First impressions..........

My new Keen boots arrived today. I had been at my grandson's Sports Day so I didn't find them until 4 pm.

{Keen Pyrenees out of the box}

The caption to the photo isn't quite true as I took the picture after I had worn the boots the rest of the afternoon indoors and then to walk the dog in the woods for about 45 minutes. When I came back I decided to take out the insoles which came with the boots and put in a pair of Berry Superfeet. I'm going to give these a try tomorrow. 

As I took them out of the box several things struck me. The boots are not too heavy, the leather round the ankle and on the integral tongue is softly padded, the boot itself appears to be made of sturdy leather which may take a bit of wearing in, the sole has very deep luggs, the rubber rand toepiece is quite large and they look HUGE! 

However, as I actually put them on I realised they were not TOO big. There's the expected extra room both width wise and length wise for my toes. The heels fit well and as I walk don't lift at all. The laces are a good length so it will be easy to lace them without struggling to tie them off (this is an issue with the AKU boots I've been using recently). I can walk without 'clumping' my foot to the ground. They feel quite light on the feet.

{Comparing the shape of the toe box - on the left my AKU boot and KEEN on the right}

I plan to wear them around the house and garden again tomorrow, then on Sunday try a shortish walk somewhere a bit hilly. There is an Event liner rather than Goretex. Printed on the liner it says 'Keen Dry' and 'Guaranteed waterproof' which I will obviously have to put to the test! I'll also have to research how best to clean them and how to treat the leather.

But so far so good........................