Day 129 - Walked One Mile...

...in my own shoes

Now we have a new camera on the way, I need to lower the bar considerably, in order to give the illusion of greater improvement.  This will justify our purchase, and prove that we were absolutely right to spend all that cash on something we really don't need at all...

So here we are with today's exciting, substandard photo - a pair of approach shoes!

Ooooh, I hear you, erm, ooh...

They are actually noteworthy for a couple of reasons...

Firstly, it's taken over a month to get hold of them.  The first delivery attempts went so horribly, repeatedly wrong, that I can't even bring myself to talk about it...suffice to say, the bottom line is, they arrived today, at long last!

Secondly, they were only £17...down from a (presumably artificially high) recommended retail price of about £50!   A veritable bargain, I'm sure you'll agree.

I bought a pair of these (in a slightly different colour) two years ago, and a half size larger. 

As mentioned earlier, I use them as approach shoes.  This is a category of shoe that I think is specific to climbers.  They're walking shoes, used to walk and scramble up to the crag before climbing.   

Lightweight and grippy, they can easily be carried up a climb, and are comfortable and effective to scramble and even climb in.

I'm not sure if anything differentiates a lightweight walking shoe from an approach shoe, other than the way it's marketed.  As it happens, these aren't marketed as approach shoes, yet that's what I use them for...go figure!

Anyway, the point is, since buying a pair for £15 two years ago, they've accompanied me on all of my climbing adventures. 

They've been all over the Peak District...carried me from Snowdonia in North Wales to Pembrokeshire in South Wales...tramped through la Forêt de Trois Pignons en Fontainebleau, to Orihuela en la Costa Blanca with me...

I've driven thousands of miles wearing them...I've even worn them to work a few times!

I've found them really comfortable, light and easy to wear, grippy on rock, nice to drive in...all in all I've been really happy with them, even though they're a fairly basic outdoor shoe.

Lately, though, they've started to feel a little loose and baggy, especially walking downhill...which I seem to do quite a lot.

So I've gone mad and bought myself a new pair, a half size smaller for a snugger fit.  

(snugger - there's a word you don't hear every day!)

Also, look closely...they have red bits!

B-)