Do you have any tips on buying good waterproof boots, oh wise homochad? My country doesnt snow outside of mountains but it can rain a fuck lot when its cold so any tips on buying good boots that are waterproof (so much shit is plastic so it can be marketed as v*gan im so tired let me access the animal hides PLSSS)
from my experience there is no such thing as a waterproof boot outside of those uglyass rubber rainboots. there are however, water-resistant boots, and their water-resistance depends on A. the materials used and B. whether u choose to treat them with water-resistant sprays. the best water-resistant boots on the market imo are the GORTEX variety of Salomon hiking boots, like the Salomon Quest GTX boots (GTX simply means 'gortex'):
I have them for I think....5 or 6yrs now and they havent failed me once. My only issue with them is that theyre super stiff and the sole is thicc as shit, and Im a barefoot+minimalist shoes kinda girl so my feet arent used to feeling such a disconnect from the ground. But if ur a regular person who wears regular shoes I think these will be fine. their #1 talent and the reason I still keep them despite my feet disagreeing with them, is that u can walk through ankle deep waters in them and stay completely dry. Like...I wouldnt submerge my entire foot in the water with them, but if u need to walk through a slightly flooded street or a menacing puddle - theyre perfect. theyre also very warm.
If ur into barefoot shoes/minimalist footwear then the boots Im currently using are SUPER comfortable and are also moderately water-resistant. I use them every day to walk through mud and generally wet soil and my feet r still dry. their only downside is that the ankle brace is SO damn high it will dig into ur ankles while ur breaking them in, which took me about 1-2 weeks of daily wear. Its the Bellevile Mini-Mil boot:
theyre made of inside-out leather (dont remember how its called in english) so their natural water-resistance is decent. I wouldnt dip into menacing puddles wearing these but when wearing these I specifically choose comfort over water-resistance.
In general, any 100% leather boot (especially the regular, not inside-out variety) will have very good water-resistance qualities. Gortex however is cheaper and does a slightly better job imo. Look into any boot that u like that is either fully made of leather or gortex. I recommend Salomon, all of their boots are good quality in my experience.
