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| The new boots on my dining table. Sorry for the hideous table cloth |
I bought a pair of Meindl Antelao GTX boots the other day. This is meant for walking in the mountains. I have a pair of Quechua that are decent but I always wanted to have a pair of big brand hiking shoes and I used the opportunity of the Amsterdam visit to buy it. I had originally wanted to buy the Scarpa R-Evolution but that did not quite happen and I will tell the story later. Suffice it to say that I went for the Antelao and I am happy for that, although I think I would have preferred the Scarpa for its price.
I bought this boot from Amsterdam's Kathmandu store on 9th August 2017. It's a large chain of outdoor gear stores in The Netherlands. This particular shop is on Haarlemarstraat near the Central Station. I wore the pair in the shop and it felt instantly good and comfortable as I walked on their test area - essentially a heap of logs kept artistically in the middle of the store.
Earlier I had worn another pair of Meindl at Bever (another chain) but it felt a little too stiff and not that comfortable, particularly on the up trail (they also have a track).
My regular boot size is 8. This is the first time perhaps that I bought a pair of walking boots in size 8.5 UK or Euro 42.5. So far it looks like it fits me very well. I think a few years ago I got a pair of Asics which was also the same size and it also fitted me very well. I guess that is my right size for activity oriented boots. Actually my left foot is slightly larger than my right foot. And 8.5 is absolutely right for the left foot.
Earlier this year while coming down from Roopkund - we walked downhill for 11 hours - I felt my left foot was very snug inside the boot and did not move at all. But the right foot was moving inside the boot (a pair of Quechua 500 in size 8). I thought I would get blister on my right foot for the internal movement. But as things turned out, the big toe nail of my left foot, I later realised, died out. Because it had got too tight. The small toe nail still pains from all the compression. I am not sure if there is a small stress fracture there. I don't think all this will ever happen again with these Antelaos because there is enough space here without being loose.
We have to remember that after a long walk our feet swell a little and a half size cushion is good for the feet. My regular office wear shoes will always be 8, if not 7.5. But my walking or running shoes will be 8.5 from now on.
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| Vibram soles and Gore-tex linings are now standard and de riguer |
One of the things that Meindl highlights about the Antelao is that they are meant for wider feet. I did not know that I had wide feet. I mean I always thought my feet were wide but by European standards I would have thought they were just about normal. That's not quite the case, I realised. Because I find the fit of these shoes very comfortable.
These are class B shoes with a flexible sole and are therefore very comfortable to walk in. Almost like sports shoes. Class C shoes are not really ideal for lightweight walking on the non-snowy trails. They have stiff soles that do not flex with your feet. Therefore the walk becomes uncomfortable. Those shoes are best for the snowy trails where you need to wear crampons or microspikes at least.
In typical, average Himalayan treks we start from very high altitude, relative to European trails, but we experience snow much later - perhaps for a day or two towards the end of the trek. For that kind of walking one does not really need Class C boots. If I was starting most of my trails in the high mountains with snow then I would probably go for the stiffer ones.
The Antelao has a few features that Meindl talks about. I will come to those later, but first let me speak about the exterior features that are apparent to even a casual viewer. The laces start from almost the toes. That's a good thing. One can add extra tension or slack to the toes area to control and fine tune the toe box. Next is the rand - the rubber band around the boot to protect it from rocks and other stuff on the trail. It is only a half rand and not full. The other Meindl that I checked had full rand all around. I am not sure if the full rand gives any extra rigidity or it is just that the rigid shoes also come with a full rand.
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| Half rand, synthetic loop for ankle and no loop behind heel (negatives) |
Most trekking boots have a loop behind which can be used to hang them. I have never really used them but cannot fail to note their absence here. The loops give a boot a professional look setting them apart from normal boots. Antelao does not have them.
Antelao has metallic hooks for the laces and the laces are pretty long and thick. But the hook around the ankle is of synthetic loop kind. I don't know what difference this makes but I have never seen this in true blue trekking boots.
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| The fit is indeed comfortable |
The upper of the boot is a combination of suede (or nubuck?) and mesh. Again four season trekking shoes almost never have any mesh on them. But the mesh adds an element of comfort to these shoes and presumably should make the boots more airy (leading to less sweat on feet). The suede is anthracite in colour. If there was a brown option I would have perhaps gone for that. But lot of Europeans like the subtle anthracite colour.
