Category Image Dummy - Compeed

Upon receipt and inspection of the boots for the first time you just know that they (the boots) are going to be your feet's best friends and "support" them through some very tough terrain (and for a very long time). Aesthetically they look great - well balanced between looking rugged (built like a tank), while still being pleasing to the eye.

The various brands associated with the boot also provide a sense of security - Vibram, Gore-Tex, Merrell - the question was, do each of these features live up to their name when it comes to performance? Well, we realised very quickly that looking at and admiring the boots is not going to achieve anything, coming from the old school of having to "break-in" boots we decided to get some "time on our feet" to become accustomed to our feet's newest best friends.

Our first outing left us well impressed (yet a little concerned on my part) - Covering a modest 24km in wet and boggy conditions with a fair few up's and down's around Guildford these boots seemed to laugh their way around the specified course. With these boots being light you don't feel any pressure in your knees (if you own a pair of Winter B2/3 graded crampon boots you'll know what I mean!), also, with the sole being slightly stiffened you feel little to none of what can commonly be known as "Stud Pressure" (basically rocks, pebbles and tree roots bruising the undercarriage of your feet over longer distances and sustained tougher terrain. While the conditions were wet our boots managed to stay dry and our feet, although kept warm, did not sweat - thank God for Gore-Tex. My one, and only, concern was the amount of pressure I was experiencing just above my ankles on both legs, by the end of the walk I was in excruciating pain and literally bruised to the bone - I did think this most bizarre and, as Michelle experienced no pain whatsoever I thought that I must be genetically flawed.

We continued to walk 2-3 times per week covering anywhere from 10km - 20km's at a time, me hoping that these boots would eventually "break-in" around/above my ankle before they broke bone (the outward facing part above each ankle). Unfortunately, this just got progressively worse and the pain continued to intensify to the point that I was wincing after almost every step! Well, my wife, being the brains of the family, noticed that the pain above my ankles was getting "PROGRESSIVELY" worse which meant one of two things - 1) either I was changing in my molecular structure around my feet or 2) something within the shoe was collapsing. Checking my feet, they still looked the same so we thought it prudent to, before spending obscene amounts of money on a Podiatrist, check the insole of the boot... This, in my opinion, is the only "Chink in the Armour" of the Merrell Outbound Mid GTX, the insole is that rubbish EVA type which, in particular with heavier humans, seems to progressively collapse with time thus leaving your foot "deeper" in the boot/footbed and therefore leaving the area above your (my) ankle exposed to the rigid rim of the boot. We swiftly changed the insole for a pair of Sorbothane (non-collapsible) insoles and went for a 1km walk - I almost cried with relief, it felt like I was wearing a different pair of boots. My only concern was that we figured this out 3 days before heading out to Kathmandu and I was not overly convinced that we had solved the mystery of my ridiculous amounts of pain so quickly and easily (I also felt an idiot for putting myself through about 150km of unnecessary childbirth pain around my ankles).

Unfortunately this is not a review of the trek to Everest Base Camp (which, by the way, was the most enjoyable and fantastic experience of both mime and my wife's lives to date (April 2010) - in particular doing the Gokyo Route) however we went above 17500 feet 4 times, walked through Glaciers (plural), Snow Fields (plural), Scrambled rocks, crossed River Beds and basically had all our dreams come true by not only observing Sagarmatha/Chomolungma (Mt Everest) but by also having the opportunity to (rather cheekily) hop onto the Khumbu Icefall!

In summary we covered, in total, approximately 175km over 17 days of walking/trekking through some of the most stupendous scenery and rugged terrain and these boots were quite simply superb in every way (except for those ridiculous/cheap insoles for fatties like me).

These boots are highly recommended for all types of hiking, not only the Himalayas - we use these almost every weekend and have walked everywhere with them since (covering Snowdonia, Ben Nevis and surrounding area as well as the Lake district) and they still look new!