My ancient Fitzroy boots decided to die on the way up Helvellyn today. The sole of the boot parted company with the body of the boot and became a great flipper. I deemed it prudent to backtrack rather than carry on.
My most sincere apologies.
Anyone know if these Scarpa winter boots are still available as they are beyond economical repair ?
In reply to G6DDQ:
Better to loose ones sole and retain ones soul than the other way around.
Hopefully you where able to ‘console’ yourself in a local hostelry.
Regards Steve GW7AAV
Good luck with the re-boot.
In reply to G6DDQ:
Sorry to hear the bad news Myke - like old friends departing! I felt the same when my ancient Kletts (1971 vintage) died back in 2003. I suppose they didn’t owe me anything. Their replacements have not been up to scratch since I started getting more and more “off track” doing SOTA activations, so I will be buying some new boots in the course of the next week or so. Should have done this at the beginning of the winter season. Scarpa seem to be the business, but they are quite expensive. Also many outlets are now out of stock of the popular sizes, so maybe I should wait for the new season if I can’t find a bargain.
73, Gerald
P.S. Had a pair of Dachsteins at one stage which were fantastic boots, but the replacement souls detached themselves after being left damp in the car following a very wet Cheviot sortie. I should not have thrown them away, but had them re-souled properly. Wisdom in hindsight!
In reply to GW7AAV:
In reply to G6DDQ:
Better to loose ones sole and retain ones soul than the other way
around.
Hopefully you where able to ‘console’ yourself in a local hostelry.Regards Steve GW7AAV
Good luck with the re-boot.
…but was Myke the sole person up there and on his return did he con-sole himself in the local hostelry with Dover sole and chips whilst listening to a little background soul music?
On a serious note, good call Myke, the mountain will still be there for again.
73 Mike
In reply to GW0DSP:
In reply to GW7AAV:
In reply to G6DDQ:
did he
con-sole himself in the local hostelry with Dover sole and chips
whilst listening to a little background soul music?
Dover Sole Ah, problem they only had that synthetic lemon juice, not the same as the imitation synthetic lemon juice with pips and rind. So had to resort to that old favourite “HP Sauce”. Its just not the same though. Did think of asking the cook to fry the Vibram sole but thought he would not appreciate the humour. Mind you a good job I had that most vital piece of kit - SPARE BOOT LACES - they did bring some order to the descent.
Otis Redding; Booker T and the MG’s; Sam and Dave and that great South African soul lady - Sharon Tandy - great music, great tmes and not produced by a computer.
Not been a good weekend as the waterproof also gave up the ghost. Still 17 years service cannot be bad. Works out at £16.00 per year, chesap at the price. Its back to a proper waterproof material now, VENTILE. The old technology
In reply to G6DDQ:
HP Sauce? Since they closed the Birmingham factory and moved production to Holland I won’t touch the stuff, or any other over-priced product from Heinz!
Many years ago I had an identical boot failure on Moel Siabod, and that vital piece of kit saved me, too, funny how spare bootlaces never appear on the equipment lists!
Ventile - wow! Great stuff but I can’t afford it!
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to G8ADD:
funny how spare bootlaces never appear on the equipment lists!
Drummed into us when we did the MIC at Glemore Lodge. If your laces die then the problems are great indeed. If I remember correctly it was included in some of the early Langmuir leadership books and was certainly, informly, part of RAF MRT kits. I run the comparison of cycling without a spare chain link.
Ventile - wow! Great stuff but I can’t afford it!
Our local manufactuarer produces a great mountain jacket constructed from double ventile with all seams taped for not much more than a 3 layer Gortex jacket. OK so VENTILE is a little bit heavier, a bit more bulky but performs much better when it has to
I still use my VENTILE cycling jacket for cycle touring. But I need a new cycle. Looking at the Super Galaxy has a decent spec and a long wheel base
In reply to G8ADD:
Many years ago I had an identical boot failure on Moel Siabod, and
that vital piece of kit saved me, too, funny how spare bootlaces never
appear on the equipment lists!
First thing I was taught to have with me. SOTA activators could probably rig something out of antenna wire or coax, but a spare pair of laces is easier to carry.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
First thing I was taught to have with me. SOTA activators could
probably rig something out of antenna wire or coax, but a spare pair
of laces is easier to carry.
A small reel of Duck tape does a decent job on many things - I usually forget to pack it!
73, Gerald