The boots inner footbed can be separated to give wider feet more room and I took advantage of this and removed the layer.  The days route comprised of moorland and gravel paths. There was no boulder fields to consider or scree. The land was marshy and wet with some streams to negotiate. The days route was a 9hr event with breaks for lunch and a brew. I carried a 17kg rucksack for the whole day.

Performance of the boots

The boots remained dry all day, the gore-tex did not leak. They felt light andI felt nimble all day. For the whole day I did not once consider my footwear, adjust my footwear or have to remove them for over heating of wetting out. At the end of the days trek I had to consciously take the boots off as they were that comfortable. Once off there was no evidence of hot feet or wet feet and there was no blisters. We returned on the Sunday off the mountain were 3 kms off the route were on a metal B road, the boots were comfortable despite having not a-lot of cushioning in the sole, as compared to Salomon boots.

Conclusion

The boots were light, well fitting, water proof and stable.  The only noticeable feature of the boots was that I didn’t notice I had boots on!  I like the style and features of the boots such as the rubber toe guard, light construction, good Vibram sole unit. My only concern is wether the boots have a long life ahead of them as with the construction of a lightweight boot comes the sacrifice of durability. Only time will tell. These are my wet/weekend goto foot wear now!