Early last summer we walked the middle section of the Cape Wrath Trail for one week through Scotland’s North West Highlands and following this the Coast to Coast across the top of England from St. Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay and then three days on the West Highland Way in October. We wore a variety of footwear walking and on the trails, and our feet, ankles and legs were in pretty good form by the end of it all with not a blister in sight. We did see a lot of people with foot problems and we know this can be the perennial bugbear for walkers – if your feet aren’t comfortable, it makes for a very unpleasant day when you’ve got to get another 15 miles ticked off. The choice of footwear people on these routes were wearing ranged from good to appalling but not as bad as the flip-flops we saw on the trail in the Grand Canyon!

Discussing this with my local podiatrist, Louise Fisher at Foot Forte Podiatrist in Aviemore, Louise told me that “80% of the problems coming through my door are down to people wearing inappropriate footwear”.

So, what footwear should you wear? 

Well, as ever, that depends on where you are going. If you are going into the mountains then you need a properly constructed pair of mountain boots. Stiffness in a mountain boot is “torsional stiffness” it is not the bendiness of the boot, front to back. You often see folk bending a boot or shoe front to back, almost folding it in half. This is not what you are looking for in a boot, you need to twist the sole to feel the torsional stiffness. You need the boot to support and protect your feet. There are 26 bones in your feet, all held together by skin, muscle and sinew. If they have not been working hard before, they will be now. The higher up the mountain you climb, then the stiffer the boot you should have as you need more support. In the winter where you are expecting to meet snow and ice then you need a stiffer boot yet. You may need to attach a crampon or to kick steps in the snowy crust. So, a proper winter boot as such. Below the snow line you will still need a stiff boot to support your foot, just not quite so stiff.

If you think about a non-runner who went out for a 5 mile run; the next day they would feel pretty beaten up. Your feet are no different and if you are not a regular hill walker then you will need a measure of support for your feet, taking in the curvature and uneven nature of the trail. Your feet are doing stuff they do not normally do compared to walking on a tarred and metalled footpath. You should buy boots rather than shoes for uneven or rocky terrain as boots offer ankle support to stop you going over on your ankle, and will also stop your foot sliding forward and your toes bashing off the front of the boot. If you are getting black toenails then you need to look at your footwear choice and also check the fit.

Walking on lower-level paths, tracks and trails is very different and you can manage with a decent pair of trainers/walking shoes. Mountain trainers tend to be in darker colours than running shoes, they have a more rugged, more grippy sole and offer different levels of cushioning but they all do the same job. Some of the running footwear brands do offer a hill-ready option which will work well if you are a regular runner but you may need to build up your mileage in these if you are not.

So how do you choose and where should you look for appropriate footwear?

Head straight to your local outdoor shop but before you do, book an appointment for a boot fit. Expect to be there for about an hour so you can discuss your options, be measured up to find your size and try on the various options the boot fitter recommends. You should also budget for a decent pair of supportive insoles and a couple of pairs of good quality walking socks. Decent walking socks have different thicknesses in different parts of the sock to add cushioning where required and they are also sized so you can make sure to get a pair that actually fit your feet without too much excess material.

Some shops are better than others and some boot fitters are better than some others too, mostly it is down to experience. If you don’t feel that they are on your wavelength then go elsewhere. The boot-fitter will ask you where you are going, what your level of experience is and probably your budget too. When setting your budget do remember that your feet will be doing the work all day and an ill-fitting boot can literally cripple you! You can manage with a fleece or jacket where the fit is not quite right but not your feet. In terms of fit then it’s feet first, then your rucksack then your clothing!

Many of the independent stores in the Outdoor Trade specialise in boot fitting as it’s their big chance to offer something individual to their store. Of the multiples both Cotswold Outdoor and Ellis Brigham offer a good boot fitting service too. Ellis Brigham’s have instore scanners in all their  shops which will take a digital measure of your foot with length, width, volume and with a recommendation of an appropriate footbed too! This technology is still in it’s infancy but can only improve as more and more data is added to the systems. Cotswold Outdoor have the Volumental Scanner from Superfeet and whilst it is not in all stores yet they are planning to run it out to all stores in the future.

I’m a big fan of the Brannock Device which you will find in most good bootfitters. The Brannock Device gives both length and width. It’s a device that has been used for years and most boot fitters have plenty experience using it and at the same time looking at your foot for problems. They know what boots suit which feet and will bring out what they think suits your feet best.

BackcountryUK in Ilkley is a very good example of the bootfitters craft. Phil Evans the owner has invested heavily in both time and training and has a lot of really good information on his website which you should have a read through before you start your quest.

Another good place to start is from Altberg Boots list of premier stockists. Altberg Boots is a UK manufacturer of walking boots and shoes though not all of their products are UK made.

The other thing I would say are that your feet are individual to you. Just because someone else is wearing a pair of Alterg boots, or Scarpa trail shoes, or New Balance trainers doesn’t mean that’s the right choice for you. The best boots or shoes for you are the ones that fit you!

We hope that you have enjoyed what you have been reading, if so, we’d love you to subscribe. We will send you an email as each new post goes live and that’s it, no spam. We would like to build our subscriber numbers. If you can share this with your friends, then we would appreciate that too.