greetings poppickers, having perused the Inov8 thread in 'Soapbox' i have a dilema i didn't think i'd have...

my sister-in-law and two of her friends would like to walk the 'post-rowardenan' length of the WHW (camping, rather than B&B) in January, my wife and i, both experienced hill-wakers and winter campers will be going with them.

they've asked me to help kit them out (they've been camping before but don't have winter walking or winter camping kit) but to do so that while safe, is at a minimum spend/weight.

aside from the obvious things like baselayers, mid-layers and shells, they need footwear for such a trip. personally i would wear my rather lovely Meindl Boreo's for such a trip - and intend to do so - however the above thread suggests (to me) that perhaps one might be OK with a pair of reasonable trail shoes plus sealskinz socks - assuming that one didn't leave the path.

personally i'm a little uneasy about this idea - both for 'support' reasons and the prevailing enviornment (wet and cold), and because i've been brought up believing that a good pair of leather boots is what you need for any winter trip...

the potential advantage however is a reduction in costs (though perhaps not by much) and a significant reduction in wieght for those not used to wearing heavy boots.

vies? opinions?

Myself I think that its ok if die hard old pro,s at this game do not mind wet feet but newbies might feel more secure and warmer/drier with a pair of boots.
Many will ,though ,say trail shoes are better, I think better with experience ,maybe . Not better for those unsure.

http://mountainwarehouse.com/shop/product/products_id/2730.html
these are a great pair of boots which i have been using for the last 2 and a half years.if you go to a gooutdoors shop they are being sold for £59.00.they were at the coventry store yesterday anyway.i had a look on the website and they dont seem to be on it.imo you wont get a better boot at that price.

TBH the price thing is pretty marginal - Tiso have a rather nice leather boot with vibram sole and a membrane (not a fan myself) for £65, cotswold have something similar IIRC - and a decent pair of trail shoes will cost a minimum of £45 and £20 for sealskinz...

more about comfort, safety and weight at this stage i think.

more about comfort, safety and weight at this stage i think.
well thats why i recommended those boots cause for me they tick all those boxes and they are also on special offer.obviously you will get differing opinions as to boots or trail shoes as the opinion on here is split.

I'm not experienced enough to offer advice on shoes/boots over winter, but sock - well, if you're going to wear Sealskinz, I'd recommend liner socks. If not wearing Sealskinz, I'd still recommend liner socks. I picked up a pair of 1000mile socks at the Beinglas campsite, and wore them for the rest of the journey as my liner socks hadn't dried out.

If you get blisters in the same places normally, maybe look to taping up your feet? Its something I'll be looking to next time I'm out.

a stout pair of boots is in order.....

I did the West Highland way at the end of October in Trail shoes and in December a couple of years ago......for me it worked really well though for others it may not as it absolutely bucketed down nearly every day and i had wet feet every day....not a problem for me but alot of people and probably first timers might feel different. if you could guarantee dry days then i would definately say trail shoes and if you don't mind wet feet.....but this is Scotland we are talking about so well cushioned boots would probably be a better bet.

I'm planning WHW in early March. I tramped over lots of soggy Scotland in April this year in shoes and it was fine. It appears that the WHW has a good deal of hard surface walking and that boots can often give a lot of blister trouble.

Sealskinz+shoes for me have given mixed results (at times they seemed to get very wet inside) and I ended up using and preferring synthetic wicking socks: although my feet were wet, they were more comfortable.

Enjoy the walk!