How to choose the Ideal Welly
We've had a lot of questions on this topic so with five minutes of spare time in the peak shopping season I thought I'd put pen to paper (well hammer out with my two finger typing on the keyboard) in order to share some of our general advice to you. It's also a handy reference if you're buying a gift for a loved one this Christmas.
Many people had their first experience of the wellington, welly, gumboot or rain boot as a child and remember them as cold items that you need to wear two pairs of socks with in order to make them bearable,
I'm happy to report that since we've been able to put humans on the moon, the technology in the humble boot has also improved leaps and bounds and with that comes a lot of options.
Many others have wellingtons such as PVC Fashion Wellies and want to move on up to what we describe as more 'serious' wellies; those used more often than once a week.
Wellies such as these and even the classic Hunter Originals have a very basic tread pattern so are not ideal for long walks as many of you have found. Hunter and other manufacturers have other boots in their range which are great but there are lots of other options which I'll try to outline below:
Firstly, three important options/ points for consideration
Lining - If you are looking to walk in Winter as well as Summer it's worth considering a neoprene lined boot as this means your feet stay warm as well as dry. Some are suitable for use down to -20C so the rigours of everyday life in the UK or most of Europe should be no problem for these boots.
Sole - The key for a good boot to use for walking is the tread pattern. The patented Vibram sole is probably the best for walking so boots with this sole are great for even long walks. You'll forget you have them on. It depends how often you are wearing them whether it's worth the investment. If you are wearing them everyday for long walks however, it's a 'must'!
Calf Size - We are starting to see more wide calf wellies in our range. Please check out our Wide Calf Wellies page
Getting Them on and off - You can now purchase zipped boots for ease of removal. These tend to be on the high price side, so another option is one of our boot removers. They do the job as well and are a lot more cost effective.
If we look at soles... here's a few of our 'serious boot' suggestions
1. Le Chameau do the following with a Vibram sole:
2. In Hunter only the Sovereign has the Vibram sole and it's more expensive because of the zip. There are probably better value in other types.
3. The Aigle version of the Vibram sole (their own sole though) is on the Vario Outlast.
Now onto the lining with neoprene/non neoprene boot versions:
Probably the most popular of our 'serious' boots with other soles is the Aigle ISO boot
(non ISO boot link below):
In Hunter the Balmoral Neo is being taken up well. (there's a non Neoprene version of this too)
In Le Chameau the All Tracks Country (Neo and non neo) are comparable:
Ladies Versions (slimmer calf)
Unisex Versions
I hope that helps and if you have any questions, or have any feedback, please use the contact form below and we'll try to answer them within 1-12 hours. Please make sure you type the email address correctly!
Have a great day deciding on that perfect welly!
* Must be completed
