hikey oh blimey

We're all kicking about in our utilitarian work, army and desert boots but where do we go now All Saints have caught onto the trend and every Saturday night Big Brother wannabe is wearing them? Well I've seen the future and it's in Blacks Outdoor Pursuits; the hiking boot. And I'm not alone, these things have been pretty big in Japan for a while now and even our multi-striped-one-trick-pony Paul Smith has jumped aboard with his vintage style Ike Hiking Boot. As usual I like to go straight to the source so won't be putting down my £3,000,000 (I'm pretty sure that's the actual RRP but I could be wrong) for Paul Smith's imitations and want to get something a little more authentic, which is going to prove... tricky.

Companies such as Aigle and Vasque still make a few classic boots, but these are hard to find and are still pretty pricey, plus it will take you weeks to wear in the leather let alone make them look vintage, so where do we go from here? EBAY. It might take a little searching but ebay will bare the fruit of other peoples labour in the form of old 80's hiking boots, weathered and worn in these will go cheap and look amazing. However you don't want to be stomping around in other peoples foot sweat and foot grooves so for a little extra cash take your new old boots to a cobbler and have them resoled and rebuilt and BAM! Old new boots that look awesome and didn't cost you the earth.

Strangely enough, though I hate Paul Smith's Ikes, I love these Fracap Japan Mountaineering Boots because unlike the Ikes, which are trying to look like something they are clearly not (old and durable), these Fracaps are imitations but are taking the best elements of walking boots and putting them into a modern boot that would be useless half way up Mt Fuji but look sweet treading tarmac.