A suitable winter boot

[MikkelM]

I am on the search for a winter boot on a 200 gbp budget.

Due to the danish climate which gurantees snow and salt on the streets in the winter I prefer a rubber sole.

I am searching for a combination of good looks and functionality, that will allow me to take both a walk in the country side and use them for casual meetings in town

Right now I have a keen eye on;

- Herring Keswick http://www.herringshoes.co.uk/product-info.php?&brandid=6&shoeid=3010 - Likely made by loake

or

- Herring Cork http://www.herringshoes.co.uk/product-info.php?&brandid=6&shoeid=5203 - haven't been able to find info on them

Comments or suggestions are most welcome

 

[Cant kill da Rooster]

The second one seems to be a much better choice. Also I have read that those dainite soles on the first have poor traction on ice and the commando sole is much better. I was going to have a commando sole glued onto my boots.

 

[MyOtherLife]

Of the rwo choices presented, I much prefer the Keswick for its pebble grain. If you can find something like this with a Commando or even Lug sole, that would be my choice. I do agree with the Rooster that a Commando sole serves for better grip, especially in icy conditions.
Welcome to Styleforum, MikkelM.

 

[MikkelM]

Thank you so much, for the feedback.

I've also been told that the commando soles are more suiatble for icy conditions, how ever I've also read that the danite soles are actually better for snowy conditions - seing the snow gets stuck in the commando sole, making it slippery.

Tbh I prefer the less rugged look of the danite sole. However I would actually prefer the Ridgeway sole, but I haven't been able to find any boots with these.

And if am going for the rugged look, I might consider the Hoggs Rannoch boot http://www.countrysupplies.com/item.asp?i=6009

Searching I also found these - anyone knows more about this model? Who is the manufacturer?
? http://www.ctshirts.co.uk/men's-sho...bber-sole?q=gbpdefault||MB064BRN|||||||||||||
Very similiar to the Herring Keswick it seems?

 

[CTBrummie]

The Rannoch would be ideal for poor weather - it's made by Cheaney, who also do higher-quality boots of a similar construction and look.

If you're going for the rugged look, the Cheaney 'Fiennes' boot would be a show-stopper for winter:

 

[Ivar]



I am on the search for a winter boot on a 200 gbp budget.

Due to the danish climate which gurantees snow and salt on the streets in the winter I prefer a rubber sole.

I am searching for a combination of good looks and functionality, that will allow me to take both a walk in the country side and use them for casual meetings in town

Right now I have a keen eye on;

- Herring Keswick http://www.herringshoes.co.uk/product-info.php?&brandid=6&shoeid=3010 - Likely made by loake

or 

- Herring Cork http://www.herringshoes.co.uk/product-info.php?&brandid=6&shoeid=5203 - haven't been able to find info on them

Comments or suggestions are most welcome 

You'll have to define what you mean by "casual meetings". While I dig commando soles, I don't see them working with any other suiting than tweed and heavy flannel. Dainite soles are more versatile.

 

[House]

The Rannoch would be ideal for poor weather - it's made by Cheaney, who also do higher-quality boots of a similar construction and look.

If you're going for the rugged look, the Cheaney 'Fiennes' boot would be a show-stopper for winter:

Those are hiking boots. Find a side zip boot. Get a more elegant looking rubber sole like this

http://www.cheaney.co.uk/country-leisure/107/godfrey-d-chelsea-boot-in-black-calf

Those commando and dainite soles look like something some country bumpkin would wear on his clodhoppers.

 

[tim_horton]



I am on the search for a winter boot on a 200 gbp budget.
Due to the danish climate which gurantees snow and salt on the streets in the winter I prefer a rubber sole.
I am searching for a combination of good looks and functionality, that will allow me to take both a walk in the country side and use them for casual meetings in town
Right now I have a keen eye on;
- Herring Keswick http://www.herringshoes.co.uk/product-info.php?&brandid=6&shoeid=3010 - Likely made by loake
or 
- Herring Cork http://www.herringshoes.co.uk/product-info.php?&brandid=6&shoeid=5203 - haven't been able to find info on them
Comments or suggestions are most welcome 

The boots you listed are fine or hiking and casual wear but I wouldn't use them for business.

