When Boots Get Bonkers...

Every so often something drops into your in-box that makes you properly do a double-take. In this it's the new Hi-Tec Para Boot that looks not quite much like anything else we've seen.

What is it? Well, it's a sort of combination of a hiking boot and a rubber welly no less. The distinctive upper is actually made from rubber - cranberry rubber in this case, but it's also available in yellow and a slightly more restrained 'granite' - sat on a Vibram sole unit that looks like a tractor tyre... should be the biz on mud and softer ground and soft snow too we're thinking.

The lining is wet suit-style Neoprene and there's a removable, contoured, EVA sockliner plus fastening is by a toggle device for 'adjustable fit'. The idea is that it gives you wellington-type performance, but with hiking boot grip and comfort.

Will it be hideously sweaty? Well, in a wet-suit sort of way, we reckon, so maybe warm and sweaty. It could be absolutely brilliant for bog-trotting over winter or on those days when you wish you could wear a welly, but know you need more support.

We're already oddly fascinated by the Hi-Tec Para Boot, so it's just as well that Hi-Tec is sending us a pair to have a go with. Bring on the mud...

Sells for £84.99, which is quite a lot more than a welly, but then it looks like it should be quite a bit more useful than a welly. More information at www.hi-tec.com/uk/para-boot.html.