Now comes the interior of the boot. It has the white inner lining of Goretex. This should make the boot waterproof. Unless water seeps in from the top, for example if I have to wade through water that is deeper than its height, my feet will remain dry for sure. I have worn Goretex lined boots (the other Timberland) in blinding rain and my feet have been bone dry.
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| Insole. Downloaded from the net |
The footbed is apparently made of cork and covered with fleece. It also has something like a PU shock absorber. I don't know about all the technology but the feel is surely very nice. I spoke to the Kathmandu store assistant about the footbed and whether I should go for some 3rd party sole. She took the sole out and gave it a good look. Then she said, this is obviously very good quality. Don't change it till it lasts. So I take her word for all it is worth. I liked the feel of standing inside the boots.
Now comes the sole. The Vibram sole certainly feels very sticky. This will give a lot of confidence on rocky surfaces. My Aku was a lot more slippery. It was a stiff sole boot meant to be worn with heavy loads on the back. However, I must clarify that I have so far walked with them only on the shop floor and test track of the Kathmandu store in Amsterdam and here in my flat in Calcutta. So it is obviously not enough to pass a final verdict on it. But when you test a good thing the first impression is enough.
These boots don't need any break in period. They are very flexible already and in a way broken in. The question is I will be going for a maximum of two treks a year. And the first one will be sometime in April/May next year. Before that I intend to wear it at least once a month or twice. Oherwise the gumming might come off.
I have to now see how long these last. Durability is definitely something I expect from a German brand. I hope Meindl will not disappoint me.
Once I complete a proper trek in them, I will write a more detailed account of that feel.
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| Fresh out of the box, with the tags intact |
Field Test Report
I walked in these boots during my September '18 trek to Stok Kangri. That was my first real tes of the boots. More than a year after its purchase. I went upto a height of 6000 meters plus in these boots. I walked through fresh snow, crossed a small glacier two times (while going up in the darkness of the night and once while coming down in broad day light), walked through shallow streams, walked down dusty trails, walked in snowfall and rain. The shoes were quite tested, to put it very mildly. I walked almost continuously for 19 hours. Not for a moment did I regret buying this. On the contrary, I am happy I bought them and wore them to Stok. If I was wearing my Quechua I would surely lose both my nails on the two big toes, like I did after the Roopkund climb down to Wan from Bhagwabasa (almost a day long walk downhill). Of course that's more of a size issue than the intrinsic quality of the boots. But I am very happy with this purchase of mine.
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| At Delhi airport |
I don't know what to say but these boots just did their job of keeping my feet well protected and dry. I never got any blisters. Didn't slip or skid. In fact the soles are very grippy and have good brakes. Didn't get my feet wet. Half the time didn't feel the boots were there. Of course I never walked in any deep water and never really let water come over the neck of the boot. Even then, the waterproofness of the boot is 100 per cent in snow and shallow ankle deep water. My upper body, on the penultimate day got completely drenched when I walked for a couple of hours in a light drizzle without a rain coat. But my feet were dry and warm.
The outer Vibram soles were great in snow, mud and dust. Possibly a full protection against abrasions would've been better (only the toes are covered with half a rand) but that's fine. I didn't really walk over very rocky trails. Will see how it performs on such trails in future.
On snow I used Kahtoola microspikes. Because we were walking on fresh, soft snow, snowballing was becoming a major issue. But the boot has nothing to do with it. In fact at one point of time I took the microspikes off and walked only in the boots and the snowballing was somewhat reduced. However, I felt less secure and so put the Kahtoolas back on again.
Incidentally, because it's nubuck, the boot lost its colour on the very first day on the dusty trail out of Stok village. Probably in the very first hour. But a gentle dusting back at home and they are back to being new.
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| On a rainy day in camp |
I just hope that these Meindls lasts for a long time. I am expecting a good 10 years and at least 15 long treks in them. Anything less than that - I will be disappointed. But I have to ensure that I wear them every now and then, just to keep them going. Otherwise, the pasting can come off.
Sitting inside my tent on a rainy day, doing nothing, at the Base Camp above 15,000 feet, I felt rather bored. So I took this rather innocuous looking picture of the boots outside my tent in the vestibule area. One can see the dust and how it changed its colour. A full grain leather boot wouldn't lose its colour like this. But then, it regained the colour at home after getting a sharp dusting. I am yet to wash them with soap and spray any Nikwax. I will, shortly. The internet advices using dishwasher detergent for this purpose. But it seemed no shopkeeper in Calcutta has ever heard of dishwasher in the first place. The detergent for that is understandably a far cry. I guess, I will make do with Eezee. I just hope the waterproofness is not compromised.
