Kathmandu Boot Failure, Australian Outdoor Outfitters

Kathmandu Outdoor Stores have left all the others for dead when it comes to crossing the line quickest in the race to the end of a boot`s life. Never before in all my years of trekking, nor in my years working on mines and in heavy construction, even in hot asphalt works, have I ever had a pair of boots fall apart on me in less than 9 months.

After only 3 months of useage in arduous - but by no means exceptional - conditions, my $400 Kathmandu boots are falling apart and leak badly. The soles have separated from the base of the boot and are cracked. This will now put a serious dent into my further exploits above the snowline until I can get them either repaired or replace them.

Not able to find a new pair of Blundstones like the ones that served me so well on the harsh volcanic trails across Iceland and the glaciers in central Peru, nor heeding the advice of one of my wiser friends, I was satisfied that the sales girl was a real hiker who had also done some treks in the Andes with such boots, and even accepted the proprietary brand sealing wax thrown into the deal instead of the usual bees wax based sealants I prefer to use (but which would void the warranty on the boots). However, a warranty is not much use 3000m up a mountain and 4 days travel from the nearest mid-sized town, and frankly not much use more than a few hundred kilometres from the shop.

The boots look well made, and I test drove them for four weeks in October walking through knee-deep snow through the Swabian Alps. They kept my feet warm, dry and comfortable, but now after only two months further use in the Andes, I`m in the sort of trouble that I only thought happened to Alby Mangles or his dog.

I took my boots to a boot repairman at the next town I visited. He said he would need a week to strip the soles and rework the leather and told me that kitchen oil was very damaging to boots. He couldn`t believe that kitchen oil came in a tube and was necessary to apply to avoid invalidating the boot warranty.

Mountain Design and Mainpeak outdoor stores can not laugh, though. Their softshell vest zip splits open and their goretex coat leaks after a similarly disappointingly short length of time. I`m told that their warranties don`t apply because I wear a backpack. That`s handy! How do you reach the main peaks of a mountain without a backpack?

Australian outdoor stores, like surf shops, seem to have turned their focus to fashion rather than function. If you want to look good frozen stiff inside a glacier when it spits you out in 50 years, buy Australian.