UKC

I'm looking for some advice on some new hiking boots. Mainly trails, woodland and muddy fields.

Narrowed down to either the Scarpa Terra or the Zamberlan 309. I can see lots of positive reviews for the Scarpa's and less in terms of reviews in general for the Zamberlan's but keen to hear opinions on both before pulling the trigger.

Thanks!

Only thing I'll say on the Scarpa is the aftersales is generally excellent if they fail within a short period of time. I've had a great pair of Zam's in the past but my wife had a rubbish pair that leaked.

If you want advice. The best advice I could give is don't put much weight on footwear reviews. The reason good footwear shops have many models of a similar style is because they will usually stock boots with different fits. This allows them to find something for most people.

Go and try boots on. The theory is good but the "best boot" for a given task is shit if it doesn't fit.

Cheers

Matt 

Boots can be very personal, everyone's feet and posture are different (you might get your eyes and teeth checked, but have you ever had your posture and gait checked?).  The one thing I would suggest is to ditch the bit of flimsy cardboard that the bootmakers put in as an insole (they don't know who is buying their boots, so how can they know what sort of insole to put in for any individual) and get some decent insoles that work for you (either off the peg, or stand-on-a-heat-pad-in-the-shop, or custom made) based on advice from someone that knows.  As someone said to me, spend some money on some decent insoles now, or spend lots of money later on down the line in physio, or misery later cos your new boots don't work or they compound or uncover/create an issue that you didn't know about.  YMMV.