Those are hiking boots. Find a side zip boot. Get a more elegant looking rubber sole like this
http://www.cheaney.co.uk/country-leisure/107/godfrey-d-chelsea-boot-in-black-calf
Those commando and dainite soles look like something some country bumpkin would wear on his clodhoppers.

This on the other hand would fit the bill for a business boot.

 

[Geezer]

Hang on a second, lads.

The OP lives in Denmark. He presumably knows what his business associates wear to "casual meeetings" in his country. Denmark is not known for having the same sartorial sensibilties as Mayfair or midtown Manhattan. And it has much worse weather.

The boots posted here are not "hiking boots". They may have been hiking boots in the 1930s, but modern hiking boots do not look like that and are all nylon, goretex and D-rings. In an era when business casual as popularly interpreted includes tennis shoes, they are entiirely appropriate. I rarely wear business casual, but I'd not object to those being worn in that environment. Indeed I may even check the Cheaney's out as quite interesting for off-duty winter wear.

Finally, forget the idea that Commando rubber is much better on ice than Dainite. Nothing is good on ice. Last time we had bad ice, I went out in a pair of Altberg military winter combat boots, the sort our chaps use in Norway on arctic exercises, and promptly ended up flat on my back despite their heavily lugged rubber soles. Nothing has traction on sheet ice unless it has sharp metal spikes poking out of the sole.

 

[gsugsu]

Geezer is correct. It is not just the profile of the sole but also the formulation of the rubber. Think winter/snow tires. They have a different tread but the key to their success is a softer rubber compound that doesn't harden as much in the cold and is better on ice. Lugged soles still fare poorly on ice because the rubber still isn't soft enough to grip the ice. Soft rubber crepe soles grip ice. Hobnails or carbide tips grip ice.

Maybe I will just wear broomball shoes to the office

 

[ysc]

I have had a pair of the Herring Keswick for 3 or 4 years and frequently wear them to the office with jeans and a tweed jacket in bad weather. I treated them with water-proofing wax when I first bought them and have used them in snow and rain generally abused the hell out of them and they are still going strong. I have even done a bit of light hiking in them in quite muddy terrain and with the waterproofing and a good clean afterwards they have been fine. Good boots. The grip is substantially better than leather on snow and ice, but it is by no means perfect.

We don't get quite as much snow or ice in the UK as you do in Denmark, and when we had a really bad winter a couple of years ago with a foot or so of snow on the street for a few days I wore proper outdoors boots and changed when I got where I was going, but I basically use mine as you describe. Not tried the others, but the Keswicks would not be a bad choice.

 

[cold war painter]



Searching I also found these - anyone knows more about this model? Who is the manufacturer?

? http://www.ctshirts.co.uk/men's-sho...bber-sole?q=gbpdefault||MB064BRN|||||||||||||
Very similiar to the Herring Keswick it seems?

For this sort of country walking boot I like the C&J Coniston, just to throw another option in there.

Those commando and dainite soles look like something some country bumpkin would wear on his clodhoppers.

I agree that the commando soles tend to look casual (military/agricultural/whatever) but I'm with Ivar on the dainite soles - they can be very low profile and almost undiscernable from a double leather sole.

 

[yywwyy]

Try A Fine Pair of Shoes' AS Exclusives.

 

[MikkelM]

Thank you all for a lot of valid points and good input.

I am dismissing the commando sole as an option seeing it is a bit to rugged for the purpose.
So aiming for a something with a danite or hopefully Ridgeway sole.

Unfortunately no one came really came entries within the admittedly tight budget.
And no one seems to have experience with the Charles Tyrwhitt Conker brown Lindale military boot.
So the Keswick is the best option atm.

Unfortunately Herring just confirmed to me that the fit is the same as the Loake Chester which fits my foot terribly
It isn't ideal but maybe sizing up and using a thick woolen sock will make the difference.

 

[Cant kill da Rooster]

I checked with a cobbler for putting commando soles on a pair of Wolverines. I wasn't aware they take the heel right off to do this. Is there another option? Dainite seems fine for dress shoes but for boots, I would rather go with something a bit more rugged.