ECCO BIOM TERRAIN II (A First Outing Review)

I had been told that these where good for wider feet, and my old divers boots were NOT going to happen, so I really needed some NEW boots for the Monadhliath Trip.
Thanks to Emma at ECCO who got me a pair in time to go, I took off in the
Brand NEW ECCO BIOM Terrain II's to head to Newtonmore and then a small walk round to Aviemore.

Not a huge trip, but certainly enough to give them a good work over.

The BIOM Terrain II's are made from Yak Leather with a Gortex Liner
a reinforced toecap and hard wearing Kevlar Rand.
They are designed after research on bio mechanical foot movement, and the intention is for both functionality and comfort.



Ecco Technical Info

• Rugged, lace-up Boots, featuring ECCO's Biom technology, for natural motion walking and hiking
• Uppers of Yak leather are at least three times stronger than standard cow hide
• Gore-tex® lining is breathable and guaranteed to keep your feet dry, even during extended wear
• Biom technology and low-to-the-ground construction delivers a natual motion experience and full-length foot support
• Full length foot support created using an anatomically-designed last shape, based on 2,500 different foot scans, for optimum fit
• Direct-injected, Polyurethane (PU) midsole is lightweight and flexible
• Rubber sole provides great traction, grip and is hard-wearing

WHERE THEY WENT

SO HOW DID THEY DO?

Straight from the box they were comfortable, and I was going to wear them on a 3 day hike without any bedding in.

The inner does feel a bit soft, but in fairness to testing, I decided to go with it and see how it got on, rather than swapping for my usual Green Or Blue Superfeet inner







I wore them on them train on the way up, and then with pack (30lb) on the short walk from Kingussie to Newtonmore.
They were comfortable and do not feel heavy despite being a size 46 EU to fit my big feet.

Which brings me to sizes.

I am a UK 11 which is an EU 45.5

ECCO do not do a real UK 11 and this means that they are ½ an EU size over (shame)

They fitted OK though, but I had to wear a pair of liner socks and then my fluffy Brigdale socks, whereas I normally just wear the one pair of socks.
Still the liner socks help with keeping the foot drier, and stop sock rubbing so all is good there.
Still be nice to get a REAL UK 11 though.
Especially as I have 1 foot ½ a size bigger, so My Right Boot is really an EU size too big.

The next day we headed into the hills.
The weather was errrr. Scottish, so we had Wind, Rain, bog and snow underfoot, as well as heather bashing, Land Rover Track rubble etc etc etc.

I did have to fiddle a bit with the laces to get them right, but after that they worked well, in all conditions and in all terrain, both Up and down hill.
For me they were comfortable.
They feel light on the feet for boots (OK, MID's), and although I still prefer shoes, if I have to wear boots, then these will do for me.

A few shots of them follow

Heading out at the start








On Top Of Fhreiceadain






Along the Dulnain

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As well as comfort, they remained waterproof throughout.
The tops do look like they are wetting through when they get into water, but none of this gets into the inner.

There was a bit of moisture on the inside at the end of the day, but this was just sweat heat from socks, and only really affected the tip of the inner, that felt very very slightly damp. Going to happen in all Gortex lined boots.

At this stage, I cannot really do a long term test but there is no sign of wear anywhere.
Need another 6 months to see what happens there

SO, in conclusion (at this point)

• GOOD PURCHASE, glad I got them (especially if you have broad feet)
• Comfort - very comfortable straight from the box
  Good on all Terrains, didn't feel rocks on LRT's and good all round grip
• Lacing System - I thought this worked well, better than hoops.
  I had no issue with the laces slipping either.
• Inners - Worked fine but I need a bit more heel cup support due to ½ size EU too big (I will go to my Superfeet Green from now on)
  Also, the superfeet do not hold any moisture from sweat at all.
• Waterproof  -  Appear to be
• Size - Good for me, BUT would have really liked a 45.5 proper UK 11
• Style and Design - I like them (some will not like the Green, but I think it is good)
• Price - You can get cheaper boots, but in some respects you get what you pay for.

You can read the TGO review of them HERE

Now I am rather looking forward to testing the ECCO BIOM ULTRA Gortex GTX shoes.