Hawkins Leather Boots

Author: George Tod

Evaluation



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Life

At least a thousand miles of walking over rough terrain.

Cost

Approximately £35 in 1991

Comfort

I bought these boots for my first long distance walk - The Pennine Way in 1991. Unfortunately, they were thrown away some years ago, so I am not able to show any photographs of wear and tear. They were of a conventional design and were reasonably comfortable once thay had been broken in, although I suffered badly from rubbing against my ankle bone in the early stages. I do not blame this entirely on the boots, as I was walking 'on the double' during training, which caused far more problems than if I had just been walking normally. I did also suffer somewhat with aching feet on the Pennine Way, but this was my first long distance walk and my feet were not as well conditioned to the rigours of this sort of walking.

Water Resistance

These boots were reasonably waterproof, but not particularly good in prolonged wet conditions. However, being of conventional construction, they were not too difficult to dry when they did get wet. There were some problems with stitching coming adrift in the latter stages and this seriously detracted from there water resistance, even when the stitching was repaired.

Wear

I did not keep a record of how many miles these boots did, but a rough calculation shows that it must have been at least a thousand miles. At this stage they were suffering from a number of things - worn out soles, worn out stitching and finally cracks in the leather where the uppers joined the soles near the ball of the foot, where most of the flexing takes place.

Good Points

Bad Points

General Assessment

Traditional boots which gave good reliable service over many miles and were, therefore, good value for money.


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