Summit Walking Boots – Hotter Shoes (Review)

A few months ago I was sent a pair of Winter walking boots from Hotter Shoes. They knew how much we are an all weather family, and that my trainers were hugely inadequate for the task of chasing after a five year old boy in the squelching mud and golden sands of south Wales.

I'd love to be able to show you a decent photograph of the Summit walking boots before I started using them, but I was ever so slightly impatient to test them out.

When I went to a Hotter shoes event in the Summer, it was explained to me about the 'Hotter moment'; the moment when customers slip on a pair of Hotter shoes and feel like they are wearing their second skin. All of the brand's shoes I'd worn up to this point were incredibly comfortable and I thought that I'd had my moment, but not until I put on the Summit boots did I realise what true comfort was in a walking shoe.

I've owned various Caterpillar boots over the years, but they tend to be so stiff that they dig into my heels and I've even ended up with lumps on my Achilles tendon as a result. This is why I've tended to stick to trainers or wellies, and while wellington boots have a better grip that trainers in slipper conditions, they certainly aren't flexible enough for climbing and I normally end up with aching feet. Not to mention slightly sweaty as rubber shoes aren't known for being breathable.

Summit walking boots combine a 1¼ inch padded and cushioned heel (perfect for me as I suffer with plantar-fasciitus) with a GORE-TEX ® climate control upper, and a moisture wicking lining and removable insole. GORE-TEX ® is a material which is waterpoof (therefore perfect in wet conditions) and breathable (allowing sweat to pass out). For a woman who wore her Birkenstocks until the beginning of December due to hot feet, that's perfect; I couldn't ask for more in a shoe.

The soles have deep grips on them, and the laces are easy to loosen and tighten, making the boots easy to get off. I've had many boots in the past which have neededed to be almost completely unlaced in order to get them on and off. They really are like slippers.

I was expecting a need to break them in. After all, don't all new shoes need that?

Not so.

I can't get enough of them.

We're going to the beach? Yep, I'll just put my Hotter boots on. Nature reserve? "Mummy, want your Hotter boots?" They are the single most comfortable thing I can put on my feet at the moment, and if truth be told, I am dreading the Summer months when I know that I'll be wearing my sandals again.

Summit Boots are currently in the sale at Hotter, reduced from £115.00 to £99.00, and are available in sizes 3 to 9, in both standard and extra-wide fittings.

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I was sent these boots for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.