Grubs Ptarmigan boots
- Thread starter tamarmole
- Start date
Trig Gledhill
New member
Go for it.
Although I haven't got these exact boots, I have the Etch? but I will never ever ever ever cave in wellies again. Do not see the attraction of an Ill fitted, no grip and no support boot just for the sake of "well we caved in wellies in the 70s" and sake of a few quid. But in the long run my Etch? have lasted just as long as a walky.
These boots do look good
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Although I haven't got these exact boots, I have the Etch? but I will never ever ever ever cave in wellies again. Do not see the attraction of an Ill fitted, no grip and no support boot just for the sake of "well we caved in wellies in the 70s" and sake of a few quid. But in the long run my Etch? have lasted just as long as a walky.
These boots do look good
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Pitlamp
Well-known member
Trig Gledhill said:
In defence of wellies (!) they do roll up much smaller to go in a rucsack when needed. Also it's possible to swim with fins over them because of the partial ankle flexibility wellies offer.
But (back on topic) - I've not tried those boots (which look excellent) but I did learn something useful recently. I own a pair of black Karrimor KSB walking boots in which the "waterproof" Goretex linings failed after just over 12 months fairly light use. Fed up with getting wet feet, in desperation I got some black Sikaflex (from Naylor Myers at Bentham, in the Dales) and painted this all over the boot uppers. They're now waterproof again.
I mention this because several people told me it'd not work and that my feet would get wet anyway with condensation. But so far (admittedly during the cooler months of the year) this hasn't been a problem and my feet have been toasty warm and dry. So maybe the Ptarmigan waterproof boots tamaramole asked about will be fine for normal walking, as well as caving.
Incidentally I have alexchien (on this forum) to thank for pointing me at the many benefits of Sikaflex sealant as a general outdoor and caving gear repair compound. It's phenomenally useful.
Topcat mentioned "Shoe Goo" - I've used this to repair running shoes and it's pretty good. But I've generally found "Aquasure" to be even better. As always, when applying such cements / repair compounds, thoroughly cleaning the item to be glued (with an organic solvent) makes all the difference to the success of the job.
Trig Gledhill
New member
Yeah apologies I've brought up an old argument yet again [emoji23]
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andrewmcleod
Well-known member
traff said:
As the standard manufacturer of the soles used on basically all the best boots in the world and available in a range of different materials and tread patterns to suit different requirements, that comment is going to need explanation
NewStuff
New member
andrewmc said:traff said:
As the standard manufacturer of the soles used on basically all the best boots in the world and available in a range of different materials and tread patterns to suit different requirements, that comment is going to need explanation
Agreed. He's really going to have to pull something out of the bag, I can't recall a decent boot *without* Vibram recently.
Simon Wilson
New member
Trig Gledhill said:
Back in the day when wetsuits were the usual wear for cavers most of us wore wetsocks and leather boots which gave good grip and were excellent for climbing. The move towards wearing wellies went along with the move to PVC oversuits. The poorer grip and other minor disadvantages were very far outweighed by the overriding benefit of keeping dry.
As noted in another recent thread, the move to PVC oversuits was during the period when SRT came in. The change from the way things were done before was dramatic and we learned more and more how to stay dry which meant that cavers had greater endurance and achieved more underground.
One thing that all the savvy cavers did was learn how to create an effective seal between the wellies and oversuit but unfortunately fewer cavers are now doing this because the knowledge seems to be not being passed on. Sealing the wellies to a waterproof suit means that you can wade and crawl while keeping totally dry and I consider doing this to be a very important feature of my caving gear.
You need bands made from inner tubes which are the right size to be tight round the welly top. You also need welly stiffeners. I've been using the same pair of welly stiffeners for over thirty years. Mine are made out of closed-cell foam matting stitched together with gardening string into a tube. Other ones I've seen are made of flexible plastic sheet fixed together with rivets. I think another easy way of making them would be plastic sheet and duct tape.
nice but damp
Member
I find the same as Traff has alluded to .......
http://www.go4awalk.com/ask/slipperyboots.php
I personally think that they look like great boots for caving, but alas, would find them very slippery on wet rock.
while I was working for cotswolds outdoors, I had quite a few customers coming back and saying similar things regarding how slippery the Vibram sole units were on wet rocks (of various types). These folk were mountaineers and serious Hillwalkers who had had years of experience with various boots.
