I love my Zamberlans! Since 2008 they have cushioned, protected and remained faithful to me.
Goretex has ensured water proofness, Vibram soles helped me stick to mud, rock, gravel, snow and ice. The mostly one-piece leather upper meant at no time did they suffer tears or stitching coming apart at seams. But as you might remember last Camino, I was "the squeaky pilgrim".
In the darkness of every early morning, as I tried to politely creep away to hike, my soles squeaked across the tile floor of the Albergue, breaking the silence, rousing pilgrims from sleep. Solving the problem became a matter of stealing away in socks and putting my shoes on once outside. It worked at the time but I was looking forward to finding a permanent solution. Resoling my boots to be exact.
Back in the U.S. I contacted Zamberlan (Italy) and was referred to the only cobbler they authorize to repair/resole Zamberlans.
A look at the BEFORE pictures:
The day that Dave Page, the cobbler, called to let me know my newly soled and very much improved boots were on the way back to Colorado, I couldn't have been happier. I was so looking forward to putting them through their paces once more!
AFTER pictures:
Looking good right? :-)
And yes, they felt great too. I had new deluxe footbeds put in too and what a dream they were to hike in. Except for one thing...
Little did I know, but in order to pull off an old sole and replace it, the leather gets stretched a bit more under the boot during the re-gluing process, rendering the boot slightly smaller.
So, my perfectly fitting boots are now boots that will be fine for mild-moderate hiking up to 5 miles, but they not a good choice for long distance, day-in, day-out hiking up and down steep inclines. Once a toe can touch the front of the boot, it's all over. At best a minor distraction translates into a more annoying distraction with every mile. At worst, you'll be digging a shallow grave, roadside, for your favorite toe nail and limping to the finish line.
As you can imagine, the next logical move was researching brand new hiking boots and breaking them in. Today, I hike in month old La Sportiva boots. I purchased them a little bigger than the last pair because I'm a smarter, more experienced hiker than I was in 2008. No toe touches anything, even on the most brutal downhill jaunts. They are Goretex again, a little lighter than full leather, a little more breathable too.
Will they last 8 years like the Zamberlans? Unlikely. Between September 26th and November 3rd this year, they will carry me 550 miles though and with that in mind, I need to adjust expectations for their lifespan!
Goretex has ensured water proofness, Vibram soles helped me stick to mud, rock, gravel, snow and ice. The mostly one-piece leather upper meant at no time did they suffer tears or stitching coming apart at seams. But as you might remember last Camino, I was "the squeaky pilgrim".
In the darkness of every early morning, as I tried to politely creep away to hike, my soles squeaked across the tile floor of the Albergue, breaking the silence, rousing pilgrims from sleep. Solving the problem became a matter of stealing away in socks and putting my shoes on once outside. It worked at the time but I was looking forward to finding a permanent solution. Resoling my boots to be exact.
Back in the U.S. I contacted Zamberlan (Italy) and was referred to the only cobbler they authorize to repair/resole Zamberlans.
A look at the BEFORE pictures:
The day that Dave Page, the cobbler, called to let me know my newly soled and very much improved boots were on the way back to Colorado, I couldn't have been happier. I was so looking forward to putting them through their paces once more!
AFTER pictures:
Looking good right? :-)
And yes, they felt great too. I had new deluxe footbeds put in too and what a dream they were to hike in. Except for one thing...
Little did I know, but in order to pull off an old sole and replace it, the leather gets stretched a bit more under the boot during the re-gluing process, rendering the boot slightly smaller.
So, my perfectly fitting boots are now boots that will be fine for mild-moderate hiking up to 5 miles, but they not a good choice for long distance, day-in, day-out hiking up and down steep inclines. Once a toe can touch the front of the boot, it's all over. At best a minor distraction translates into a more annoying distraction with every mile. At worst, you'll be digging a shallow grave, roadside, for your favorite toe nail and limping to the finish line.
As you can imagine, the next logical move was researching brand new hiking boots and breaking them in. Today, I hike in month old La Sportiva boots. I purchased them a little bigger than the last pair because I'm a smarter, more experienced hiker than I was in 2008. No toe touches anything, even on the most brutal downhill jaunts. They are Goretex again, a little lighter than full leather, a little more breathable too.
Will they last 8 years like the Zamberlans? Unlikely. Between September 26th and November 3rd this year, they will carry me 550 miles though and with that in mind, I need to adjust expectations for their lifespan!
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