THE TGOC+ GEAR REVIEW - Footwear

GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR
GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR
LOADS OF GEAR 
WONDERFUL GEAR   ....... ETC ETC

Whilst I am writing this up, I include another piece of music.
This time more BLUES from Buddy Guy.

Maybe this should be a TGOC Anthem

Buddy Guy - 74 Years Young

I say the gear review.
Well some of it.
 I am NOT going to list kit here, just comment on kit that functioned WELL, or BADLY.

Actually, just some of it.
I am going to release these in smaller posts for different types of gear.
Assuming I actually get round to it.

So, let's start with

FOOTWEAR

SHOES - ROCLITE 318 GTX

These are the Gortex lined ones. here are 2 schools of thought on shoes.
Many subscribe to the NON GTX ones.
They get wetter, but dry quicker.
However, having worn a pair of Terrox 330's in the Peaks, where my feet had got both WET and COLD, I decided to go with the GTX.
It's a personal thing, and they work for me.

The problem with shoe reviews, is that like socks, they are very personal.
No two people have the same shape feet, so really it is down to you.

I started this year with a pair of Roclites I was going to wear he same pair as last year, but when I looked, the soles where quite worn down, and I realised that there would NOT be enough grip.
They had done OK last year.
Better than my Terrocs that I wore in 2011, and that fell to bits.

Luckily, I had a NEW pair of Roclites that I picked up cheap.

I was going to go for some Raptors but I could not find a pair to try on, and I knew that the Roclites would

a. Fit
b. Be comfortable
c. Not give me blisters So, subjective stuff

SO, How did they do?

GRIP
Good grip on all surfaces, inc slippery rocks.
Had no major stumbles at all

COMFORT
They work well for me, and MY FEET.
That is all I can say.
After a day pounding roads my feet were sore, but nowhere near as bad as they used to be in boots.
On rocky LRT they do tend to feel the odd rocks, far more so than boots, but they are shoes, and I thought they did pretty well compared to trainers.

WATERPROOF?
To be honest, they are normally not bad.
They are shoes, so they can be breached.
Also, they are NOT leather, so if the whole shoe is in water must of the time, the membrane succumbs.
They have a membrane, so they will not dry as fast as NON GTX ones.
But, you know all that.
Gortex or NOT.
It's a personal choice and at this time of year, for longer hikes I prefer GTX.
In the summer, they would make your feet far too hot.

DURABILITY
And herein as far as I can see for all the Innov8's that I have used,
which admittedly is only Roclites and Terrocs.

They just don't last.

Either the rubber splits on the toe, or the sole wears away far too rapidly, or
and this is the major major problem with them
The stitching on the heel cup falls apart, thus causing a rough patch where the top of your heel and ankle meet, and being a pending blister waiting to happen.
This has happened on every pair I have ever had and used on a 2 week multi day hike.

Will I buy another pair?
Unlikely if I can find a better pair of shoes that tick all the other boxes for me.

Will I use Roclites on my next one?
Depends very much on weather the replacement pair I got for these are any better.

AND ON A PLUS NOTE

I cannot fault www.Sportsshoes.com who accepted the fault
and replaced them with NO QUIBBLE.
So I do still have a NEW pair of the same Roclites.

Now compare this to the very old pair of Reebok Trail running shoes (also Gortex) that I have had for nearly 2 years.
Run probably well over 1800 miles in, and whose heel cup is still in one piece.
OK, they are well and truly buggered now, but I can still use them.

YES! They are Green OK!

They look a bit tatty now though, 18 months later

But the heel cup stitching is still completely intact.

And IF Reebok still made these, I would get another pair tomorrow.
Sadly they don't.
BUT INNOV8 please note the build quality and duration.

SOCKS - X-SOCKS TREKKING

A new pair of the trekking socks.
My old pair lasted 2½ years before the holes appeared.
They might have lasted longer had I not cooked them at Luib Chonnal

I have used these for 3 Challenges with Shoes, along with a lot of other trips.
They are in my mind THE DOGS,  and my go to socks.

If you had my feet, they would most definitely be the ones to buy.

They last well.
They are very comfortable.
There are a whole variety of mixes and combination available within the range.
I take 3 pairs, BUT I only needed 2, and for 1 pair it was their 3rd year.
So as far as I am concerned they are very durable

(unless you leave them for too long on a hot stove at Luib Chonnal Bothy)

They also dry very quickly.

They may not suit you.
But they are probably worth a serious look.

There are different formats of the socks. X-SOCKS
On the TGOC I used the trekking as above

I got mine from Specialist Socks, although recently I also used Amazon

I have also used the Light version and the Silver version recently in Dartmoor.

These are the Trekking Silver after quite a bit of use

ALL for ME (NOTE again, that, they may not suit you at all), bloody excellent.

WATERPROOF SOCKS

I have in the past used Sealskinz, although I have used them as camp socks where they work ok, I have never found them to be waterproof in a crisis.
So, this time I took some Gore Bike socks that I got a few years back, and I have always found to be waterproof

They easily fit over normal socks, unless you are already wearing double layered fluffy socks.

The downside, lies in the internal seam, which is quite hard, and for me caused rubbing on my middle toe.
Although only on one foot, so, it may just be the anatomy of my feet that causes this.

However, although I would definitely NOT want to wear them all day, I am happy to wear them for the odd stretch of very wet ground.



So, that is it.
Coming NEXT will be Waterproofs.