It seems that it has become a problem in the manufacture of the rubber used in the sole unit.
Back in the about 1997, I bought a pair of Salomon XTrail Boots for a trip up on the Coulins on Skye....They didn't have Vibram soles and where one of the best boots I have ever used.....with no slippage on wet rock!!
For Caving...I did use a pair of NCB boots again, back in the 90's , which were a high throated boot with a red rubber sole unit. They were amazing for underground use as they seemed to give incredible traction on wet limestone. Alas..never seemed to find another pair
Tim
Quote from: andrewmc on December 16, 2017, 01:36:10 pm
Quote from: traff on December 16, 2017, 12:57:47 pm
One good reason NOT to buy them: Vibram soles.
As the standard manufacturer of the soles used on basically all the best boots in the world and available in a range of different materials and tread patterns to suit different requirements, that comment is going to need explanation
Agreed. He's really going to have to pull something out of the bag, I can't recall a decent boot *without* Vibram recently.
http://www.go4awalk.com/ask/slipperyboots.php
I personally think that they look like great boots for caving, but alas, would find them very slippery on wet rock.
while I was working for cotswolds outdoors, I had quite a few customers coming back and saying similar things regarding how slippery the Vibram sole units were on wet rocks (of various types). These folk were mountaineers and serious Hillwalkers who had had years of experience with various boots.
It seems that it has become a problem in the manufacture of the rubber used in the sole unit.
Back in the about 1997, I bought a pair of Salomon XTrail Boots for a trip up on the Coulins on Skye....They didn't have Vibram soles and where one of the best boots I have ever used.....with no slippage on wet rock!!
For Caving...I did use a pair of NCB boots again, back in the 90's , which were a high throated boot with a red rubber sole unit. They were amazing for underground use as they seemed to give incredible traction on wet limestone. Alas..never seemed to find another pair
Tim
Simon Wilson said:
I used this system in the 80's before giving up caving to concentrate on mountaineering. I sold all my caving kit, but kept my shortened rigging spanner [cost me three drill bits to get the hole in it!] and my welly tubes.
I kept these for 20 years and then in a fit if tidying-up chucked them out. I took up caving again 5 years later and searched high and low for these essential items before remembering that I'd binned them.
Now I use walking boots and neo socks, preferring the comfort on the long walks, and the climbing ability. I have a cunning system for walking home with dry feet, but often don't bother.
NewStuff
New member
Funny that. I have some Aku Terrealte GTX's, which have a Vibram sole. Zeros issues with slip in snow, ice, wet... In fact, they were so good, I wore them on the bike, as my usual bike boots don't like -4 at 60+MPH. The same for the La Sportiva Nepal's I had before that, Vibram sole, excellent grip in all conditions.
That said, neither are what you would call cheap, and both are B2 boots, so maybe it's just the "cheaper" end of outdoor boots, cheap being a relative term.
That said, neither are what you would call cheap, and both are B2 boots, so maybe it's just the "cheaper" end of outdoor boots, cheap being a relative term.
Trig Gledhill
New member
Etche I'd definitely size down, I'm a 10 and they were hugeeeeeee so had to send back and get a 9. Never looked back since though.grahams said:
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Trig Gledhill
New member
The pro's outweigh the con's.
The only con I can think of is price and the fact you get your feet wet quicker than you are going to in wellies. But to be fair if you're that bothered about your feet being wet....maybe rock climbing is more of a suited sport?
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The only con I can think of is price and the fact you get your feet wet quicker than you are going to in wellies. But to be fair if you're that bothered about your feet being wet....maybe rock climbing is more of a suited sport?
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Yer kidding right? River crossings, getting caught out in 'orrible storms with water running down my arms into, then out of, my rock boots, the Scottish bogs that make river crossings seem dry, and when the sun does shine, feet wet with sweat.Trig Gledhill said:
Glad to have just about left all that behind.
The only sport I do that I never get wet feet in is WW open canoe: I wear a dry suit
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