I finally bought a pair ☝️ back in November last year...after months of to-ing and fro-ing...and being very uncomfortable in all other walking shoes and boots.

You see, I'd been experimenting with barefoot(ish) type shoes.....o, you silly girl LOL Which consequently led to my feet hating any other shoe or boot which dared to go near my feet! So...I took the plunge!

And I have to say...why the frell didn't I do it earlier! LOL I was always scared my legs would fall off! Well, maybe not fall off...but you know that tearing sensation in your calf muscles when you wear flats...times that by 100...and I hate that feeling! However, I have persevered and...well...the boots are covered in mud!

They are very lightweight...however, they can easily handle mud, ice and heavy rain. Most of my previous walking boots/shoes would get slippery on certain surfaces when it was wet, but these cope really well...even in thick mud!

​I freakin' love the toe box....and so do my feet! No more toes hunching up on each other and toenails digging in...blood everywhere. None of that! My feet have never been so happy!

I still have pressure points on my feet which can be painful if my feet get hot...but so far, this has only happened (with these boots) when I wear the wrong socks for the weather...ie thick socks when it's warm! 🙃

​These boots have also held up in quite extreme weather...freezing cold & ice (wear thicker socks!), torrential rain (with only damp feet on arrival home), crazy slippery mud (dry feet and minimal sliding about). I'm looking forward to getting these into the warmer weather with some bamboo socks!

Something I did experience when I first put them on was a rubbing on the inside ankle (the sticky-out bit...which on my ankle sticks out quite a lot) bone left side. A slightly raised seam was the culprit. So, I padded it up whilst my feet got used to the boots....I would like to mention here that my feet don't like shoes, so they resist most footwear!
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Once my feet knew the boots were ok, the rubbing subsided. I also swapped out the original insole for my ones from my old boots which I was using to manage some foot pain. Those old insoles did not work well with the Altra boots...see the Altra boots are flexible...my old insoles were quite solid, so after a couple of months trying them together, I went back to the original insoles. They may seem flimsy, but here's the thing...these Altra boots are zero drop, close to barefoot, so the insole needs to be thin and flexible...and if your feet are strengthening by wearing these boot, then you won't need a fancy insole...your feet will be working as they were designed to! 

My suggestion is do a google search! You can get them on Amazon and sports-type sites...but shop around...these seem to be very trendy right now and the price has gone up...shop around and keep your eyes open for the bargains!

That's it for now
Take care my friends
Ramble On! 🏕

I know 2023 isn't done yet, but it's been a bit of a doozy...so time for a review...of things aplenty!
Getting back to regular walking is proving to be a challenge....heck knows why....we have the will, the kit, the time...it's kinda odd. Anyway, one of the reasons I was (personally) putting off the winter walks was footwear.

Back this Summer I began experimenting with barefoot footwear in an attempt to see if it made a difference to my walking experience and how...you see, my feet hate shoes...of any kind LOL And I think they always have. I sometimes (until trying barefoot shoes) felt like my feet were screaming at me to get out of the shoes I was wearing ROFL  Feet are soo funny!

So, yes, barefoot shoes...I was a bit wary at first, buying a £20 pair of barefoot/beach type Summer shoes...which were pretty good (minus the screaming calf muscles which indicated just a little tension in that area LOL), so I upped the ante a little and bought a £30 pair (you can really see my fear in this area...mainly to do with the prior mentioned screaming calf muscles (really NOT my favourite thing LOL), but also the fear of treading on something sharp...OUCH!).
Then....wooooaaah....last week I just went right ahead and bought a pair of Altra Lone Peaks....steady on there! More for the cold which has presented itself quite quickly, taking me by surprise.....really Ange? errr.....
So, I now have 3 pairs of bare foot/zero drop shoes/boots which allow for no  more putting off the daily walks...you would think hahahahaha

I do have to say though, these shoes are pretty amazing, even after just a few months of wearing them...I shall keep you updated!

That's about it for now...I do have some camping videos to organise and get on here...so keep 'em peeled!

Until then
Take care my friends
Ramble On! 🏕