If you’re regular readers of this blog you will know just how much I love my Karrimor KSB Boots. I’ve had two pairs over the past decade and they have done really well, taking me up to almost 6000m in Nepal as well as half-way around the world. These are one of the company’s lightest and cheapest boots out there. But Karrimor also has a huge range of other mountaineering boots and shoes and I thought I’d just give a quick over-view of some of them.
But first I’d like to give a few general observations about Karrimor boots and shoes. These are not the highest quality or most expensive boots out there. If you want really fancy Italian leather then you should look at something else. The KSBs in particular are made of fabric with a waterproof liner. These will never be as good nor will they last as long as top quality leather mountaineering boots.
They are cheap though. In fact they are about half the price of other boots on the market. And despite this I still think that they are well made. Mine have lasted well, they are also light, easy to clean and if they get damaged or destroyed I won’t be crying into my mug of tea.
If you are looking for something really simple like an approach shoe or even just a daily sort of trainer (not a running shoe though) you might want to look at their walking trainer. You can get them cheaply enough on Amazon (about £20 a pair), they look decent enough and have the bells and whistles that you need (such as reflective striping so a car might see you). It is hard to think of anything that will give you better value than these. One complaint that some people have is that the last (in other words the shape of the shoe) is quite narrow. I guess that’s just the typical British foot. Anyhow, there are loads of reviews on Amazon.co.uk if you want to read more. Not all of them are positive but most are. And these cost about 1/3 of the price I paid for my Merrell approach shoes.
If you want something with a bit more bite to its tread and a slightly higher cuff then there is the Bodmin low shoe. They are waterproof, have all the usual bits that you would expect in a shoe and cost about £30 online. Not much more to say other than that for about the same price you can also get the Bodmin boot. I’ve never tried these so can’t speak from first-hand experience but would probably be happy to try them given the price and also the positive reviews on Amazon.
A couple of rungs up the ladder is the KSB Orkney boot. Now this hiking boot is something that I’ve owned (though gave to my brother in law as I hadn’t used them much and he needed a pair).
They are made of lovely leather with very few seams. They’ve got proper Vibram soles for good grip (if you don’t know Vibram it is the standard in boot soles) and it used eVent waterproofing under the leather so you can be pretty sure of having dry feet. These are not a substitute for something like a LaSportiva Scarpa for serious mountaineering (you couldn’t get a stiff crampon to stay on them) but for just about everything else they seem to do the job and don’t weigh a ton.
