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I’m not sure why, but picking out a pair of boots for my trip seems like an all consuming quest. I realize I am a bit prone to being a gear collector but seriously, a good pair of boots could make or break the trip. Plus, I do need to break them in and ideally use them for as much of my pre-trip training as possible. If I’m going to hike from Myra Canyon to Naramata, I better have some comfortable boots or it will be blister city.

What not to wear!

(I just had a thought. Since I really like shoes in general, this may be one of the reasons why this particular piece of gear is consuming me)

I’ve done quite a bit of research online to see what other people wear on the trip to Kilimanjaro. While there was certainly a lot of different options, I got it narrowed down to about three choices. The Scarpa Kailaish, the Keen Oregon PCT and the Salomon 4D Quest.

I used three main criteria for my choices.

1. I wanted a higher boot to support my ankles. Although I don’t have weak ankles, I don’t want to end up rolling over on a rock and not being able to complete the trip.
2. I wanted a boot with some kind of waterproofing or water resistance. It sounds like the likelihood of rain is pretty high and it would be nice not to get wet feet. That means the boot must have either a GoreTex or similar lining.
3. I wanted a fairly light boot. One of the huge pluses on this trip is that we won’t be carrying all of our own gear. All that I will be carrying is a daypack with just the essentials between camps. The rest of the gear is carried by porters who are hired by the guide. So I don’t need a technical backpacking boot. More of a day hiking style.

So after my online research I started checking out my local outdoors stores. Checked out three in Revelstoke but they didn’t have anything in stock. So I visited my local Kelowna Valhalla Pure store to check out what they had. Of course once I got into the store, I realized that there were other options I hadn’t even considered. Mostly of the clearance, sale rack variety but unfortunately they had nothing in my size to try on. Quite frustrating actually.

So back in Revelstoke I stopped in at Universal Footwear. Malcolm and Deb have got to be the most knowledgeable shoe people I’ve ever met. For a small town store they provide exceptional service and better pricing that I’ve found anywhere. If you are ever in the Revelstoke area, you definitely need to stop in to their store. You won’t be disappointed.

Unfortunately, they did not have any of the boots I was looking for, but they did carry the Scarpa Bhutan. I discovered to my surprise that this particular bootis almost identical to the Kailaish (my first choice) except that it was full grain leather instead of  suede and synthetic. Malcolm told me the only reason they don’t carry the Kailaish is because the Bhutan is more of a man’s boot. (They actually do carry the women’s Kailaish) I tried them on and it was love at first step. What a great fit and feel. So comfortable. The price is really good too. They are only $20 more than the Kailaish and actually $20 less than anywhere else that I saw the Bhutan.

I didn’t buy them yet, but Malcolm assured me that they would always have them in stock for when I wanted them. So psyched!

Since Universal also carries the Keen line, I did ask about the Oregon PCT. They told me they didn’t carry them because of their construction. Too many seams in their opinion did not make a good hiking boot. Too many places to wear out.

I told you they were knowledgeable.

So my boots should be my first major purchase in preparation for my training. As always if you have any ideas or suggestions that I should check out, please leave them in the comment box below.