Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorich

Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorich

Saturday 18 May 2019

Saturday 18 May - new trail shoes

On this wet morning thoughts turned to my Achilles problem and I starting thinking about footwear. For about 10 years now I've used Keen Targhee II mids and found them excellent in all but winter conditions for which they were not designed. However, there is no doubt that the cuff on the left boot of my newest pair is tapping away at my tendon as I walk and making it worse.

So, I went in search of footwear that might be kinder to my tendon and maybe allow some healing to take place without me actually stopping walking for a while, a prospect that fills me with horror. The Dutch owner of the shop in Killin, The Outdoor Centre, was extremely helpful and I bought a pair of Merrell MQM Flex GTX, which feel as light as a pair of non Gore-tex shoes. I've always liked Merrell and these new ones were comfortable around Killin in the rain. I'll try them properly tomorrow on a low level route, in the wet if the forecast is right. I recommend The Outdoor Centre. Not in any way pushy but very helpful and knowledgeable. I'll go back.

4 comments:

AlanR said...

They look good. I did the challenge in Merrill and found them excellent straight out of the box. I look forward to see what you think later.

afootinthehills said...

Fingers crossed Alan. I think they’ll turn out to be a good choice and I can’t imagine them making my tendon any worse. I’ll let you know.

Sir Hugh said...

I reckon you should colour coordinate with the rest of you apparel.

afootinthehills said...

Thanks for the helpful and potentially expensive suggestion Conrad.They are a bit on the bright side, but I don’t imagine they’ll stay that way for long which will save me a few pounds on the colour coordination front.