UKC

Hi,

My walking boots have worn out and its time for a new pair.  Is it workable to get a boot that will do both summer and winter walking?  I have not yet done much in winter but would like to in the future.

The types of activities I plan to do are:

• Backpacking the Cotswold Way or Southwest coastal path 
• Summer hillwalking, e.g. the Fairfield Horseshoe
• Summer mountain walking e.g. Munros
• Summer scrambling up to grade 1 e.g. Tryfan/CMD arete
• Winter hill and mountain walking, e.g the Fairfield Horseshoe/Munros 

Is it a good idea to get a boot that will be good for all of these things?  Or is it just best to have a summer and a winter boot?  

You will get this answer more than once but for all the summer stuff I would use a trail or fell running shoe, personally I would use the same in winter but can understand using a winter boot (I haven’t worn winter boots in years though as I mainly run the fells in winter)

I'd say a trail shoe or light boot for summer, and a heavier B1 or B2 boot for winter, depending on if you think you might use crampons on a regular basis.

Done all you listed regularly in my Scarpa SL B1 boots . Great great boots. 

I have a pair of Altberg boots that I use all year.  Great for most conditions, a bit warm in summer and a bit flexible in winter but fine, really.  For short walk ins I use approach shoes and for longer winter days I use a pair of plastic boots BAS surplus from the army and navy.

In my experience, no. Go for separate summer and winter boots. Winter-capable boots in summer will give you hot feet (blisters). Summer boots in winter mean problems when you need to wear crampons.

I mainly do backpacking in Scotland and the Lake District. Late spring to late Autumn I wear soft Merrell mids, and in the winter Scarpa B1 boots. Right tool for the right job, and I don't think wearing either boot in the opposite season would work well.

(Incidentally, I don't do any scrambling (yet...) but my current winter boot, Scarpa Marmalada Pro, would probably be a good fit for that. Slightly pointed toe, a bit like a rock shoe, and I was surprised how comfy I find them. Good all-round boot too. Recommended. There's a review on UKC somewhere.)

This. You need a crampon compatible boot to do things in the winter, and you can't compromise this. Which leaves you with a choice - either clump around in big, stiff, hot, heavy boots in the summer, or buy a nice pair of approach shoes/trainers. If you have really weak ankles, a light summer boot. Kit is designed for a purpose, and if you want it to work at its best then it needs to be applied as such. Not to say that you can't use winter boots in the summer, but they're incredibly unpleasant IMO. 

Also - standard caveat of "try them on, don't just buy them because someone on the internet said they were nice". Best pair of boots are the ones that fit. 

Sometime last century, I had only Walshes and Asolo AFS101s - ask your grandparents

There are some more 'all year round' boots these days - Mrs B has a pair of La Sportiva Trango Trek like these https://www.lasportiva.com/en/trango-trk-gtx?options=26383 that are insanely light, supportive, and take a non-technical crampon for winter hillwalking. I am very envious of them as my boots weigh over twice as much.

b

I use:

Manta Scarpas for winter (B2)

Meindl Bhutan all round boot that I do use in winter if there is no ice and little snow. Have used in summer but my feet get hot.

Adidas Terrex Scope GTX for summer walking, harder scrambling and easy climbing. 

If I had to choose one of my shoes to cover all of the activities that you list, I'd go for the Meindl's. I've had the same pair for about 5 years and they are still going strong. Used for scrambling, Vdiffs, himalayan treks, kilimanjaro, Lake district and Welsh winters, countryside mud wading etc

Thank you very much for your comments, they are much appreciated.  I am going to look at getting a walking boot and a winter boot (I already have a pair of trail shoes).  I agree the fit is important, this might be a deciding factor.

I have those Trango Treks, excellent boots. I bought them a light summer boots (technically for work courtesy of my kit allowance but hey) as I have trouble with my ankles due to years of BMX and MTB. Fantastic so far, extremely light and comfortable all day. I'll be using them in the Cuillins next week if I get the weather so I'll give them a test for scrambling too.

I didn't know they took crampons but then I guess you can fit kahtoola crampons to pretty much anything. I have some Nepal Extremes for winter stuff, surprisingly comfortable and versatile considering the weight