Karrimor Orkney lll Weathertite Walking Boots

With a summer of walking and backpacking ahead of me, followed by my first semester at university jammed packed with field trips, a new pair of walking boots was an expense I couldn't avoid. After my last pair suffered a almost bloody nail puncture last Autumn I have since been constrained to a somewhat uncomfortable pair of wellingtons.

Having done quite a bit of searching, for both quality and price I came across these ladies walking boots from Karrimor. These are the first piece of outdoor kit that I have had from Karrimor, and needless to say I am not disappointed so far. Retailing at £60.00 from Amazon.co.uk, they arrived quickly and I opened the box with too much excitement than should be deemed acceptable.

My first impression was that these boots were pretty beautiful, I believe it was last summer I did the review on my last pair of boots I brought (See post here), despite being outdoorsy and more than happy to be getting soaked with rain and covered in mud, I still want to look good doing it. Which I find a pretty difficult balance to achieve, but I'm not one to shy away from a challenge. Anyway, back on track, these were some pretty good looking boots, with some of the material being a pretty durable American Full Grain Leather. It took me a staggering 30 seconds before I managed to tweet a 'before' picture of them!

Another thing that I noticed was the sheer amount of laces, or more the surface area that the laces cover. Unlike other boots I have owned, the laces of the Orkney boots reach much closer to the toes, allowing for added support when walking. Something that you can really tell when you're in them!

I haven't taken these on a long trip yet, but with a few short walks on varying terrain, I am already pretty chuffed with this purchase! With boots that feel slightly big on me (I know that sounds weird, and on the photo they don't look abnormally proportionate to my legs, but when I put them on I'm at least a few inches taller!) they are surprisingly light, weighing around 670g, a very good quality on long walks, where the weight of your boots really shouldn't be added to the strain on your legs.

The material around the top of the ankle is currently a bit uncomfortable, but I am sure that once the leather softens with use that this will no longer be a problem. But of course if I do find any issues as I go, I will update this post at the bottom!